Katmandu Writing Academy writing workshop

Sun kissing the snow

A silver sky

Ice falling from clouds

Happy but sad

The earth beneath me

I hear birds and pine cones falling…

It was an unforgettable morning…listening to the breathtaking stories from students, guides and a pilot at the Nepal
Mountain Academy
, a renowned government training institution for mountain climbers.

Around 45 people gathered for our writing workshop about family, nature and getting to the top. After some shyness there were readings and lots of cheers!

It was a new experience for the cohort.

Thanks to my Nepal travel buddies Kate and Liz for class support and the warm welcome from Nepal’s minister for Arts and Mountaineering Tanka Prasad Paudel.❤️

Rachel Matthews - Author
About Rachel

Dr Rachel Matthews is a Melbourne author, lecturer and teacher. Her debut novel Vinyl Inside received strong press reviews and was highly commended by the Australian Vogel Award judges.

Discover Rachel's Books

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In The Media

Herald Sun Review

Life is a minefield of cringes. They await one, ready to mar the most precious moments or, worse, to turn one so

Changing Trends in Dating – Rachel Matthews Interview on Nine News
In The Media

Changing Trends in Dating – Nine News

Rachel was interviewed by Monika Cos on Nine News… watch the interview below View this post on Instagram A post shared by

In The Media

In Their Own Write

Let the first rough draft be really loose and wild, Kerouac style. That is where the juicy bits appear. Wait till you

Get a preview of my latest book

Subscribe to read the first 7 chapters of Rachel’s new book “Never Look Desperate”, as well as regular updates

Don't miss the magnificent Justine Sless, comedy that strips back the chaos and infuses with wit and pathos..❤️

#MelbourneComedyFestival #MICF #MelbourneEvents #ComedyMelbourne #LiveComedy StandUpAustralia JustineSless MCShowroom WhatsOnMelbourne MelbourneNights ThingsToDoMelbourne ComedyNight LaughOutLoud SupportLiveComedy AussieComedy WomenInComedy FunnyWomen FestivalSeason MelbourneLife NightOutMelbourne CheapTickets BravoShow YorkshireTeaVibes
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this post contains the name and images of a deceased person.

In my home town of Shepparton, this statue commemorates Uncle William Cooper (1860 to 1941), a Yorta Yorta man who, despite having no legal rights in his own country, led a march to the German Consulate in Melbourne to deliver a letter protesting the Nazi persecution of Jewish people, who he said were fellow citizens of the world. When I stand and look at the beautiful bronzed form of a remarkable human, it is hard to believe the void that was our high school lessons in 'Australian history' ❤️💛🖤
Thanks to @womensagenda for giving space to this conversation...
CW: This article contains references to sexual violence.

#womeninsports #breakthesilence #authorslife #changethegame #womensissues
We met Priscilla at the Coachman Inn tonight, Parkes. Great to see women in Elvis suits, an alternative Elvis and lots of rockabilly. Then the treat of a burnt orange sky on the way back to Victoria, sending love to friends in country areas, stay safe ❤️
Finally. All students in Victoria will learn the real history of our state. 
💛❤️🖤
#Treaty #TrueHistory #Victoria #Education #MovingForward
素敵 Suteki: Beautiful Japan (and the big buddha HK) ❤️
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#beautifulspaces #royalcaribbeancruise #travelwriting #japantravels #storytellingphotography #royalcaribbeaninternational #cruisetime #cruisetravel #cruisevacation #japanlove #japanoninsta #culturaljourney #momentsintime #travelwithpurpose #travelmood @royalcaribbean @royalcaribbeanasia @royalcaribbeanhk #traveloften #goexplorewander #adventureanywhere #havingagoodtime #authorslife #storiesoftheeveryday #bucketlisttravel #fictionwriter #australianauthor #australianauthors #aussieauthor #actionadventure #traveldiary #japangram
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚: 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧/𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 🚢✨
In the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of hosting writing workshops across Australia, Nepal and Finland - but this ship journey from Hong Kong to Japan was unique!

Sailing through late Autumn into Winter, on sea days we explored themes like sacred places and sensory stories through craft, history and food. What a privilege to hear pieces created by our global audience (from Finland, Alabama, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Hong Kong, Philippines, to Chile!). The audience also experienced Japanese poetry, origami and an impromptu Sumba dance performance (alongside my Mum’s art works from Country Vic on the big screen).

Off the ship we enjoyed the reds and golds of Japan in late Autumn (Fukuoka, Saiki Minato, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Sasebo).

