Praying for love, peace, and light in the darkness especially during this year’s Christmas season, with such sadness in my city.

I’m leaving my usual round up of Kidlitland adventures for a later time, but wanted to share some recommendations to bring warmth and comfort, and maybe even joy and delight:

What I’m gifting:

The Adventures of Pongo and Stink by my writers’ group buddy, Lisa Nicol. It’s a junior fiction illustrated by Karen Blair and is full of Lisa’s characteristic quirk and charm and humour.

A Song for the King by Katrina Nanestad and Freya Blackwood. This one has my heart on so many levels. Pure Christmas love and joy.

The 12 Birds of Christmas. Simply stunning illustrations of Aussie birds by Eloise Short and text with a great rhythmic and rhyming pattern by Jodie McLoud.

And Casper’s pick: Dogs With Jobs by Max Hamilton.

Children’s and adult author, Kiah Thomas’ light hearted bookish romcom, Love on a Bookshelf, set on an author book tour, for my adult friends.

Erstwilder broaches and earrings. I discovered them when they collaborated with the CBCA for Book Week this year. They have an amazing collection for every occasion you could think of, and their book earrings are on high rotation in my earlobes. https://www.erstwilder.com/
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Sydney Sock Project – I must be getting really old because these day I do get excited about a new pair of socks! As well as gifting these beauties, I’ve bought myself a whole heap of ankle socks. They fit really well on my size 7 feet, and they are fun and comfy. Plus, they give back to charity. So much to love! I gave pair of piggy socks to my writer friend, Lisa Nicol, to celebrate the release of Pongo and Stink, as mentioned above. https://sydneysockproject.com/

For holiday listening:

Chenee Marrapodi’s Writers off the Page podcast is doing a fabulous series about legends in publishing. I’ve listened to the first three and have been amazed at each one.

Words and Nerds podcast is doing a series with writers on ‘Everything I know About Publishing’ which is also insightful.
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Your Kids Next Read is always fabulous, but their Friday First chapters is perfect to find your kid’s next read! And the Summer Series is interviews with creatives.

Newsletter Love:

Katrina Germein’s substack is always insightful. It was a joy to meet Adelaide picture book author Katrina in person when she was in Sydney recently.

Kristian Aus has a comic style newsletter that I love. It makes me smile.

Things to do in the holidays:

Pamela Allen Exhibition at the State Library. For young and young at heart. A wonderfully curated exhibition of an iconic author and her work.

Anything that brings a sense of wonder and delight. Gaze at a baby (I have my first grandson to gaze at and hug this Christmas), pat a dog (Casper is always up for a pat), walk in nature, be transported by art and music, hug your family and friends, gaze at a sunrise/sunset, look up at the night stars.

And of course, read. Something that brings you joy. A gentle and warm book I have enjoyed this year is We’ll Prescribe You a Cat, by Ishida Syou, translated from Japanese.

I’ll be reading, and hopefully chuckling through, the entries in the Just Write For Kids short story anthology, before hitting my tall-to-toppling TBR pile and making space on the bookshelf for all the books I know are under the tree for me this year 😉

Thanks for following me on my adventures, I appreciate your company, even when my posts are few and far between 😊 You can always catch up on book launches and recommendations by checking out my Instagram and Facebook pages.
Oh, and if you know of any little ones starting school/preschool next year, I’ve heard a pretty picture book called Anchored has been helping quite a few children with separation anxiety 😉
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Signing off until the New Year. Wishing you light and love, joy and wonder.
 
Debra xx

Is someone fooling around with time? It's already a quarter of the way through the year, and here I am only now tapping out this message to you from my keyboard! I hope the beginning of the year has treated you well. 

The BIG news from the start of the year is that Anchored was read on Play School and was given the whole Play School work up - with Little Ted captaining a container ship and Jemima piloting a tug boat! I've popped some photos below, and you should still be able to find it on ABC iView - It's under Mighty Machines, and it's half way through the Mighty Zooming Machines episode. 

Oh, and it seems so long ago (and paradoxically just like yesterday - isn't time strange?) but at the end of last year it was a sparkly Christmas gift to see Lights Out Little Dragon! appear on lots of 'Best of 2024' lists - even a precious Kids' Choice Award!! Huge thanks to everyone who read, shared and recommended! It brings me so much joy to think that my Little Dragon is spreading his own joyful magic in homes of young readers. 

Most of my energy so far this year has been taken up with Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) stuff. As the regional director of my local NSW area, I've been plotting and planning events, along with my wonderful team of committee members. If you're interested in keeping up with the latest Northern Sydney Events, you can sign up to the newsletter here (It's free!). We wanted to hear from experts around the country for our next event, so it will be over zoom at 6.30pm May 6th so you can join us from anywhere! We will be looking at a subject close to my heart:  THE POWER OF PICTURE BOOKS: A deep dive under the covers, with picture book activist, Lara Cain Gray, author of The Grown-ups Guide to Picture Books (Queensland); Anna Solding, director and publisher at MidnightSun publishing (South Australia); Linda Harrison, Early Childhood Education Consultant (Central Coast), and Ruth-Mary Smith, Illustrator (Sydney). The amazing Kristin Darell, author, will be our moderator. I'm sure the evening will interest educators and creators alike! 

On the subject of CBCA, I've attended some wonderful CBCA NSW events: I loved celebrating with friends at the Night of the Notables and catching up with the Kidlit crew at the Creatives' Summit at the State Library. Congratulations to all the creators and publishers with books on the Notables and the shortlist! At the summit, CBCA NSW President Paul Macdonald announced the inaugural Margaret Hamilton Creatives' Residency, open to all CBCA NSW members. As he said on the night, there has never been a better time to be a CBCA NSW member! 

I am excited to have a new school for the Author Pen-Pal programme this year - Fitzgerald State School way up in Mackay, Queensland. I've sent off my first snail  mail letter, and can't wait for a response!

I had the joy of speaking to the 4th year Sydney Uni Early Childhood class about picture books recently, thanks to the amazing Amanda Niland - not only an exceptional academic in this area, but also a picture book author herself!

