Ian is available for Creative Writing Workshops for adults and students. He has conducted workshops at Port Vila International School, Toowoomba Grammar, Fairholme College and for the Darling Downs Gifted & Talented Association (2002 - 2008).

He was also guest judge (Writing and Best Film categories) at the Toowoomba Shootout Short Film Festival in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

For five years Ian was a guest lecturer in radio comedy at the Australian Film Television and Radio School in Sydney. He took the post initially because he had failed to gain entry to a course some 15 years before because of lack of experience. He liked the irony, but also found that he liked the work.

Always appearing ‘unprepared' Ian works with students to ‘unblank' the page and draw on their own creativity. He sees himself as a facilitator and communicator rather than a teacher and believes that writing is a craft that can be honed but not taught.

In Port Vila, he took a creative writing extension group of students (aged 10 - 12) at Port Vila International School once a week and the book, The Scribe Tribe, charts their (and his) 12-week journey, has samples of their writing and contains lesson plans and writing tips.

It's also the story of one student who, until now, had been pigeonholed as ‘sporty' and ‘non academic' because of her inability to spell. For example, when asked to write some sounds that can be heard in Port Vila, she wrote:

Sacaters in my ears (cicadas)
The levas in the trees (leaves)
The wind wisiling (whistling)
Saind flying in the air (sand)
Sea splaching agenst serfbords (splashing, against, surfboards)
The endgan starting on a bot (engine, boat)
Dogs holing from the filages (howling, villages)

Her thoughts and observations selected her for the group and she was thrilled that spelling wasn't part of the course requirements - just creativity and writing. Here is a short story of hers, just three months into the course (remember, she is 11 years old)…

Up on the rooftop looking over Paris I can see the green and yellow circus tent. Two ladies come swaying out of the door with a little green bottle that says Vodka in big writing. I climb down and slide through the window. All I can see out in the dark, black sky is the sign, Hôtel de l'Alsace. I am on the Seventh Floor. I lie on my bed, the rattling fan, the wooden boards creaking… I pull the thin sheet up to my nose, the springs stick into my spine.

Music is coming from the tent.
A vase sits on a table in the far corner with a dead rose. A petal sways down to the floorboards.
The dull grey paint circles me.
The wine bottle on the windowsill has all sorts of colours reflecting from the circles.
A strong breeze comes through the window.
I drift away into the night.

Also unplanned was At The Little Sin, a creative writing text for adults. This began when five like-minded people met up in various roles in the Port Vila Christmas Pantomime, Cinderella, and disclosed that they were ‘closet' writers (three had written books and two wrote stories as a hobby). They decided to meet weekly to discuss ideas, problems, structure, characters etc and the meetings, for coffee and crepes at Au Péché Mignon (At the Little Sin), developed into a full writing workshop - each week a different ‘project' with each person writing and submitting via email.

This book (approx 80,000 words) tells the journey of the workshop with each chapter focusing on a specific writing area. It's full of tips, humour and some excellent writing.