𝘼 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚:
Whiteness, the sound of winter, walking in the rain on cold, frosty days, Hong Kong skies, sombreness, Northern Lights, low-laying sun, soft snow falling like a blanket, plum pudding, prawns and sunshine, mother: warm towels, soup and dumplings, crisp air, a mountain walk to grandparents, the joys of model trains, Freddy the dog’s obsessions, whiskey in Scottish snow and kilt surprises, riding a horse in elbow-deep whiteness, Christmas with Grandma, city blocks at first-snow…

A thank you to Pastor Paul from San Francisco for his incredible bilingual reading, (performed in English and fluent Cantonese in front of his very proud husband).

My favourite lines:
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦
𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘶𝘱𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵
𝘈 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.
𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺, “𝘏𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘬!”- 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 

Grateful to the superb Roma (Events Management) and sound tech master Miguel, the wonderful audience and Spectrum of the Seas crew, representing 41 countries! And to James as always, IT and green-tea expert, photography and comic relief ❤️
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#royalcaribbeancruise #japantravels #writingworkshop #travelwriting #authorslife
Meet Erwin from the Philippines, a dining manager with lightning skills and great humour, grabbing a few hours of sunshine between shifts in Sasebo (a port city in Japan with US influences post WW2). After months at sea, he can't wait to see his family in Jan. Erwin swears by ginger for seasickness (we've had a a few rough passages). Pressure-point wristbands worked for me. Placebo?
The best part of running seminars on a ship is the people. Crew and passengers from 41 countries. More soon. The ocean internet has also been a wild ride. 
新しい友達 Atarashī tomodachi (new friends) ❤️
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#beautifulspaces #royalcaribbeancruise #travelwriting #japantravels #storytellingphotography #royalcaribbeaninternational #cruisetime #cruisetravel #cruisevacation #japanlove #japanoninsta #culturaljourney #momentsintime #travelwithpurpose #travelmood @royalcaribbean @royalcaribbeanasia @royalcaribbeanhk #traveloften #goexplorewander #adventureanywhere #havingagoodtime #authorslife #storiesoftheeveryday #bucketlisttravel #fictionwriter #australianauthor #australianauthors #aussieauthor #actionadventure #traveldiary #japangram
• Women celebrating women in later life
• People celebrating women
• Women on bikes
• Women navigating grief and violence with tenacity and grace.
• Women with secret suburban lovers.
• First Nations women leading the way.
• Our honorary Meno Man VIP Tony Birch in fine form!

Snapshots of our recent final event for 2025 in Fitzroy.

Enormous thanks to Ian and Rob from the @tinpot_fitzroynorth, famous for its friendly, fun atmosphere...not forgetting the legendary cherry pie — and to the lovely Katie Smith from @ramonabookshop. Thanks also to our fabulous facilitator, the always entertaining @trishboltonwriter and Tony B for the pleasure of his readings.

What a feisty, wonderful crowd❤️
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#MenoTour #melbourneevents #menopausematters #melbournelifestyle #ilovemelbourne #melbourneliving #authorevent #aussieauthor #spilledwords #writingsociety @cityofyarra @uqpbooks @allenandunwin @transitloungepublishing @rmitwp @literary_listings #writercommunity #australianauthor #authorslife #ownyourstory #midlifewomen #menopausematters #midlife #menopauseawareness #menopausehealth #writingcommunityofinstagram #writingcommunityofig #agepositive #womenover50 #womenshealthmatters #midlifehealth #healthyaging #midlifewellness #storiesoftheeveryday #spilledwords #fictionwriter
• Women celebrating women in later life
• People celebrating women
• Women on bikes
• Women navigating grief and violence with tenacity and grace.
• Women with secret suburban lovers.
• First Nations women leading the way.
• Our honorary Meno Man VIP Tony Birch in fine form!

Snapshots of our recent final event for 2025 in Fitzroy.

Enormous thanks to Ian and Rob from the @tinpot_fitzroynorth, famous for its friendly, fun atmosphere...not forgetting the legendary cherry pie — and to the lovely Katie Smith from @ramonabookshop. Thanks also to our fabulous facilitator, the always entertaining @trishboltonwriter. 

What a feisty, wonderful crowd❤️
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.
#MenoTour #melbourneevents #menopausematters #melbournelifestyle #ilovemelbourne #melbourneliving #authorevent #aussieauthor #spilledwords #writingsociety @cityofyarra @uqpbooks @allenandunwin @transitloungepublishing @rmitwp @literary_listings #writercommunity #australianauthor #authorslife #ownyourstory #midlifewomen #menopausematters #midlife #menopauseawareness #menopausehealth #writingcommunityofinstagram #writingcommunityofig #agepositive #womenover50 #womenshealthmatters #midlifehealth #healthyaging #midlifewellness #storiesoftheeveryday #spilledwords #fictionwriter
Rachel Mathews - Author

Dr Rachel Matthews is a Melbourne author, lecturer and teacher. Her debut novel Vinyl Inside received strong press reviews and was highly commended by the Australian Vogel Award judges.

Discover Rachel's Books