I had more joy attending the launch of Susanne Gervay's new junior fiction, Parrot Palace, at the wonderful Gleebooks, Glebe. For those of you who know and love Susanne, the launch was a quintessentially her, complete with madcap elephant and parrot puppets - it was all totally wild :-) It's a great warm-hearted story about a group of multicultural kids and their families living in an apartment building. Definitely recommended.

I wonder if you had a chance to catch the movie of Alison Lester's Magic Beach? I went to a preview in Sydney with Bernie Barker and Marian McGuiness, and we got to chat with the amazing Alison herself! The film is made up from a number of creative vignettes, and I must admit that Bigsy stole my heart!

I was excited to see the Sydney Writer's Festival line-up, and find many of my friends appearing. I quickly snaffled tickets to the Your Kids' Next Read session, as well as a few adult things in the programme. The family day on the Sunday is always worth popping along to - you never know who you'll discover! 
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I've come a cross this podcast lately, that may be of interest to the educators amongst my adventurers:
With This Book You Can Podcast - it's a 'couple of TL's (Kerry Gittins and Lynette Barker) chatting about the books they love and offering some tips and insights on possible uses within the classroom.'  At just 15 or so minutes each episode, it's a quick yet rewarding listen.

I'm excited to be booked up for a Teacher Librarian Conference in June, and given the way time is warping, book week will be hear before we know it! If you're an educator and haven't yet booked an author for Book Week, I've got a fabulous tried and trusted presentation prepared for both preschools and K-2! Not one to toot my own horn (although there is a bit of tugboat tooting in my presentations), here's what one TL said: From the outset, Debra held the attention of our youngest learners with her compelling story telling and incredible ability to inspire participation from the crowd...Our teaching staff commented about the great value Debra added to our Book Week, making books come to life. I would highly recommend Debra to your school or library as an excellent presenter, author and facilitator." Sound compelling? Contact me direct, or via Creative Kids Tales Speaker's Agency. 

That's about all I have for now. Hoping to see you somewhere soon in KidLitLand!

Until nest time,

Debra 

PS: Answer to the weird sleep fact - Elephants sleep the least of all mammals, averaging two hours during a 24 hour period and only entering deep REM sleep every few days. It seems they need to spend all their time eating rather than sleeping!

I can't believe that the last time I wrote was on the eve of the launch for Lights Out, Little Dragon! and I think I can safely now say that Little Dragon has well and truly flown!! My radio silence has not been because there’s not been much to celebrate – on the contrary, there’s been so much!!

A big thank you to everyone who has helped champion Little Dragon into the world, whether by coming to my events, posting online, buying the book or just telling others about it, I really appreciate all the help to get this little book to fly! Special mention to the wonderful bookshops who hosted launches, storytimes and signings, especially  Dymocks Neutral Bay, Gleebooks, Harry Hartog Penrith and Berkelouew Hornsby (see photo-dump below!) PS the launch cupcakes were a hit - I can highly recommend Black Velvet Cakes in Sydney – they were yummy!

I’m looking forward to visiting Harry Hartog Warringah Mall this Saturday (23rd Nov) for a book signing.

The reviews for Little Dragon have been overwhelmingly positive! I’ve collected many of them here. Some standouts have been being Readings Bookshop picture book of the month, and the best-selling picture book alongside Bluey (!) at Avenue Bookstore, both in Melbourne, and made Harry Hartog’s Kids’ Winter Reading Guide. I’ve included a few snippets at the end of this post.

As well as the bookshops, I’ve road-tested Lights Out, Little Dragon! on Russ the Story Bus at Darling Harbour, in schools, preschools and the Art Gallery of NSW Library during Book Week, and at the SCBWI professional development day at the State Library. I’ve also been a guest on Picture Book Book Club for a dragon themed chat on x-Twitter.

It’s not just my Little Dragon who has been in the limelight, my little Tug has also been receiving some love. The headline news is that Anchored is going to be read on Playschool next year! I am beyond excited about this and can’t wait to watch!! Anchored was also shortlisted for the peer-voted SCBWI Crystal Kite Award (thank you to those who voted) and PETAA (Primary English Teaching Association Australia) has worked up some fabulous teaching resources.

With Christmas charging up at a rate of knots, it was lovely to see both Anchored and my Little Dragon on the YKNR fave Picture books for 2024!  Thanks YKNR community! If you’re looking for book recommendations for presents, then check out their list of tried and tested books for all the ages.
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It has been making me so heart-happy to see the way my author pen pals – year 1 Niagara Park Primary School – have embraced both my recent books. I have received parcels in the mail with work from all the students – pictures of their favourite boats, book reviews for Little Dragon, and ideas for how to get a dragon to sleep. These latter ideas were deserving of their own blog post, How To Get Your Dragon to Sleep, so please check it out here.

​I’ve attended (and helped organise along with the fabulous committee) several CBCA NSW Northern Sydney regional events. The one for adults was a fascinating behind the scenes look at the children’s publishing industry at the Penguin Random House offices. Then we had two events for children, the first being Lunch With the Stars (20+ authors/illustrators and a room full of kids) which is always a fabulous event (see photo of the stars at the end of this post). This year Belinda Murrell and Mick Elliot were our guest speakers, and Mick opened up a whole new world of drawing for me!

The other was an author event at the Avalon Community Library, with Pamela Freeman, Kristin Darell, Belinda Murrell and Mo Davey, in which I got to dress up in an inflatable dinosaur costume to bring alive Mo Davey’s I Am Tree-Rex – it was such fun.

​CBCA NSW had a delicious high tea to celebrate the Lady Cutler award, this year presented to legendary and inspiring Bronwyn Bancroft, who is a trailblazer in so many areas. With her 48th book out this year, Bronwyn is the first First Nations person to be honoured with this award, and she mused about the difficult journey of being the first of anything.

​From high tea to morning tea – The School Magazine hosted a wonderful morning tea for contributors, and I count myself fortunate to be among them, especially when they receive 2,564 texts and publish only 391! Plus, the reach of the magazines far outstrips the reach of most books – each monthly magazine issue reaches 150,000 students!! That’s pretty incredible! I'm so sexcited to have another nonfiction article published by them next year!

