Books in Homes

I love it when kids get excited about books, so I jumped at the chance to be a model for Books In Homes. Today I visited John Warby PS for a book giving assembly, kids got a chance to pick their own books for their personal collection. I gave a small talk about my own favourite books and authors, and what reading means to me (eg. getting out of trouble and giving teachers some peace and quiet-that's the real reason why I got given extra time to read in class haha).

I really cherished my own books as a kid, so I'm happy to be part of a worthwhile cause. 

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SCBWI Meeting at the Hughenden

​What a brilliant start to the revamped SCBWI meetings! We aim to have at least four meetings a year where we share ideas and news, but now our focus is also to hear from industry experts. In a profession that is constantly changing, it’s vital for us to be listening to those who can help us develop our craft and careers as book creators and our two first guest speakers did just that. 

Jenny Stubbs, has to be one of the busiest T/Ls you’ll meet. She not only instigated the first author visit in Queensland, she runs the biennial Ipswich Festival, coordinates The Readers Cup, is President of Book Links and Project Officer for the Travelling Suitcases, a brilliant scheme where schools can borrow suitcases brim-filled with props, drawings and artifacts crucial to creating the books of 6 Australian authors and illustrators.

Valerie Khoo was a powerhouse! Wanting to write since she was a kid, she never thought it was a real career prospect, so studied accountancy instead. Years later, she realised her heart was still with writing and she set up the Sydney Writers’ Centre, which has helped more than 10,000 students get published, score book deals, change careers and improve their job prospects. She believes writers can make a good living, and runs courses not only on craft but on making sure you are doing the best to earn, including making use of social media. Valerie is also happy to look at CVs for potential tutors.

Phew! This was followed by dinner, more chatting for an inspiring start to our new-look SCBWI meetings.

Thank you Susanne again for opening up the beautiful Hughenden Hotel for us to meet and play.

Written by Deborah Abela

Gladstone 5th Curtis Coast Literary Carnivale

​One of the wonderful offshoots of being a kids’ author is being invited to some of the most beautiful parts of Australia to be part of local literary festivals. Even in the last few years of bookishly hard times, with Borders and Angus and Robertson bookstores closing down, the GFC eating into people’s wallets and local bookshops being passed over for online giants, kids’ literary festivals appear to be remarkably safe and even growing.

The Curtis Coast Literary Carnivale is one of a number of thriving festivals purpose built to spread a love of books amongst kids.

​Sunday 22 july gave the community the opportunity to listen to Frances and Jackie talking about writing kids’ books and David and Anne taking practical workshops on illustration, followed by all of them speaking on a panel. 

The weekdays saw over 4000 kids streaming through the doors of CQ University or being greeted by speakers who travelled to local schools. At night there were literary dinners, the opening of an exhibition by David and Anne at the local gallery and a thank you dinner with the wonderfully energetic committee. Jenny and Shirley Stubbs also appeared to present the Travelling Suitcases, a series of 5 cases with resources about 5 Queensland book creators.

At the end of each session, adults who attended were asked to fill out evaluations form and the committee were delighted to announce there wasn’t one negative comment.

If you have the chance to be part of this festival, you will love it! The kids are wonderful and the committee make this mammoth job look easy, with their faultlessly brilliant organisation and their care of the speakers, which meant we were pampered to the finest of details.

The other delight of this festival was that we got to celebrate Frances Watts winning the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Perfect!

Written by Deborah Abela