New writers’ studio opens in Melbourne

A new writers’ studio has opened in Collingwood in inner-city Melbourne.

The Good Copy, which moved into its studio space earlier this year, describes itself as ‘a writing studio, a shop, a school and a publisher’.

Founded by Penny Modra, former editor of Three Thousand, and Frunch Nazzari, current managing director of Rooftop Cinema, the studio offers a workspace for writers to take on commercial writing jobs, as well as work on their own writing projects. Current clients of The Good Copy include Rooftop Cinema, Melbourne Central, MPavilion, Tourism Tasmania and Ansell.

The Good Copy also produces zines, magazines, books and online content as part of its publishing arm, and can ‘assist independent projects via seed-funding or advertising sales and distribution’.

In July, the studio opened a ‘newsagent for writers’ called The Good Copy Shop, which sells pens, notebooks, magazines and writing resources such as style guides and dictionaries, and includes a non-borrowing library of out-of-print issues of literary magazines. Future plans include the launch of The Good Copy School, which will offer punctuation and grammar classes, and one-off talks, events, workshops and screenings.

‘We wanted to create a business that allows writers to take on commercial jobs in a team environment,’ Modra told the Design Files Daily. ‘As a writer I think the key to life is avoiding mojo-sapping. So, finding a way to work on well-paying jobs without those jobs swamping your brain seven days a week. I hope TGC will help with that, and give our writers mental/financial breathing space to work on their own projects.’

‘Our main emphasis in the shop and the school will be on writing as a trade (rather than a magical, literary skill). So it’s pretty hands-on. It’s about the everydayness of writing, getting it done and improving through effort.’

Read more about The Good Copy here.