I was thrilled to be asked to speak at the Omega Writers’ Conference, this year held on the northern beaches. I was daunted at first as I still feel like a child in the writing space (as well as so much of life - probably why I write for children!) so speaking to grown-ups about writing was mildly terrifying… until I realised even a child can talk about their day and who they’ve played with and what they learnt at school - so then I had waaaaaay to much to say – ha!

In and around all of that, I have had much joy reading and celebrating new books by friends. There have been a lot!! So much joy!! Rather than list them here, please check out my socials (especially Instagram) to see some fabulous book launches and recommendations: instagram.com/debra_tidball. One book that I will single out, however, is something for all picture book enthusiasts - Lara Cain Gray's A Grown-Ups Guide to Picture Books illustrated by Lorena Carrington and Timothy Ide. It's a clever A to Z of what makes picture books great. This is a fabulous resource for teachers, librarians, parents and writers to help them and the children they read/write for get the most out of any picture book. Lara has had a few Sydney events and annoyingly, I've been unable to get to any of them! But I do have the book!

What I’m looking forward to:

With the end of the year fast approaching, I'm looking forward to a few Christmas catch ups with CBCA and SCBWI friends, as well as a couple of events:

Saturday 23rd (this weekend!) 11-2, Book signing at Harry Hartog, Warringah Mall

Saturday 30th 4pm, Write out west: Western Sydney Libraries and Literature Festival, Penrith Library Book here.

Maybe I'll see you there or somewhere else around KidLitLand.

Wishing you well until next time,

Debra 


Reviews of Lights Out, Little Dragon!:
It’s a beautiful and adorable book to which many a carer and child will be able to relate, as I am sure similar scenes have been experienced in their homes when it is time for certain tiny folk to retire for the evening. For ages 2+. Readings Bookshop

A refreshing bedtime tale that invites the reader and listener to enjoy a story, engage with the storyteller, and the illustrations, and with many positive responses, feel they have somehow contributed to solving this nightly tale. StoryLinks

Lights Little Dragon … is destined to be on read and repeat! Good Reading Magazine

​…was the working title of my latest picture book before publisher extraordinaire Lisa Berryman came up with the much more pithy, child friendly and appealing Lights Out, Little Dragon! But it’s still a good question, isn’t it?

I love sleep! Sleeping in is one of my favourite things. Even though I love snuggling under the covers at bedtime, I still find it hard to go to bed in the first place – a bit like Little Dragon in my book! I don’t know about you, but when my children were little, getting them to go to sleep sometimes felt like wrangling dragons - which proved great inspiration!

My hope is that parents and children find Lights Out, Little Dragon! a cheeky and light-hearted bedtime read, with sneaky opportunities for readers to practice calming bedtime techniques. With the book's release, I’ve been interested to find out what other's find helpful to get little ones (and anyone) to sleep. The fabulous teacher librarian at Niagara Park Public School asked my author pen-pal* year one students what they might do to help get Little Dragon to sleep. They came up with some really clever insights that might help with the human ‘little dragons’ in your life. They recognised the signs of being over-tired, that I too, remember when my ‘little dragon’ was wound up before bedtime and I was desperate for her to nod off! Below are their suggestions - some that you might find helpful, and some imaginative solutions that might be best left to fantasy dragon land!

From Year One:

This edition of KidLitland is bursting with kidlit joy – and much delayed due to some overseas travel and running around after another bundle of joy – a new puppy! More on him later…

This Saturday (22nd June) I am celebrating the release of my gorgeous new picture book, Lights Out, Little Dragon! at Dymocks Neutral Bay at 1.30pm. I’d love you come along and say ‘Hi!’ It’s already getting fabulous reviews, and is Readings Bookshop children’s book of the month!! Read about it here. I’ve also been a guest on Joy Lawn’s Paperbark Words blog and a Quick Six interview on Just Write for Kids in which I’m offering a giveaway of a signed book and dragon plush (in picture) – check out Instagram to enter. If you can’t make it on Saturday, never fear… I’m also organising bookshop signings at Penrith Harry Hartog on the 29th June (hopefully), Hornsby Berkelouw on the 6th July and Gleebooks on the 13th July. 

​As well as my exciting new book news, Anchored is still bringing much joy too! It was reprinted with its shiny new CBCA Notable sticker, it’s a finalist in the SCWBI Crystal Kite Awards, and was published in German with a super-long title that means ‘I Will Always Come Back to You.’! So my little Schleppboot and Containerschiff are chugging along nicely! 

I’ve been out to launches of wonderful books over the past months. Nat Amoore’s new series Showerland was a hoot, as you’d expect, as was the launch of Kate and Jol Temple’s very clever and fun, Frog Squad complete with giant undies! I missed out on getting to the launch of Nisaluk Chantanakom’s debut picture book with author Peter O’Connor A Teaspoon of Light. It’s a beautiful, luminous book in both words and pictures about loss and hope, connection and love, full of the magic of friends and memories. And it has a little white dog in it - a bit like my new puppy (sneak peek below!).

What I've been reading (or hope to soon):

Here are some other wonderful new releases that I couldn’t help but buy. Two Turtles by Kiah Thomas and Jake A Minton is one of the funniest books I’ve read in a while – it made me laugh out loud; Dinosaur in my Pocket is a clever book about taking something that isn’t yours, and is a theme I’ve tried and failed at writing – so kudos to Ashleigh Barton and Blithe Fielden! Little Angler by Zoe Gaetjens and Heidi McKinnon is a bold and bright and wonderful lift-the-flap board book with intrigue and warmth, and Everyone Wants an Octopus Book by Liz Ledden and is a very clever, fun and informative book that subtlety references representation in books. Pet Sitters Club is a series that I love, co-written under the pseudonym Ella Shine, and there’s a new instalment featuring one of my favourite animals – a goat! But as with all the animals in this series, it’s not just an ordinary goat – this one has rhythm in his hooves. 

