Reporting on the SCBWI Sydney Conference 2019

daffy 4.png

From little things

Big things grow

Of the wheelbarrow-load of roles creators within the children’s literary industry assume, perhaps one of the most important and fulfilling ones is to sow a sense of wonder and joy that generates a vigorous love of story. The benefits of this cultivation of creativity are many, not least of which is a love of reading that perpetuates for life.

As  we enter a new exciting season of children’s writing and illustration, it’s also time to whip on our creative gloves and make ready for the next SCBWI Australia East NZ Conference due to kick off in Sydney next February.

It’s my extreme joy to be asked back as ‘chief gardener’ for our SCBWI Roving Reporters team again. In this role, I’ll endeavour to introduce you to our 100% organically grown reporters from across Australia, inserting as many garden-based puns as my green-thumbs can along the way. Why? Because like SCBWI, nurturing new talent, sustaining perennial favourites and ensuring the growth of our fabulous industry is not only vital but a beautiful pastime to boot – garden boot of course!

The key to success of any new planting (and creative project) is preparation. Over the next few months, we’ll be aerating our collective garden beds, gathering our seeds of talent and watering in our intentions with Meet our Gardeners introductory type posts.

2019 RR badge logo.jpg

Our burgeoning team of landscapers currently stands at 12, more than enough to capture your imaginations and inspire. They include:

Ramona Davey

Coral Vass

Yvonne Mes

Giuseppe Poli

Leanne Barrett

Shaye Wardrop

Katrin Dreiling

Karen Collum

Maria Parenti-Baldey

Sarah Wallace

Rachel Noble

Cherri Ryan

So whether you have already booked your flights to Sydney or are not able to make it to the conference this time round, join us as we report on everything from the canapes to the masterclasses for the SCBWI Sydney Conference 2019.

Rove ya later!

Dimity

#SCBWISyd

Image courtesy of Tania McCartney - Illustrator Showcase designer 2019

Introducing the Buzz Words Short Story Prize for 2018

The Buzz Words Short Story Prize is a new annual prize of $1,000 awarded to recognise excellence in short story writing for children. The story must be suitable for readers 8 to 11 years.

The inaugural judge for the competition is Jackie French, author of much-loved books for adults and children, AM, 2014-15 Australian Children's Laureate and 2015 Senior Australian of the Year.

‘Writing  is like watermelon- you don't know how much fun it is till you try So just like showing you a plate of crisp, cold watermelon slices, this competition is to tempt adults writing for children across Australia to see how much fun they can have when they can write whatever they want to. When you write a story you can go anywhere, and be anyone...and once the imagination muscles are working, you will  be surprised are the unexpected places they will take you.’ - Jackie French

The three short-listing judges are Cathie Tasker, who has worked with Australia’s leading trade and children’s book publishers (HarperCollins Publishers, Scholastic Australia and Koala Books) and who teaches the very successful writing course, Short Story Essentials at the Australian Writers Centre, author Bill Condon, winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Youth Literature and three times winner of the CBCA Honour Book of the Year, and author Dianne Bates, recipient of the Lady Cutler Award for distinguished services for children’s literature and founder of Buzz Words Magazine.

See here for conditions and how to enter http://www.buzzwordsmagazine.com/p/prize.html