Creative Audio workshop: Writing for Radio in a Digital Age

Renowned writer and documentary maker Siobhán McHugh is leading a week-long residential course in Creative Audio at Varuna Writers Centre in the Blue Mountains.
 
The course is being held in November, but bookings close soon and there are just 4 places left.

Whether you want intensive time and feedback on an existing project, or are an audio rookie, the course will lift your skills and inspire you in your work. 

This is Varuna’s third sonic storytelling course.  McHugh did the first one in 2012 and ABC RN’s Jane Ulman conducted one last year. 

“Audio is the new black. Combine it with Varuna in Spring and the alchemy of writerly DNA in the air… it’s irresistible,” says McHugh.

Online delivery systems from podcasting to streaming have seen a renaissance in radio documentaries and features: audio stories which range from highly crafted reportage and narrative journalism to intimate personal accounts and fictional works. This revitalisation is partly due to the ease and economy of digital audio production – even audio rookies can quickly learn how to make broadcast-quality digital stories.

Through a mixture of structured and unstructured writing sessions, participants will examine in some detail the specific attributes of creating audio storiesand listen toa range of audio features, from winners of the Prix Italia and Third Coast Audio Festivals to quirky shorts, experimental work and radio essays.

McHugh will lead the group to explore a range of topics: the essential differences of writing a story to be listened to and writing a story to be read, the various elements that makes audio stories work (such as voice, tone, character, sound, rhythm, pace, mix and silence), the skills and technical tools of creating audio stories, as well as emerging opportunities for writers wanting to create audio stories.

Writing for Radio in a Digital Age takes place at Varuna from 3-9 Nov. Bookings close 21 Aug.
 

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