Description

Australian novelist Alison Edwards gave a master class for us on 8 February 2025 in Amsterdam. The class focussed on her debut novel Two Daughters(Atlantic Books Australia, 2024), the story of two young women from very different backgrounds and opposite sides of the world whose lives intersect in a way neither could have predicted.

Alison began her fiction writing journey with the Collective and large portions of Two Daughters were workshopped in our courses.

She spoke with IWC instructor Jennifer van der Kwast about:

• the ins and outs of writing your first novel—from building your skills to finding the time and the motivation to keep going,
• the challenges of writing in dual perspectives,
• tips on getting a literary agent,
• lessons from working with an editor, and
• what she wishes she had done differently in hindsight.