Rovers Revealed # 5

Greetings fellow Conference goers and landlubbers! We hope by now the ink on your paper is dry and your submissions, illustrations, and pitches are reaching a point of pirate-gold-glamour and shine! For those not pitching their wares or attending this year’s SCBWI Sydney Conference, here is the next in our series of Meet and Greet posts where you get the chance to learn more about some of the members who’ll be roving the conference rooms for tantalising titbits of information to relay back to you.

This week we feature a woman who can juggle more balls than an Ashton Brothers Circus clown, Susan Whelan and the quietly creative, Leigh Roswen. Welcome aboard, ladies!

 Susan Whelan

Susan Whelan

 Susan Whelan is the author of the picture books Don’t Think About Purple Elephants and The Great Sock Secret and Managing Editor of popular children’s literature website Kids’ Book Review.

Susan has a keen interest in the topics of diversity in fiction for children and teens, and the promotion of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) topics through stories.

Susan has a passion for writing stories that start conversations. She is a supporter of the Lake Macquarie Paint the Lake REaD program, a Books in Homes role model, and an advocate for children’s literacy.

Is this your first SCWBI Conference?

This is my very first SCBWI Conference.

What is the most memorable (SCBWI) Conference experience you’ve had to date, or hope to have?

I’m really looking forward to meeting in real life many of the authors and illustrators that I chat with regularly online.

As a creator in the Kids Literary Industry, what do you want to be best known for?

Susan's debut picture book

Personally, I’d love to be known as someone who is friendly and encouraging. Professionally, I’d like to be someone who creates stories that start conversations.

Name one thing you cannot live without.

A good book!

Leigh Roswen

Leigh Roswen

Leigh Roswen is quite old… but new to the world of writing. She is an ex-medical scientist, qualified librarian and accounts clerk. Leigh is mother to two unruly young adults and a needy dog. She enjoys writing short fiction for both adults and children. She’s had some success in short story competitions and has been published in the South Coast Writers anthology. Her blog leighroswen.com has book reviews and posts on creativity and backyard nature - featuring her own photographs. She is currently writing a middle-grade historical fantasy.

Is this your first SCWBI Conference?

This is the first SCWBI conference for me.

What is the most memorable (SCBWI) Conference experience you’ve had to date, or hope to have?

I hope to get to know other writers and learn from their experience.

As a creator in the Kids Literary Industry, what do you want to be best known for?

I like to be known as published author (one day) that created memorable characters and warm friendships in her writing.

Name one thing you cannot live without.

My mid-morning cuppa tea and bed socks. (that’s two, and I still haven’t mentioned my family or my computer - but I should).

Hang onto your pencils; we have a few more crew-members to meet yet, so stick around for the next exciting instalment.

Until then, Rove you later!

Dimity

#SCBWISyd

Rovers Revealed # 4

I do love a good reveal. I confess, I’m one of those types who appreciate a bit of explanation at the end of a well-read tale so I can be sure of who’s who and what’s what and why it all ended up that way. Colour me duller than dishwater but for me, that beats being left in the dark with my (out of bounds) imagination.  Here at SCBWI, we never want you to feel in the dark either, so here is another of our Meet and Greet series reveals. Sit back and become better acquainted with two more of our sparkly Roving Reporters, Canetoad, Melanie Hill and Cockroach, Ramona Davey. *

Melanie Hill

Melanie Hill

Melanie has loved fairy tales since her birth in 1971. She has always written poetry for pleasure. The need to write fiction was dragged from her unconscious during hostage training prior to deploying to Iraq. Now, she is the matriarch of a wild gang of outlaw kids and is married to a former pirate. Melanie is terrified of crocodiles, mice and swamp monsters, but she enjoys cloud busting, travelling by train, and stories with hopeful (but not happy) endings.

You can follow Melanie on twitter @melanieahill, facebook under Melanie Hill Author, or her bloghttp://melaniehill.weebly.com/

Is this your first SCWBI Conference?

This is my first SCBWI Conference

What is the most memorable (SCBWI) Conference experience you’ve had to date, or hope to have?

