The Ruthless 15K: Adapting Your Fi ction for the Screen
\nYou wrote the story. Now what? This is a half-day workshop for writers curious about adaptation\, whether you want to turn your book into a film or TV series\, or better understand how stories move from page to screen. Led by Rachael Blackwood\, a Top Three Finalist in the Final Draft Big Break\, a graduate of UCLA's Professional Programs in Screenwriting and Television Writing\, and with credits in nov el adaptation coverage\, studio marketing\, and screenplay judging for the Austin Film Festival. Bring your work in progress. Leave with a one-page treatment and the vision for your story on screen.
\nParticipants wi
ll leave the workshop able to:
&bull\; Identify what changes between
page and screen\, and why
&bull\; Make an informed choice about which
form their story wants next: feature film\, limited series\, or ongoing s
eries
&bull\; Recognise the structural DNA of a screenplay and map th
eir novel against it
&bull\; Translate interiority into dialogue and
action
&bull\; Develop a one-page treatment for the adaptation of one
of their novels (or one in progress)
This workshop is availab le for up to 20 people aged 18+. No prior publication required\, but parti cipants should bring a novel\, story\, idea\, or other material they are i nterested in adapting to the screen (minimum 500 words\, can be digital). Length: 3.5 hours with a short break. Please bring water/tea/coffee and sn acks as required.
\nTickets: $40 or $20 for concession hold ers.
\nRachael Blackwood has lived two writing lives.
\nThe first was in Los Angeles\, where she completed UCLA's Professional Programs in Screenwriting and Television Writing\, earned a T op Three placement at Final Draft Big Break\, multiple PAGE Awards semi-fi nals and Austin Film Festival second rounds\, novel adaptation coverage fo r Ideate Media\, ran the social media for Warner Bros (including WINCHESTE R with Helen Mirren)\, and was selected by Margaret Atwood as a Practical Utopias Fellow.
\nThe second life is quieter\, closer to the ocean\, and more her own. A masters-educated trauma psychotherapist by training\, Rachael now writes fiction about queer women with histories\, and the slo w moments in which they come back to themselves. Her debut novel The S ound She Makes is forthcoming in 2026\, the first in the Hushtide ser ies\, published under her independent imprint Salt Witch Media.
\nSh e writes on Wadawurrung country\, supervised by her two cats\, Arrow and R eilly.
\nhttps://rachaelblackwood.com
https://www.ins
tagram.com/rach_blackwood/
To discover more of our fabulous local writers\, visit our Local Authors Fair from 12pm-3pm on Sa turday 29 August at Geelong Library &\; Heritage Centre - free entry an d refreshments provided
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