Other books on my radar that I’ve yet to source are:

Allen the Alien by my former writing buddy and good friend, Stephanie Ward, and wonderfully, quirkily illustrated by Alek Morton. I saw this manuscript as it developed and it is super fun! Can’t wait to grab my copy! How to Move a Zoo by Kate Simpson and evocatively illustrated by Owen Swan. It’s the amazing true story of moving the elephant from the old zoo in Moore Park across the harbour to the zoo’s new home at what is now Taronga. As a regular to the zoo, I was aware of the story and always thought it would make a good picture book – and Kate beat me to it!! It looks amazing! And you can rely on Amelia McInerny for a fun romp, and her latest, Jeff the Giraffe: the Great Escape, with illustrator Alexandra Colombo, looks like no exception.

The Dinosaur Did It By RM McGurk and Aleksandra Szmidt: I love the messy look of the pictures and the fun premise of this book – a girl who blames a dinosaur for her mess, and then the dinosaur actually turns up looking for answers! Fun! Emma Quay’s new picture book, Happy All Over – I’ve been a fan of Emma’s since my kids loved Rudie Nudie. Deb Abela’s new mid-grade verse novel The Kindness Project – it’s getting rave reviews and I can’t wait to read it, as is Grace the Amazing by Aleesah Darlison.

And a graphic novel series, Ducky the Spy by Sean E Avery, featuring another animal close to my heart – a donkey! Talking about Sean, check out his amazing resources: Story Blocks for kids creating stories and, in conjunction with his occupational Therapist wife, Sensory Monsters, a sensory processing support pack. Follow him on Instagram if you don't already!

Other Outings:

I have been recently recruited as the regional director for the Northern Sydney region of CBCA NSW, which is a tall ask for someone who likes to embrace her inner loser (that is to say, recognise her leadership limitations - not everyone has to be a leader, you know!) Anyway, I’m giving it a shot! I must admit, our first event for the year was fabulous - a Notable Nonfiction evening with Pip Harry moderating a panel with Pamella Freeman and Isolde Martyn and with guest video presentation by Louise Park – all amazing CBCA notable and shortlisted authors! 

I managed to have a wonderful short break in the UK and France in April, and stumbled across an amazing exhibition Write, Cut, Rewrite, at the Bodleian Libraries, with original manuscripts from renowned authors and how they had been edited and rewritten. My favourite was a Tolkien manuscript that he had drawn a scene on to better describe the landscape. Of course, I had to buy the book! I hope to write an article about it soon.
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With book week speeding up at a rate of knots, I’m pleased to say I’m almost fully booked, but if you would like to try your luck for the spaces I have left, please contact Creative Kids Tales Speaker’s Agency.
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And now for the puppy I mentioned at the start (although you already had a peek in the photos above)He's a real snuggle bundle…

Casper is a 4 month old Italian Greyhound and a pure delight! He has brought fun and laughter with his hijinks and boundless puppy energy. He has also brought early mornings and constant vigilance to ensure he doesn’t have any ‘accidents’ or accidentally injure himself by fearlessly launching off things or munching on things he shouldn’t.
 
Things I’m looking forward to:
  
Casper not being so puppy-nippy!

All the bookshop visits.

4th July Being a guest on Picture Book Book Club on Twitter – it’s the most fun you’ll have online (I refuse to call it the other name) More here. 

7th July Launch of Lara Porter’s picture Book, Running With Wings, written by Sam Squiers.

3rd August Launch of Ramona Davey’s picture book, Tree Rex.

August book week author visits – those details again if you want to book me: Creative Kids Tales Speaker’s Agency 
 
That’s about the year up to date now. I’d love for you to join me on Saturday, if you’re around.

Until next time,

Take Care,

Debra

It's the beginning of March! Is it too late to say Happy New year? I've been slow to start my kidlit adventure-writing, so now there is much to celebrate!

On Tuesday the CBCA longlist for the Book of the Year was announced. The books on this list get to be called ‘Notable Book,’ which I think is great! And guess what? Anchored was on that list! And not just once, but twice!! In the Early Reader and Picture Book categories. Did you spot the shiny sticker on this photo (left)? Doesn't it look smart?! :-) I was at the announcement event hosted by CBCA NSW Branch at Writing NSW, where Aura Parker entertained the crowd with her fabulous artwork and sense of humour. It was such fun and there was much merry-making!!
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It was wonderful to see many of my friends on the list too. Some with even two or three books on the list! Special mention must go to Jodie McLeod and Eloise Short. It’s not very often a self-published, crowd funded book gets on the list, like The Black Cockatoo with One Feather Blue has this year! Fabulous recognition for this beautiful book. It's hard for self published authors to have their books looked at and stocked in bookshops and libraries, do I hope this recognition helps Black Cockatoo fly.

Talking of joy, there were smiles all round at the launch of Megan Daley and Max Hamilton’s picture book, The Beehive at Gleebooks recently. The kidlit community was out in force and the books were flying off the shelves. It was the first time I’ve actually met Megan in person, having followed her on social media and listening to her and Al Tait on the Your Kids Next Read Podcast. If you are a children’s book lover and you haven’t tuned into the podcast before, you’re in for a treat! I especially enjoyed the Christmas holiday mini episodes where Al spoke with kidlit industry professional each week. The book designer was especially illuminating as we don’t often hear from their perspective.

A launch I didn't get to was Belinda Murrell's new junior fiction series, The Daredevil Princess, who is ‘Bold and brave, clever and curious, daring and determined.' This sounds like such a fun, adventurous series that I would have loved as a child - complete with two golden dachshund friends! 
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Another new book to celebrate has been the Just Write For Kids community publication of Our Australian HeART. Brainchild of Romi Sharp, this is a picture book bursting with colour! A different illustrator each spread gives an artistic representation of a part of Australia that they love. It’s a glorious way to help children open their eyes to the country we live in, as well as different artistic styles and representations. So clever! And best of all, the sales raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation! The cover illustration sits perfectly alongside The Beehive!!

