About Matthew
Matthew Hooper is a Melbourne-based writer, visual artist, and creative writing teacher with a passion for storytelling. Over the years, Matthew has worked as a novel assessor and mentor, helping writers develop their manuscripts through structural editing and an extended mentoring process.
Matthew’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Fine Art from RMIT, followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Art History and Cinema Studies at Melbourne University. He later completed a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at RMIT and pursued further study with an Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT.
When he’s not writing, Matthew lives in Carlton, Melbourne, where he continues to mentor writers and explore his creative pursuits in both writing and visual art.
EXTRACT FROM MATTHEW HOOPER’S DEBUT NOVEL A COLD SEASON:
When he was seventeen my brother Sam got lost up the mountain. That year winter came late and all at once, like it had been bunching up behind them hills before it arrived. That’s what trapped Sam. The storm surrounded him. Owens went up to look for Sam and he got lost, too. It was a long time for them to be gone. Almost two weeks. And the snow was deep. We could see it from down where we was in the valley.
Mama, she said they was dead. But I thought Mama was wrong. I imagined I could feel Owens up there wading around in the deep snow, foggy balls of breath coming from his mouth. Staying in one of them little huts. I liked to think he was alive. I thought maybe Sam wasn’t, but I felt Owens was.
A COLD SEASON
Book Launch at READINGS Cartlon
October 2024
DEBUT NOVEL
A Cold Season
Set between the wars, A Cold Season is rich in voice, character and landscape.
It follows the story of fourteen-year-old Beth, who is also the narrator. Beth’s brother Sam and her father Owens have gone missing in a freak winter storm. In a small house in the foothills of Mount Kosciuszko, Beth is stuck with her mother and her other brother, Little Sasha. They are waiting and longing for Sam and Owens to return. In what threatens to become an emotional and physical pressure cooker tensions flare, and to make matters worse Mama is seeing the local bad man, Wallace.
Professional Services
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Copywriting
Crafting compelling content that captures your brand’s voice and engages your audience.
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Creative Writing
Developing original stories, scripts, and narrative-driven content that resonate with readers.
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Novel Assessing
Providing in-depth structural feedback on manuscripts, while offering guidance to writers as they navigate their creative paths.
Contact Form
Carlton
Melbourne, VIC 3053