Place-Based Writing with James Dunbar

Thursday 10th September

Drawing on his extensive career as a journalist, travel writer, television scriptwriter and novelist, James Dunbar (who also writes as Jimmy Thomson) will lead an engaging workshop on Place-Based Writing, exploring how landscape, community, history and memory can become active characters in a story.

Drawing on his experience setting novels such as Mole Creek, Twisted River and Blood Moon in Tasmania, as well as decades of writing about real people and places across Australia and overseas -- including Vietnam and Hollywood --   James will show participants how to observe a location more deeply, uncover the stories that lie beneath its surface, use the internet as an aide memoir and transform local details into compelling fiction, memoir or narrative nonfiction.

Through practical exercises and discussion, writers will learn techniques for capturing atmosphere, creating a strong sense of place, researching local history and using setting to shape character, conflict and plot. Suitable for emerging and experienced writers alike.

James Dunbar is a journalist, travel writer, university lecturer and website editor. Blood Moon is his third venture into the serious crime thriller and espionage genre, and is a direct sequel to his first, Mole Creek, which was short-listed for the BAD best crime novel award in 2024. His other crime novel with Echo, the psychological thriller Twisted River, was published in 2025. Published as Jimmy Thomson, he is also the author of two crime novels and three biographies, as well as several books about Australian army engineers (sappers) during the Vietnam and First World wars. His latest military history, The First Anzacs, was published in 2026. 

Registration Information

In case of emergency, phone number is a required field if you are booking tickets for anyone under 18 years old. A mobile phone number is preferable.

TASWRITERS STUDENT MEMBER TICKETS:

Only 1 ticket per student member.

A maximum of 5 Student Member tickets per workshop.

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Cancelling your registration four days or more before the workshop: you can request a 50% refund of the fee.

Cancelling your registration within four days of the workshop: there is no refund of the fee. However, instead of forfeiting the fee, you can do another workshop for half price.