​In January, I took a little holiday to Hobart, and was delighted to find tug boats tied up right outside my hotel!! They were so close, I could pat them! It was such fun, watching them and the people who cared for them each day. I may not have seen much else of Hobart!! I even saw one do a pirouette! It was so lovely also, being emersed in the world of Kate Gordon’s Whale Song, which I read a while ago. I got excited when I spied some places in the book, and could imagine the characters there.
Talking about Kate, I see she has a new book coming out in the award-winning Aster series. These are gorgeous books, full of heart and I do recommend you look out for Esme in the Limelight, with Yellow Brick Books.

Also in the holidays, I had the joy of spending time with children and parents at Penrith Library and Eden Gardens nursery, for special holiday storytimes. The Eden gardens event was with Ashling Kwok, who’s latest picture book with Anchored’s Illustrator, Arielle Li, Butterfly Girl, was a perfect fit for a garden nursery. 

We had such fun together, singing and dancing and reading our books. So much fun that I temporarily forgot something very sad that happened…

Do you have a tissue or hanky handy?

In January we said a final farewell to StoryHound Archie: irrepressible, irreplaceable bundle of pure joy, and loved by many in the kidlit community for his zany book reviews on Instagram. If you want the full tear-jerking tribute to my best buddy, you can find it on my Instagram page.

But I can’t finish this news wallowing in sadness, so I can tell you that we will hopefully be welcoming a new furry friend into our family soon! Not to replace Archie (note- ‘irreplaceable,’ above!) but because love is not finite, it expands and embraces others in its path, and that path is leading us to a little rescue dog, who I hope to introduce to you soon.

So the things I am looking forward to until next time are:

Welcoming said furry friend.

The announcement of the CBCA shortlist (fingers crossed!!)

Launch of Nat Amoore’s new Junior Fiction series, Showerland, 9th March in the newly renovated Gleebooks.

The launch of Arna Radovich’s book of short stories (not for children this time) in the Blue Moutains.

So until then, I'll leave you with that tug doing a pirouette! 

All the very best,

​Debra 

As I am starting this news, the sun is shining, cruise ship’s horns are booming and tugs are chug, chug, chugging across Sydney harbour, heralding the start of summer and Christmas coming! Glasses are clinking at parties and gifts are being exchanged. I’ve had a few sparkly-melt-your-heart Christmas gifts this week…

Firstly, a gorgeous ceramic Tug arrived in the post all the way from WA from legendary author, Sean E Avery. It’s the perfect Christmas ornament! His mum is a ceramicist and she makes adorable book characters and Sean sends them off to the creators. How generous is that?? Check out Naidina_avery_art on Instagram. You also must be following Seaneavery, the uber-talented and uber-generous author of hilarious and acclaimed Frank’s Red Hat, amongst many other fabulous books. His author, illustrator, and plain old life advice, is gold!

Another super-generous author, Michelle Worthington has posted some great snippets of tips on Instagram (and maybe tick tock too?) on what makes a great bookshop book signing. Any author who’s sat, dejected, behind a table at a bookshop will want to hear what she has to say. I also need to get me a t-shirt as worn by Kristy Nita Brown on Instagram – that might help too! Check Kristy and  her t-shirt out at Kristynitabrownbooks.

But I digress! Back to the second (and third) Christmas present.  Anchored was mentioned on Your Kid’s Next Read Podcast as one of Allison Tait’s favourite books of the year. Not only that, but it came with a heartwarming anecdote about how my little Tug book helped a family dealing with separation anxiety issues. A two-for-one gift! As an author, my job is done! Check out the review on episode 133 here. PLUS Anchored made it onto The Children’s Bookshop top selling books for 2023! So thrilled to know Anchored is getting into the hands of readers!!

​Following on from these precious gifts, here’s a tip for inexpensive yet meaningful gifts for any author/book creator: if you love a book, shout about it to your friends, post on social media (it doesn’t need to be a fancy review, it can be as simple as ‘I/we/my child loved this book – a bit like food posts) and tag the creators, or leave a longer review on sites like Goodreads and amazon. Requesting the book at your local school or public library is a bankable gift, as we get paid lending rights.

I’m sure your time is limited right now, just days before Christmas, so the next bit will be in hyper-drive:

* I’ve signed off all the illustrations, internals and cover for my picture book due out next year with HarperCollins!!!! It has been so exciting watching this book come together and I can’t wait to share it with you mid next year!! I also had the joy of meeting my publishers, Lisa Berryman and Nicola Nelson at their author day recently.

​* I forgot to mention last time that Katrina Roe and I took over Dani Vee’s Words And Nerds Podcast in August: Episode 618. We talk about our picture books, disability representation in literature, living in regional Australia and hints to promote your books to the media, from Katrina’s journalism background. And news just to hand: BIG congratulations to Dani for her podcast reaching 1 MILLION views!!! She is such an incredible support for authors!

* Talking about Katrina Roe, she has recently published an immersive audio book for children based on her father’s wartime experiences: When I was Twelve: A Wartime Childhood. She launched it in Wagga Wagga on Remembrance Day. You can find out more here.

* Amelia McInerny and I were judges of the picture book section of the Just Write For Kids Pitch It competition! There were some outstanding pitches and we were sorry we couldn’t award more prizes!! I hope to see many of these stories in print in the years to come.
* Speaking of Just Write For Kids, have you seen the new picture book anthology Romi has produced, called Our Australian HeART? It’s a tribute to the many different facets of Australia, by Australian artists and illustrators. You can find out more here. I've pre-ordered my copy, and for each sale a donation is made to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

*I was a guest author at the CBCA NSW Illawarra Sub-branch Literary Lunch and had the pleasure of sitting with Berkley Public School students, whose imaginations were firing furiously as we wrote a story together. And as a prize for the Northern Suburbs Sub-branch writing competition, I had a wonderful visit with year five girls at Pittwater house.

* I loved bumping into instagrammers Shannon @ohcreativeday and Cristin @artsplorers_au  and kid’s author Heidi Walkinshaw (you must follow them on Insta) at a literary event at Stanton Library in North Sydney – we were in the audience to hear adult author Trent Dalton talk about his latest book, Lola in the Mirror (which I have finished and loved). I adored his last book, Love Stories, and mention it often in relation to Anchored and the power of love. 