I hope to come away with 1-2 new writing friends and ideas on how to improve my work.

As a creator in the Kids Literary Industry, what do you want to be best known for?

I would like to be best known for children's poetry, and action packed stories.

Name one thing you cannot live without.

I cannot live without my family. They inspire me and stop me from spending too much time daydreaming.

Ramona Davey

Ramona Davey

Ramona Davey was born in Jersey. She is an experienced primary teacher with a specialty in Art & Design.

Ramona writes picture books, junior fiction and middle grade novels. She has a passion for rhyme, quirky stories and historical fiction.

She also participates in Tania McCartney’s 52 week Illustration Challenge.

In 2012 Ramona wrote, illustrated and self-published a picture book called “The Jersey Twelve Days Of Christmas.” She also created it as an eBook for iPad with sound effects for iTunes.

Writers Groups/Societies:

NSW Writers Centre

SCBWI - NZ & Australia

Ramona is new member co-ordinator for SCBWI Aus/NZ – Sydney region)

You can contact Ramona on the following social media:

Blog: http://ramonadavey.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RamonaofJersey

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jerseyramona/

Is this your first SCWBI Conference? If not how many have you attended, where?

This year will be my third SCBWI Conference and I am really looking forward to it.

What is the most memorable (SCBWI) Conference experience you’ve had to date, or hope to have?

This year's may be the most memorable, as I no longer feel like a nervous newbie. As New Member Co-ordinator for SCBWI Sydney region I can meet and greet new SCBWI members and do my best at making them feel welcome and not alone. 

As a creator in the Kids Literary Industry, what do you want to be best known for?

Writing hard to put down children's books - whether it be through my humorous writing or for extremely interesting and mind blowing historical stories.

Name one thing you cannot live without.

Hand cream. :-)

 *Any assumption that either of these ladies resemble the creatures of their home-states is purely speculative and that of the author’s. No offence to either state, reporter or creature is intended, unless of course you are a Queenslander, like I am…

Better rove you later!

Dimity

#SCBWISyd

QLD SCBWI fights for Creators Rights

Report on the Productivity Commission’s Hearing into the Publishing Industry

by Sheryl Gwyther, Brisbane

Children’s book creators were amongst those who attended the Productivity Commission’s Hearing in Brisbane on June 20, 2016. Morris Gleitzman, Sheryl Gwyther, Michael Gerard Bauer, Angela Sunde, Candice Lemon-Scott, Christine Bongers, Melanie Hill, Caroline Magerl, Dimity Powell, Pamela Rushby, and Sam Sochacka represented the children’s and YA book creators.  Morris, Sheryl, Michael, Angela, Candice, Christine, Melanie and Isobelle Carmody (written) all made presentations to the Commission, in that order. 

The Commissioners insisted they were not instructed to examine the reduction copyright terms to 15 – 25 years. But, they are examining the removal of territorial copyright, and the so-called ‘FAIR USE’ exception to copyright that is in use in the U.S. This policy has widely disadvantaged authors, artists, musicians and other creatives overseas. It destroys the principle what we own what we create. We argued against it.

But the most significant issue for our book industry as a whole is the Productivity Commission’s instructions from the Turnbull government to investigate the TRANSITION towards lifting the Restrictions against Parallel Importation of books.

Many of us fought this same issue in 2009 because we believed it would dump foreign-published Australian-authored books into Australia, flooding the market with cheaper, foreign editions – books that have been altered in spelling, expression, idiom, landscape, ideas and thoughts. In 2009, we, the authors, publishers, printers and the book-loving community who fought against it, won that battle. We did not win the war!

This time,  without it being debated in Parliament first; without inviting the stakeholders to take part in any discussion on whether the Restrictions should be lifted or not, the Government is enforcing the lifting of Restrictions against Parallel Importation.

The battle is not lost until we give up. If you believe in our industry and the future of Australian-published books, if you believe in the very best Australian books for Australian children, there is no room for complacency. We do not have the luxury of time. You know what to do.