A year-long online program exploring all facets of the art of writing prose led by some of Australia’s most prominent writers and arts practitioners.
“Don’t all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and turn this way or that, and identifies them, like a signature, though it lurks far deeper than their style, or their voice or other tell-tale antics?”
HIDDEN NERVE IS BACK IN 2026
Writers leading this year’s program include Cadance Bell, Michael Brissenden, Isobelle Carmody, Rhett Davis, Alice Pung, and more.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
How to choose the perfect word?
How to make a sentence sit up and sing?
What do gestures tell a reader about a character and the predicament that they are in?
Through this online program comprising 8 x 90-minute monthly sessions, participants will learn from some of the most exciting Australian writers working today about the art of writing prose. The topics will include everything from word choice and how sentences work, to illuminating character and building dramatic tension through gesture, and more.
Woven through the program are three sessions of close reading during which writers will discuss work by writers they admire, providing detailed analysis. HIDDEN NERVE 2026 will be delivered by a range of writers including prolific authors of significance as well as writers and thinkers with a unique perspective. HIDDEN NERVE is designed to be of most benefit to writers who are actively working on a prose project and are committed to developing their practice.
READING LIST
Those attending HIDDEN NERVE may wish to read the following texts, the first of which inspired the program’s design:
Applications are now closed.
Please read below for the 2026 presenter information, program cost, schedule and important information.
2026 PRESENTERS
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Eugen Bacon
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Tony Birch
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Norman Erikson Pasaribu
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Nigel Featherstone
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Lamisse Hamouda
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Julie Koh
-
Ellen van Neerven
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Cathy Petőcz
-
Alice Pung
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Angela Slatter
-
Cher Tan
COST OF PROGRAM
MEMBER PROGRAM PASS:
$365 for members of MARION and/or the ASA (The Australian Society of Authors)GENERAL PROGRAM PASS: $460
for those who are not members of MARION and/or ASAMARION offers 2 semi-subsidised places in all programs which provides a 75% discount of program price. No personal details need to be disclosed, just email Meg Wilson ceo@marion.ink these are available on a first come first served basis.
Successful applicants will receive payment information by 14 March. Payment needs to be made by 24 March to secure a spot in the program.
Schedule
SESSION
DATE
THEME
FACILITATOR
#1
6pm Thursday 30 March
WORDS
Eugen Bacon
#2
6pm Thursday 20 April
SENTENCES
Norman Erikson Pasaribu
#3
6pm Thursday 18 May
PARAGRAPHS
Angela Slatter
#4
6pm Thursday 15 June
CLOSE READING
Lamisse Hamouda
#5
6pm Thursday 13 July
NARRATION
Alice Pung
#6
6pm Thursday 17 August
CHARACTER
Tony Birch
#7
6pm Thursday 7 September
DIALOGUE
Cathy Petőcz
#8
6pm Thursday 28 September
CLOSE READING
Julie Koh
#9
6pm Thursday 19 October
DETAILS
Nigel Featherstone
#10
6pm Thursday 23 November
GESTURE
Ellen Van Neerven
#11
6pm Thursday 7 December
CLOSE READING
Cher Tan
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW
All sessions will be held at 6.00pm to 7.30pm sharp.
The online platform will be Google Meet.
The sessions will be live and, for privacy purposes, will not be recorded.
The program is for writers of both fiction and nonfiction.
This is not a workshop scenario – the presenters will not be providing feedback on participants’ work. While there will be ample time for questions, the focus will be on hearing each author explain and explore an area of the prose-writing craft based on published work.
All sessions will be facilitated by Zhi Cham, an experimental poet/ artist. Zhi’s practice is informed by intuition and deep curiosity. Their facilitation style will reflect this.
A private (and hidden) Facebook group has been created to build community and aid sharing of knowledge - for access details, please contact Zhi on creative@marion.ink