​​* The year is ending with lots of celebrations! Here’s a photo snapshot of some other events and Christmas gatherings: CBCA NSW Aspire and Celebrate with Craig Silvey and Chemutai Glasheen; The School Magazine contributors Lunch, Barefoot bowls with SCBWI Sydney; CBCA NSW Northern Sydney Sub-branch at Terrey Hills Tavern.​

 Where you can find me over the holidays?

I’ll mostly be relaxing with a (hopefully) good book, around Sydney, Canberra and a trip to Hobart. 

But I will be running a Storytime at Penrith library on the 20th January, so if you’re in the area, book in!

And keep a look out for Storyhound Archie who's starting to post his kids book reviews a bit more lately. 
 
That’s it from me for the year,

Wishing you a joy and love filled Christmas with lots of books and relaxing time to read them!

Leaving you with a photo of the cutest crocheted gingerbread folk by Crochetables by Mandy who crocheted my gorgeous Tug (seen in previous news).

Until next year,

​Debra ​

Ahoy there fellow adventurers! The last couple of months I've felt like I've been swooped up and carried along by a wave of activity, only managing to occasionally pop my head up to leave brief posts on social media before the wave rushed along! But now I'm floating in calmer waters, I can linger longer and collect my thoughts about the past couple of months.

A highlight for children's authors each year has to be CBCA Children's Book Week, in August, and for me this year was very special. It started the week before with a tour of the Riverina region of NSW. I visited eight towns, speaking to school groups from kindergarten to year 2, mostly in the wonderful country libraries.

It was so fun! We played sound games and guessing games, dabbled in some performance poetry and had an illustration challenge - and that's only part of it! I was worried about my voice giving out, and it did get a bit scratchy by day three, but then it seemed to miraculously get better - I'm sure the use of microphones REALLY helped! 

Out of the nine sessions, only one had technical difficulties and the show went on without power points. Thanks so much to fellow author and friend, Katrina Roe, who was my wing-woman for the hardest day, and who helped garner publicity for the tour as part of her job with Riverina Regional Libraries. I've popped a few photos above, but you can visit my social media for more :-) Massive thanks to the Riverina Regional Libraries who hosted my tour and to Katrina and Sharon who did the heavy lifting of organising!

Book week fun continued back home with a visit to some preschools, and to Wentworthville Public School (amazing TL Melinda Hall, with me, below right) and Shore junior school and prep. The wonderful teacher librarian at Shore sent me through some adorable drawings the kids made after my visit. I had demonstrated how to draw Tug using party food as a guide, and showed them a video of Arielle Li illustrating Tug. I totally love how they took the ideas on board, especially the one below left, which shows the thought that went into layering colour, as Arielle demonstrated. There are more images on my social media.

It's been such a joy celebrating with friends at their book launches over the past couple of months. Fiona Lloyd's middle grade novel, Being Jimmy Baxter is fantastic! Fiona has tackled difficult themes of domestic violence and depression, but it's written with such sensitivity and a lightness of touch, that it doesn't ever seem heavy. I'm usually not a big fan of naïve narrators, but Jimmy's voice is quirky and engaging and I couldn't put the book down. Also on the theme of parental depression is Amanda Leiber's gorgeous and heartfelt picture book, My Giant Sea Shell, illustrated by Kathy Creamer. I couldn't be more delighted for Amanda! She is such an enthusiastic member of the kidlit community and it was great to see so many of the community at the launch to celebrate her debut book. The book is a beautiful metaphor both in words and pictures. 

Friend of many in the kidlit scene, Rory H Mather flew into town to launch not one, but two picture books at Better Read than Dead, Newtown. Both books had Rory's trademark rhyme, rhythm and humour. Sebastian Stands Out (illus by Sofya Karmazina) was even set to percussion and performed by the incredibly talented Johan Rahman (you really must check out Johan in action on Instagram @johanrahman1 !!) Illustrator of Bookweek Bear, Ruth Mary Smith was there too, signing books with a handmade bear stamp! 

Country Town, by fellow CBCA NSW sub-branch committee member, Isolde Martyn was flying off the shelves at the launch at Gleebooks! It's already into reprint! Co-written with Robyn Ridgeway and illustrated by Louise Hogan, this book, follows an un-named country town through 200 years of history, full of visual and textual detail. Reminiscent of My Place by Nadia Wheatley and Donna Rawlins, it's a teacher's dream! 

Also on a slice of Australian history, although slightly tangentially, is Jorn's Magnificent Imagination, by Coral Vass and Nicky Johnston, about Jorn Utzon, the architect of the iconic Sydney Opera House. The story behind the production of this book is amazing in itself, and well worth hearing if you get a chance to listen to Coral or Nicky give a behind the scenes recount! I was spellbound! It was delightful to celebrate with them and other friends under the sails of the Opera House, at the bar last week! Nicky even made opera house headbands for us all!!

Other adventures recently include a super-fun Anchored pyjama party at Stanton Library, thanks to children's librarian and author, Rebecka Sharpe Shelberg (look out for Rebecka's new junior fiction series, Saskia Spark-Lee), and the CBCA NSW Branch Northern Sydney Sub-branch Lunch With the Stars. Enthusiastic speakers this year at the lunch were author and survivor survivor, Wai Chim, and illustrator Mike Barry. The buzz at this event is always so cool to see so many kids excited to meet and greet lots of authors and illustrators over lunch!

Talking about illustrators, Arielle Li, the amazing illustrator of Anchored has a new book out this month with a friend of mine, Ashling Kwok, called Butterfly Girl. How gorgeous is this cover (below)? I've seen a few butterflies fluttering around the blooming flowers recently, so there couldn't be a better time for this book to launch into the world! 
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That's about all my news for now. Until next time, here are some things I'm looking forward to:

​Judging the Just Write for Kids Pitch It competition.

​Being an author guest at the Illawarra Literary Lunch hosted by CBCA NSW Branch Illawarra Sub-branch.

Seeing Trent Dalton at Stanton library

​Hearing from Caig Silvey at the CBCA NSW Branch Aspire and Celebrate lunch. You can find out more here. 



