Bravewords

What happens when a 17 year old policeman is given guns... lots of guns.

Ross Markey is a Central Coast write. His work has been published in Island Magazine. Ross was in the youngest squad of the last intake of 16 year olds into the Victoria Police Force.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

A young girl and her new family travel to a magical India!

Kate Ayrton is a transmedia producer, screenwriter and travel writer. She has had stories published in the US and Australia, and is currently working on her first novel. Born in Australia but schooled abroad, she now lives on the Central Coast.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

A new dad takes on the role of primary carer to follow his wife to Singapore for her career opportunities.

Toby’s childhood memoir ‘Two Mums & a Dad’ was published in 2021. The promotional rounds for that book included interviews on TV and radio, coverage in newspapers, and talks at writers festivals and libraries. A number of Toby’s short stories have been published in magazines, converted into podcasts and broadcast on radio. As part of his day job, Toby has written boring articles for journals, industry papers, and broadsheets.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

Just one suburban day decades ago, a 6 year old boy begins his journey towards being a dad!

Jeremy Gilroy is a TV editor and producer, a father of four, and a sporting tragic who lives in Avoca Beach on the NSW Central Coast.

Despite their limited education, Jeremy’s parents were both avid readers whose love language was language itself; playing with it, teaching it, and finding the right turn of phrase, especially to get a laugh.

As a kid, Jeremy loved writing stories, and went to uni to studyjournalism, but was distracted by film and television. Rob, through Bravewords, has given Jeremy the opportunity to fall back in love with writing. If you listen carefully to Jeremy’s story, about halfway through, you can hear his smart watch alerting him to go to emergency with a dangerousl elevated heart rate, which is to say Jeremy’s career spent in dark edit suites has not prepared him well for addressing a crowd.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

When Jay's gardener needed a favour, it changed her life.

Jay says that in regards to her age, she’s ‘abovethe upper age limit for just about everything.’ 

I live locally with my cat ‘The Gorgeous One’

I’ve lived in Australia for 40 years; emigratedfrom England but am an ex-South African

I’m a retired business-owner. Her work has been publishedin NSW Seniors’ Stories Anthology Volume 11.

I’m loving my renewed interest in writing thanks tothe lovely Adrienne.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

What happens when a boy knows something to be true.

Chris Fleming is an award-winning Australian writer and translator and was recently shortlisted for the CalibreEssay Prize, the Island Nonfiction Prize, and the Peter Cowan Short Story Prize. His writing spans theory, journalism, fiction, and translation, and has appeared in venues including HEAT, The Guardian, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Los Angeles Review of Books.He is the author or editor of ten books, including René Girard:Violence and Mimesis, Modern Conspiracy: The Importance of Being Paranoid, and the acclaimed memoir On Drugs (Giramondo 2019), which Phillip Lopate said, “rightly takes its place beside William Burroughs and De Quincey.” He is Associate Professor in Humanities at Western Sydney University and a member of the Writing and Society Research Centre.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter

Amy Anshaw-Nye is a writer, zinester and essayist living in Western Sydney. Her works explore themes of love, transformation, madness, redemption, and queer identity.

She is a WestWords Academy alum and was a recipient of the 2023 WestWords-Varuna Emerging Writers’ Residency.

She is also founder of a zine press, where she publishes zines about life, pop culture, and queer love.

Amy’s has been published in BAD Western Sydney, ZineWest, and Verandah Journal.

She’s currently working on Ebb Tide, an historical sapphic romance novel set in 1960s Australia.

Music Courtesy of Sean Peter

Exploring big issues of the heart through inanimate objects! In this case, doors!

Nicole Matthews lives in Garigal country south of Dyarubbin/The Hawkesbury. She teaches media and cultural studies at Macquarie University and is currently writing a memoir entitled "Hoarding: an amateur's guide". A chapter from the memoir, “Standing Wood”, was recently published in Text.

Music Courtesy of Sean Peter

A beautiful behind the scenes story from the world of musical theatre.

Guy Noble has conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Western Australian, Tasmanian, Queensland and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, the Auckland Philharmonia, Hong Kong Symphony and Malaysian and Bergen Philharmonic orchestras.

He is the host and accompanist each year for Great Opera Hits (Opera Australia) in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House. He conducted Opera Queensland’s 2014 production of La Boheme, Opera in the Alps (2008-2017)and Opera in the Markets (2009-2017). He is conductor and host for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s Classics Unwrapped series at the Adelaide Town Hall, and conductor and host for the Queensland Symphony’s Music on Sundays series at QPAC.

Guy has worked with a wide variety of international performers with orchestras across Australia, including Harry Connick Jnr, Ben Folds, The Beach Boys, Dianne Reeves, Glenn Frey, Randy Newman, Clive James, Conchita, The Two Cellos, Alfie Boe, Olivia Newton John, Paloma Faith, Ruthie Henshall and Meow Meow.

He is also the host of Concert Hall on Qantas Inflight.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter.

The power of a young girls imagination when it's driven by a CRUSH!

Adrienne is an author and writing coach and co-host of Bravewords Live. Her writing studio, Bravewords, is based on the Central Coast of NSW.

Music courtesy of Sean Peter.