​Wishing you all the best,

​Debra

Wow! Has it been that long since I last wrote? It’s been a wild ride since the publication of Anchored!! Sending out a big THANK YOU to everyone who has encouraged and supported me, and helped Anchored sail into the hands of booksellers, libraries and, most importantly, readers. My heart is full of gratitude.

I have been posting lots of photos on social media so hopefully you’ve seen a bit of my adventures closer to ‘real time!’ But as we left off last episode of KidLitLand on the eve of the big launch, let’s do some catch up!

The wonderful Kristin Darell helped me launch the book, and gave me a wonderful ‘softee’ bottle of bubbles to christen it with – it was so fun!! I was overwhelmed with the warmth and support of so many people! 

If I have one regret, it was that I didn’t make enough fuss of Kristin Darell and her books which were also on sale on the day (thanks to the amazing support of Dymocks Neutral Bay). So let me rectify that now: Kris oozes warmth, enthusiasm, and talent across the board. Some of her favourite things are writing and interviewing, and she is brilliant at both! Her junior fiction Football Fever series is not just for sport-loving readers, but their stories of friendship, navigating conflict, team work and valuing others are above sport and speak to real issues kids (and all of us face). Highly recommended!

Back on the Anchored afterglow, I am thrilled to say that my little Tug and Ship have been generating lots of amazingly wonderful reviews. I won’t bore you with them all here, as most of them are collected on my website here. But what has blown me away even more recently has been the Anchored love in the UK! It got a mention in the The Times in the UK in an article on ‘Best Children’s Books for Summer 2023’ where it was the FIRST of five mentioned (cover shot and all - see below) in the first category of 0-5 y/o along with new books by legends Michael Rosen and Anthony Browne!!!!!!! Gobsmacked!!!! It was also shortlisted for the Rubery Award (an international award for books from independent publishers and self-published creators) AND was also in ‘Our picks of the best children’s books coming out in summer 2023' by The School Reading List in the UK.

Since the launch of Anchored I have been out and about with the book, at the Sydney Writer’s Festival, Sate library, Gordon Library and visiting an array of bookshops, as well as online on blogs and podcasts - with more events to come! You can find links to all the online stuff here. And BIG THANKS to everyone who’s reviewed Anchored, hosted me or mentioned my book on their online and/or social media world! It means so much! Special thanks to Dani Vee for having me on her podcast, and Andrew Dittmar, Dee White and Romi Sharp from Just Write For Kids for having me on their blogs.

Reading Anchored to groups of kids has been such fun! I’ve developed a cute craft activity to make a rocking tug boat with a paper plate that has been a hit (find it here) and I’ve started to learn the ukulele and I can play a few (very) simple songs to go along with the reading. Kids love live music, and it’s been such fun for me to learn- I’ve been so excited to see the steady improvement practicing regularly has made! I’ve been learning online with Bernadette and you can find here on YouTube, if you’re interested.

I’ve also been a joy to celebrate the wonderful launches of friend’s books. Strangely, it seems the sea theme is catching! I’ve been to the launch of Nathan Luff’s first book in a new series: Family Holidays/Disasters: Crash Landing, and Heidi Walkinshaw’s picture book, Some Fish Have Moustaches and I’m looking forward to Amanda Lieber’s My Giant Sea Shell (Illustrated by Kathy Creamer) on the weekend!
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Friends bucking the sea trend have been Mick Elliot with his picture book Dads and Dogs (perfect for Archie!) and Kristin Darell with her fourth and final Football Fever: Gala Day and Serena Geddes with her We are Matildas picture book (written by Shelley Ware), both tie-ins with the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but great books about friendship on their own. 

Another wonderful event that was a long time coming due to Covid delays, was the CBCA NSW Northern Sydney Sub-branch’s The Great Debate Dinner in which a team of authors and a team of illustrators battled it out over the pressing question: Are words better than pictures? The night was such a hoot! My sides ached from laughing! The teams put in so much effort preparing signs and slogans and even witty t-shirts before-hand, and the ensuing debate was lively and hilarious!  Thanks so much to the debaters, Nathan Luff, Mick Elliot and Dani Vee for the words team, and Aura Parker, Serena Geddes and Jules Faber for the pictures team, and Oliver Phommavanh as MC and Marian McGuiness as moderator. You made a lot of people very happy!! PS the words team won – but the real winners were the readers (I stole that line from Oliver P ;-))

Talking about hilarious, I’ve read some funny books recently:

Hamlet Is Not OK – Hamlet relived and re-imagined! What’s not to love? I heard author RA Spratt talking with Al Tait on the YKNR podcast (ep 109), and I knew I had to read it! I was chuckling to myself on the train when I read this one, nudging my daughter and sticking the book in her face saying ‘read this bit!’ Classified as YA due to the themes, but it's an easy read.

Rita’s Revenge by Lian Tanner (illus by Cheryl Orsini) is hilarious, heart-warming and deserves all the awards it’s accruing.

Of course, Amelia McInerney and Lucinda Gifford’s Neil the Amazing Sea Cucumber is so much Deadpan fun! 

I am also reading and recommending:

Black Cockatoo With One Feather Blue – a stunning new picture book by the creators of Leonard the Lyrebird, Jodie McLeod and Eloise Short, and a must for anyone who loves the blue mountains.

Runt by Craig Silvey – you would have seen this one recommended everywhere, and a book Story Hound Archie especially loved.

Sick Bay by Nova Weetman – I’m late to the party on this one, that doesn’t sugar-coat life. These are two kids dealing with real life and real problems, and sick bay at the local high school is the unlikely conduit for growth. Heart warming and amazing!

Looking forward to: book launches! Yay!

Fiona Lloyd’s Being Jimmy Baxter tomorrow (22nd) at Berkelouw Books Leichardt
 
Amanda Lieber’s My Giant Sea Shell on Sunday (23rd) at Bondi Beach.

Rory H Mather’s DOUBLE launch of Sebastian Stands Out and Book Week Bear at Better Read Than Dead, Newtown on 29th.

Looking forward to: CBCA book week and other events:

Pyjama Storytime at Stanton Library, North Sydney on Wednesday 26th, 6-7 pm

Riverina tour in August – I’ll be speaking to NINE schools and signing books at Collins Bookshop in Wagga Wagga.

CBCA Book Week – exhausted from Riverina tour, but excited to visit schools and preschools in book week and beyond!!

I'll leave you this time with something to tempt your taste buds! These are the gorgeous and yummy biscuits my daughter made for the Anchored Launch! 

Until Next time,

Take Care,

​Debra 

April has been a whirlwind of activity with the publication of Anchored and all the associated activities both in the real world and online!! So forgive me if this post is rather self-indulgent :-)

I'd like to start by thanking everyone who has enthusiastically supported this book's journey into the world, from the publishing house, booksellers, librarians, teachers, bloggers, reviewers, readers and friends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Now let me tell you about the events still to come, so you don’t miss out if you want to join me in the new book celebrations!!

The official launch party is on the 29th April 2pm at Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre! Kristin Darell of Football Fever fame will be helping me ‘christen’ Anchored.  I’m putting the bubbles on ice, so please let me know if you can come, so you don’t miss out! (See flyer below for details). 

​Other dates for the diary include:

Sunday 30th April – Woodlands Open House Family Day (home of ‘Seven Little Australians’ author Ethel Turner) and storytime. Information here.


Sunday 28th May – Sydney Writers Festival! YES I’M READING ANCHORED AT THE SYDNEY WRITERS FESTIVAL!! And look at the rest of the fabulous line-up at the Storytime Clubhouse:

Certainly, worth a visit for the day!!
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And now to back-track a little: where have I been, what have seen?? 

On the eve of Anchored’s launch I spoke at the CBCA NSW Branch Northern Sydney Sub-branch event about the ‘Pathway to a Picture Book.’ I also got to hear Aura Parker read and talk about her sublime and lyrical new picture book, Bowerbird Blues, (a must-buy) and Kristin Darell spoke with publisher Holly Toohey about her fabulous Football Fever series.

Talking about Bowerbirds – there are so many books popping up about these fascinating creatures! I went to the launch of Sophie Masson and Lorena Carrington’s Satin, at Better Read Than Dead bookshop. It’s an almost philosophical picture book for older readers with a magical, ethereal quality, and sumptuous endpapers! I was sad I couldn’t get to the same bookshop for the launch of Freckles by Sarah Wallace and Lesley McGee, a picture based on the Gaelic mythology of freckles! Check out Sarah discussing it here.  Look out for that one! 

​At Easter I took a little trip to Canberra and dropped in to sign some books at The Book Cow in Kingston. I got to see Anchored in a bookshop window for the first time (what a thrill), and the amazing Peter even recorded a little video interview with me! Thanks Peter.

The wonderful Gina at Dymocks Neutral Bay hosted a reading and signing day last week, which was a lot of fun. We made paper boats and discovered if they could sail on the makeshift ‘lake.’ And of course, I read Anchored to an enthusiastic crowd! Thanks Gina!

I then flew up to Where the Wild Things are bookshop in Brisbane for their Storytime Festival with Sophie Beer, Dannika Patterson and Rachel Burke. This was a great event with all four picture book creators reading their books and fighting it out in an extreme crowd-sourced story telling challenge! I was put with the amazing Sophie Beer who illustrated my story of a chip-stealing dragon on a boat being chased by a seagull and the magical Easter Bunny and fan that come to its rescue! Crazy-fun! I totally recommend all the books by these great creators: Craft Roach, Heavy, You're Fabulous as You Are (and Anchored)! Check out my socials for some fun photos and videos. Thanks to Genevieve for organising all the mayhem!
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And just this past weekend, I was signing books, making paper boats and enticing children to play a fishing game at Berkelouw Books Hornsby! Thanks to Ally, for having me, and thanks to those who dropped by to say hello.

It was great catching up with many friends and celebrating the CBCA awards shortlist at the NSW Branch celebration. congratulations to all the shortlisted creators! I got to finally meet impressive author Kate Foster, after having been social media friends over the years. Oh, and Kate and Dee White have teamed up to bring author pen-pals to schools, and I’ve sent my first package off to the tiny QLD Clare State School – I can’t wait to hear back from them. Dee White has also had me on her blogs: Monday Motivators here, and Writing prompts for kids here. What a dynamic duo!

It was a warmth filled room for the fundraising evening for Room to Read, where we heard from Deb Abella, Sarah Davis, Tristan Bancks and Paul Macdonald, about this inspiring charity and the importance books have made to their lives and are making to the lives of many children in less wealthy countries around the world. Find out more about Room to Read here.
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Gleebooks put on a ‘housewarming’ party and ‘ladder launch’ for Sue Whiting and James Foley’s new books. Sue’s is another Pearly and Pig adventure, and I did love the first in the series, and James’s is a graphic novel, Secret Agent Mole, with a very recognisable spy flavour – lots of fun!

I'm collecting so many wonderful reviews for Anchored, and rather than bore you with them here, I’ll direct you to my website where I’m trying to keep up with collecting them all. I’ve also been on a couple of blogs – Dee White’s as mentioned above (thanks Dee), and on the Just Write for Kids blog (thanks Romi) with a Quick Six interview with me and another interview with Anchored’s illustrator, Arielle Li.

Thanks to Dani Vee for having me on the Words and Nerds Podcast recently and allowing me to talk about writing with these other amazing guests (see photo)! You can check out the episode of April releases here. Anchored was sailing with the big ships in this ep of thrillers and mystery writers! I also loved chatting with kids about writing and seeing their imaginations fire in a writing workshop I took for Westwords in Bowral last week

SCBWI offers writers and illustrators for kids amazing opportunities, and a recent one was an online Critique-a-Palooza. I got to have a zoom assessment with an agent from the US. Such a gift -  and a great reason to belong to the supportive SCBWI community.

And finally, congratulations to the winners of the Forevability Book awards for books with a disability, illness or inclusion theme. I was pleased to be one of the judges, and I was excited that the winner of the Australian picture book section (in which I was NOT a judge) was my writing buddy, Katrina Roe and her beautiful picture book, Same, based on her experience having a brother with cerebral palsy. Yay!! Find out more about the awards here.

On my radar: