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:

Welcome to my first KidLitLand for 2023! What may look like a sluggish start to the year, has actually been my engines on full-throttle, propelling my latest picture book, Anchored,  into the world! Just like a tugboat, a lot of the action happens beneath the surface!  But finally, here I am with a whole lot of writing-related goodness!

PUBLISHING NEWS

Firstly, as my subscribers will know, I have been organising book launches and events for when Anchored sails into bookshops on April 5th! Note the ‘Save the date’ tile (left). In addition to the big launch in Kirribilli on the 29th, Dymocks in Neutral Bay is hosting a smaller, bookshop launch Thursday afternoon, the 13th April. I hope I can see many of you at one or the other!

Books and Publishing has already written a stunning review. It’s behind a paywall, but here’s the first sentence: “A sensitive tale of connection near, far and across the waters, Anchored is a hopeful, heartwarming story demonstrating to young children that no matter the distance between them and a loved one, fondness always remains with a little tug on the heart.”
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I’ve also been excited to see the gorgeous colour character sketches and initial roughs for my picture book with HarperCollins that comes out next year. It’s another fun, interactive book, this time with a very cute child narrator and dragon. I can’t wait to introduce you to them next year!

​Something a little bit different for me, is having a non-fiction article published in The School Magazine (March 2032, Touchdown). It’s all about something that kids wear to school every day, but have they ever really thought about the unsung heroes of the clothing drawer… the mighty sock?? This non-fiction piece is truly a testament to my ‘dream team’ writing group - the finished piece is unrecognisable from the first draft I brought to group! It’s always fun seeing the finished piece illustrated (this one by Fifi Colston and with photographs).

PREPPING

Part of the fun of having a book out in the world is opportunities to share it with kids – picture books are begging to be ‘performed!’ So I’ve collected an assortment of bits and bobs to help bring Ship and Tug alive to young readers! 

And I’m not forgetting the adults! I’m off to Sydney Uni this month to talk with some 4th year early childhood students about how books impact children’s lives, and then I’m speaking at the first CBCA NSW Branch Northern Sydney Sub-branch event on the eve of Anchored’s launch, about ‘Pathway to a Picture book.’
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OUT AND ABOUT

I had the joy of attending a YA book launch at Kinokuniya recently: Two Can Play That Game by debut Asian-Australian writer Leanne Yong. It’s a YA gamer rom-com and it sounds like great fun. I’m yet to read it, but you can find a review by Oliver Phommavanh here.

Talking about Oliver, I saw him at the launch AND at the Night of the Notables in Sydney this year – and I was thrilled that his What About Thao is a CBCA Notable! I love this book so much! Congratulations Oliver! Congratulations also to all the creatives on the Notable list – it is a hotly contested space, with a record number of entries this year. The Notables announcement is always bitter-sweet, as not all of my author/illustrator friends make the list – but I reckon to have a book out in the world and impacting young lives makes every book creator a WINNER!

It was great to hear from Rebecca Young, about her Simultaneous Storytime book The Speedy Sloth, and from Kate Foster about her books and neurodiverse representation more generally. It was great to finally meet Kate in real life, and I'm excited to be part of the Author Pen Pals program that she's organising with Dee White (more details here.) Sue Whiting also spoke about her history with Walker Books - celebrating 30 years in Australia this year! - and how reading the right book for a child can change them from a non-reader to an enthusiastic reader!

​For Library Lovers Day and International Book Giving Day this year, I showed some library  love to Lindfield Library by dropping by and gifting them a copy of The Scared Book (photo above right). They used to have several copies, but they were  loved out of circulation! One of the downsides of have an interactive book, I reckon! I’ve been told some heart-warming stories lately, about how The Scared Book is still impacting children’s lives. 

Over the Christmas holidays I got to see the brilliant Cressida Campbell exhibition at the National Gallery.  I was blown away with Cressida’s artwork – both the technique she uses and the finished products! Mind blowing!! I was even more delighted to find a tugboat in her work!! Bellow, as a triptych (left) and close up (right).

AM READING:

Substack seems to be gaining momentum for all sorts of kidlit people. Here are a few I’ve signed up to: Books on Tour; Katrina Germein; and YKNR (as well as listening to their podcast!). You might like to look them up too!
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Here are some of my latest purchases (with a note on a few):

Dani Vee’s My Epic Dad: Camping (Illustrated by Marina Verola) is an hilarious story about an indomitable Dad who’s camping exploits are the stuff of horror campfire stories! It’s the first in a funny picture book series. And as a double bonus for buying the book, I WON a spot on Dani’s podcast, Words and Nerds!! Winner! Thanks Dani! Look out for that!

The Whole Story by Kelly Canby is not a recent release, but it has played on my mind since I saw it in a bookshop a while ago – so when I saw it again, I HAD to buy it!

I bought What to Say… by Davina Bell and Hilary Jean Tapper, on the review of my friend, Penny J Reeve, on LinkedIn. I’m not usually on that platform, but I clicked a link and was rewarded!

And I can never go past a Magnolia Moon book (Edwina Wyatt). They are all so charming, wise and gently deep.

Not pictured: Kristin Darell’s Junior Fiction Series Football Fever, which is selling like hotcakes to all the football (soccer) obsessed fans!

ON MY RADAR:

Joining in the nautical theme: Amelia McInerney’s Neil, the Amazing Sea Cucumber (illustrated by Lucinda Gifford) is getting stand-out reviews ahead of its release at the end of next month.
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Aura Parker has another incredibly stunning new picture book out this month, Bowerbird Blues.

A story close to StoryHound Archie's heart is Hedgehog the Wonderdog by Dannika Patterson and Ross Morgan, about the healing power of dogs. Something Archie knows to be all to true!

And one close to my heart is Mama's Chickens by Michelle Worthington and Nicky Johnston, about a mum with early onset dementia (my mum had this, but not quite so young!) … and chickens (I'm a mad chicken fan)!

And I love the sound of Dannielle Viera’s The Leftover Lemon Dilemma (illustrated by Paula Deuber): ‘A multicultural celebration of food and community.'

LOOKING FORWARD TO… SO MUCH!

Anchored book launches  and events!

Speaking to trainee teachers at Sydney Uni.

Speaking at CBCA NSW Branch Northern Sydney Sub-branch meeting and AGM in April.

Gleebooks Housewarming Party and book launch with James Foley and Sue Whiting on the 9th March.

Being on Words and Nerds Podcast!
 
Thanks for joining in on all these adventures!

Until next time,

Debra

PS:
If you’re excited for the release of Anchored and want to dive in early and pre-order: in Australia, my publisher’s website works best, here, and Amazon in other countries will be great. Asking your local and/or school library to order a copy is always a super-duper helpful thing for book creators too!

​Hello fellow adventurers,

It’s a joy to share with you many excellent bookish adventures over the past months, and look forward to the extraordinary joy that we celebrate at Christmas.  
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Starting close to home first, I was so excited to be able to reveal the cover of my picture book, Anchored, with illustrations by the amazing Arielle Li and published by EK Books. I’ve now seen the whole book and it’s gorgeous! It’s already off to the printers for an April release. I’ve been excitedly ordering custom merch to promote it (I’m getting a bit carried away!) – magnetic business card, anyone??? You can pre-order your copy here.

​As part of the CBCA NSW Northern Sydney Sub-branch Lunch With The Stars writing competition, I had the privilege of meeting one of the young winners and provide a writing workshop for her class. Ava’s story was about a monster cat, so it fit brilliantly with my workshop theme of creating a monster character. Congratulations Ava!

​I’ve been lucky to win a couple of book give-aways recently – a fantastic Koala pack from Shae Millward with her funny Dr Suess-like Koalas Like to… (illustrated by Brent Wilson) and a MG novel, A Little Spark, by a favourite author, Barry Jonsberg. And I ran a give-away for a couple of my When I See Grandma for World Alzheimer’s Day in September – and I was thrilled that they went to a couple of wonderful librarians!
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I’ve done a bit of historic adventuring these past few months. Firstly to Ethel Turner’s cottage in Lindfield as part of Historic Houses Open Sydney events. We had an informative tour guide in fellow children’s writer and Ethel Turner aficionado, Abbey Lane who looked the part for the day. And then to Nutcote, May Gibbs’ harbourside home for SCBWI ‘sketch and scribble’ day with sumptuous high tea. It’s been wonderful to spend time in the company of inspiring creatives and immersive experiences.

Talking about inspiring company, none is more so than SCBWI regional advisor, Susanne Gervay. Her latest YA novel, The Edge of Limits, was launched recently at Gleebooks by Melina Marchetta. This is a gripping page turner, with hard-hitting and important themes. I can’t do better than to point you to a review of this book here. Here’s a taster: ‘a searingly important book that addresses issues of connection, courage and consent with a visceral reality that is gripping from start to finish.’

I had the joy of judging the Just Write for Kids 'Pitch It' competition again this year. It’s always so fun to read the fabulous pitches, but so hard to pick a winner!! You can read the winner and runner's up here. Congratulations! And I’m gearing up for some more judging over January with the entries now closed for the Forevability award for books that relate to or include disability, illness, inclusion and diversity. 

I managed a flying visit to Brisbane in September and was so happily surprised by the tea towel exhibition at the State Library: 'Queensland to a T.' It’s an art and story form that I’ve never given much thought to, except for collecting them as souvenirs and popping them in my bag to take home from holidays or at special events – like the  My Fair Lady teacup tea towel – it makes me smile in remembrance every time I use it. I also recognised quite a few of the tea towels in the exhibition, from our many family trips to Queensland when I was a child. The exhibition was brilliantly curated and the information boards were so clever, funny and 'punny' - I hope you can get a taste of them in these shots:

I’ve been writing this news around corks popping off bottles of bubbly, the aromas of gingerbread and Advent Christmas tea, and the chatter of friends! Christmas is well and truly in the air! With events like my writers’ group Christmas party and the CBCA NSW Branch Northern Sydney Sub-branch dinner at Terrey Hills Tavern, and, of course, the discussion of books! Here are three latest releases we celebrated:

Two picture books that are a MUST for Christmas – both very different but stunning in their own way: A Christmas Rose by Wendy Blaxland and Lucy Hennessy (the soft-cover edition has just been published) is a quiet, heartfelt story about the first Christmas, and Meerkat Christmas by Aura Parker is fun and zany meerkat mayhem. And one picture book that is essential in any dentist surgery - The Fangs Visit the Dentist, by Jean Saxby and Ponyo Nguyen.
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Another gorgeous picture book to pop in Christmas stockings is Ashling Kwok’ s A Star For Mamma. The beautiful, whimsical illustrations by Kathy Creamer sit softly on the page alongside the charming story about a child penguin’s love for his mother, and the lengths he will go to show her. 

Don't forget to check out Story Hound Archie's recommendations for great books too - he's over on Instagram at @Story_Hound. 

​And now it’s time for the joy of Christmas preparation. Isn’t that often the best part? (Once the pressure of presents is sorted!) Here’s a photo of me prepping for Christmas in an apron designed by my talented SCBWI friend, Kristian Aus! You can find his website to browse his amazing illustrations here. I’m wearing his Reindeer design t-shirt in the photos above- can you see it peeking out between the books?

If you love reindeer and leaving carrots out for Rudolf, you'll love my present for you… I’m gifting all my subscribers a Christmas story for you to enjoy. You can download it from the email I sent. Didn’t get an email? Pop to my ‘home’ page and hit ‘subscribe!’

Wishing you all a joy-and-book-filled Christmas.

Until next year,

Take care,

Debra xx

Spring is in the air! And it’s not just baby currawongs hatching in the tree outside my door or my orchids bursting to life – so many new books are springing from launches onto bookshelves and into my eager hands! Every weekend lately one or other of my friends is launching their new books – it seems like the publishing industry is making up for time lost over Covid! And I've been as busy as a bee flitting from one event to another this past month or so. What a delight!
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But first, in my writing news, I am patiently waiting! I have a non-fiction article accepted by The School Magazine that I can't wait to see in print and illustrated! I'm thinking about ways to promote my next picture book, Anchored, when it comes out in July next year. And I’m liaising with my publisher at HarperCollins about an illustrator for my book with them due out a year later. I was thrilled with the outcome of my publisher assessments at the CYA Conference, despite my being a no-show due to catching rotten Covid! Undeterred, one generous publisher liked both my manuscripts so much that she is taking them to her team to discuss! How good is that?? Fingers crossed!! 

Talking about the CYA conference, I was so pleased it was online again this year. I’m still looking forward to getting to a LIVE CYA conference, but online this year I was able to network and make some new friends, as well as catch up on the sessions I missed due to not feeling well. The most helpful session for me this year was Claire Thomas with School visits: How to primp and preen your presentation and was timely - I got to do a bit of primping and preening before heading back into schools for book week!
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And what a hoot Book Week was! To be able to get back into schools and Preschools felt like a hit of oxygen into depleted lungs! Here are a few happy snaps from a preschool visit (I always find the school photos trickier to get!): 

And for those who have yet to catch up on the Book of the Year news, you can find it all here. The announcement video is worth watching, as we get to see the reaction of the winners in real time! And remember to check out what the kids thought too, in the Sun Project, Shadow Judging section.

I was unable to get to the Kids and YA Festival at Writing NSW, but again, was able to catch up on some of the sessions I was keen to get to, via their podcast here.
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My local CBCA NSW branch sub-branch had a fabulous evening exploring the latest exhibition at the State Library of NSW – Imagine… the Wonder of Picture Books, and then retiring to the Library Bar. I highly recommend both – the exhibition and the Bar (it has amazing sweeping views from the rooftop). It was fantastic to see books included by my friends, like Lisa Nicols and Bethany Macdonald.

The evening was also a time to celebrate the launch of our sub-branch previous president, wildlife photographer and author of children's True to Life books, Jan Latta's inspirational memoir, Doing it My Way. Pictured at right with me, Abbey Lane and Carla Fitzgerald.

Still on the subject of CBCA NSW Branch Sub-branch, our legendary Lunch With the Stars was back this year after two years of Covid hiatus - and what a delight it was! Catching up with a room full of authors/illustrators, chatting to kids and teachers, and hearing from amazing author guest speakers (this year it was Louise Park and Oliver Phommavanh) is always a highlight of the year! Photo below...

And now for a gallery of new book photos: some launches I got to...

And a few I didn't get to but got to catch up with the authors at Lunch With the Stars!

#Reading:

I’ve read two books from Kathryn Apel recently and they couldn’t be more different! What Snail Knows is an achingly beautiful story of a lonely girl with a pet snail and how she (and her father) start to come out of their shells. It’s sublime! Miss Understood is a riotous fractured fairy-tale picture book (illustrations by Beau Wiley) casting the wolf from the Three Little Pigs as a misunderstood hero and the pigs as, well – pigs! Told in Kat’s exquisite rapping rhyme and full of jokes and puns and great hilarity!  

I’ve finished Oliver’s book, What About Thao? (above), which is warm and wise and just altogether wonderful! And I adore Carla's Keeping up with the Dachshunds (above) - it's funny with a great message and... dogs! I'm sharing this one around lots - it's one of Archie's favourites!

​#Winning!

'Ya gotta be in to win it! I have been so fortunate to WIN TWO Books recently, from giveaways! 

The first is from the ASA - A Little Spark, the latest from Barry Jonsberg - I love his books and I look forward to reading this one (photo to come)! The second is actually a whole package of goodies from Shae Millward including her adorable and fun picture book, Koala's Like to... which young children will delight to read over and over again (illustrated by Brent Wilson). I also received a book that I was the winning bid for in the Lismore Flood Relief auction earlier in the year - The Naked Sheep by Crystal Corocher and Rebel Challenger. This one is a rhyming romp of hilarity.

It was my birthday recently, and one of the treasured gifts I received was this totally loveable book with a gentle dual language story that captures the essence of donkey's personalities perfectly! The illustrations are so unique - hand woven sculptures by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, a social enterprise of indigenous women. There's also a gorgeous animated film clip you can view here. With my little donkey mate no longer with us, this will be a book I treasure forever <3

Looking forward to:

The Just Write for Kids Pitch It! Competition is back on for another year and I’m one of the picture book judges. This is such a fun competition to judge, and I’m looking forward to reading those entries! Find out more here.

​Next week is Australian Dementia Awareness Week with World Alzheimer's Day on the 21st. Look out for my posts on socials - there might even be a give-away!

SCBWI is having a sketch and Scribble at may Gibbs' Nutcote in December - it should be great fun!

Until next time, or I see you somewhere in my KidLitLand adventures, I'll leave you with StoryHound Archie trying to keep up with the latest totally bow-wow trends, and the Dachshunds!

​Debra 

Dear fellow adventurer,

Winter has begun with an abundance this year – an abundance of freezing days!! But there have been many sunshiny moments to warm body and heart.

I can finally announce the news that I hinted at last time… I have a new contract for a picture book to be published by HarperCollins, probably in 2024 - I’m so thrilled! This manuscript has had a long and winding road to publication: A Tale of Many Publishers! It began with an idea from one publisher, but in the end didn’t get through acquisitions :-( I then took it to another publisher at an assessment at the CYA Conference last year, and they loved it but didn’t think their publishing house was quite the right fit for it. But super-kindly they sent it to their friend, a publisher at another company, HarperCollins, and they took it on! After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing and ‘noodling,’ the contract was signed last week. I’m thrilled! And so are all the publishers who had a hand in it, and for whom I am thankful! 

It's also been wonderful to get glimpses of my picture book with EK books (illustrated by Arielle Li) progressing! I have some cover art designs to comment on - they are all so good, it's so hard to choose!

I’m excited to be part of the State Library of NSW online Storytime, this week (It's actually tomorrow, 15th June, 11 am). I’ll be on zoom with a The Scared Book and a big bag full of toys for some MONSTERous fun! I’d love you to join me – you can register here. And a reminder - book week is coming up next term and I still have some availability for author visits. If you'd like to book me for your school or preschool, contact Creative Kids Tales Speaker's Agency here.
​
Talking about The Scared Book, it was lovely seeing photos of Wendy Fitzgerald reading my book at the Words on the Waves Festival – thanks Wendy! There are so many festivals and conferences at the moment - and I have a serious case of FOMO! Eg the  CBCA Conference in Canberra looked like such a fun and fascinating program, and so many people I would have loved to meet and catch up with!! The Kids and YA Festival at Writing NSW is coming up in a couple of weeks – and the FOMO is intensified! Although I really can’t complain because it’s also wonderful celebrating special life events with family and friends!

​I did get to drop in on the Sydney Writer’s Festival Family Fun day and bump into a few kidlit friends. I even got myself drawn into a pretty cool looking super-hero by Mike Barry and finally got my We Run Tomorrow book signed by both Mike and Nat Amoore! Doubly cool!

Another friend I bumped into recently was Paula Stevenson, doing the rounds of bookshops with her delightful new picture book, Buster Follows His Nose. You may remember I mentioned this book last time, as the illustrator is one of my writing group buddies, Jenny Hale. It’s so cool that I’m friends with both the author and illustrator of this gorgeous book!

#amReading

Whilst I miss chatting to Katrina Roe on the radio, it hasn’t stopped me reading some wonderful children’s books lately! A few junior fiction/Mid grade reads that have had me hooked recently are:

The Magic of Magnolia Moon – I couldn’t love this book more – gentle, wise and quirky -  I adore Edwina Wyatt’s writing, and I didn’t think she could top her first Magnolia Moon book (The Secrets of Magnolia Moon), but I think this one was even more lovely than the first! the Magnolia Moon books sit on my most-cherished-books shelf!

The Callers is Kiah Thomas’ first mid grade novel and it’s a cracker! It’s a fresh, gripping adventure story set in a fantasy world that’s easy to read and keeps you guessing and glued to the last page! I loved it. I interviewed Kiah on the Just Write for Kids blog about her picture books, a while back. you can find the blog here.

Sue Whiting’s new series, Pearly and Pig is another great (albeit icy) Antarctic adventure story: with characters that are lively and quirky, and similes and metaphors that are fresh and fun along with many great puns! I’m in the middle of it at the moment, and loving every page.​

Books on my radar:

Two books by Kathryn Apel - one picture book and one verse novel - Miss Understood (illustrated by Beau Wiley) and What Snail Knows. More on them next time...

​Things I’m looking forward to:

SCBWI zoom about picture books on Sunday 26th June, details here.

CYA conference and assessments in July. Details here.
 
Something I’m sad to miss: Kids and YA Festival -  but I hope some of you get there! It's on the 25th June. Details here.

Until next time, I'll leave you with a photo of a visitor I saw on a harbourside walk last week!

Cheers!
​
​Debra 

Dear fellow adventurer,

The jingle of Christmas bells is a distant memory and the Easter Bunny has hippity-hopped out of town (although my keyboard is still a bit sticky with chocolate!) and so much has happened in my corner of KidLitLand in the months in between! Here’s something I’ve discovered – the longer I’ve taken to start writing this news, the harder it is to start. It’s a bit like all those photos stacking up on my phone - the more there are, the more I’m putting off downloading or dealing with them! But here I am! I shall put this news off no more! You might like to grab a cuppa before we set off!

Whilst the weather is cooling down, my writing life is hotting up! I mentioned in my Cheers to Christmas that I have signed a contract with EK Books for a picture book to be illustrated by Arielle Li and released mid next year. And what a joy this is! I’ve already seen some initial artwork and the storyboard for the book – and I can’t stop sighing, it’s that beautiful! I can’t wait for you to see it too! But in the meantime, you can check out Arielle's latest picture book, just released, Get Ready, Mamma written by Sharon Giltrow and also published with EK Books. It is ‘touring’ with Books On Tour on the Just Write for Kids blog - you can read the review and follow along from here. Check out the cute trailer below. You could even WIN a copy! And, on a side note, congratulations to EK books for being shortlisted for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year (Oceana Region) at the Bologna Book Fair!

​It was marvellous to back in front of kids, post Covid lockdowns, in the Easter Holidays, conducting a writing workshop with WestWords, at the Dundas library. I do love the energy and imagination of kids! PLUS most of them knew my play in The School Magazine published last year, and one of them had seen it performed by their class!! How incredible is that??!! I’m now represented for author visits by Creative Kids Tales Speakers Agency (check me out here) and I have some spaces left for book week if you’d like to book me up!

Talking about in-person events, I also had a bookstore appearance at Dymocks Neutral Bay for their VIP shopping night. And how fabulous to see families who already know and love my books, and to have booksellers who are so supportive. 

Another thing that’s back in full swing is my writer’s group meeting in person again! Zoom’s been great for iso times, but there’s nothing like the energy of a group of writers in a room! And we’ve had such exciting news: several of us have had pieces picked up and published in The School Magazine, PLUS Jenny Hale has gloriously illustrated a new picture book, Buster Follows his Nose, written by Paula Stevenson and published by Little Pink Dog Books. It releases in May. AND group member Lisa Nicol’s MG book, Dr Boogaloo and the Girl Who lost Her Laughter has been selected in the top 10 Children’s books for 2021 in China! Awarded at Shenzhen Reading Month, a large literary festival and also home to the world’s largest bookshop. How cool is that??
​
After a bit of an hiatus, I enjoyed blogging over at Just Write For Kids with an interview with author Martine Murray, who, despite being an award-winning traditionally published author, has chosen to establish her own publishing company (Parachute Press) in conjunction with Anna Read, to publish their own picture books. Find out why and about their latest book, The Owl Who was Left Behind, on the JWFK blog, here.

Sadly, as some things crank up, another winds down, and with Katrina Roe leaving Hope 103.2, our book chats will come to an end. Our Dec, Jan, and March final chat are of the books below (Feb was a CBCA Notables recap). You can find out more about the books by checking out my Facebook and Instagram posts.

I’m sure, like me, you watched in horror as the floods earlier in the year devastated many families and communities. Kid’s author Zanni Louise organised an auction of mainly literary prizes to help raise funds to help rebuild Lismore. The auction raised over $56,000 and I was the lucky winner of a soon-to-be-released picture book by Crystal Corocher The Naked Sheep, which looks like lots of fun!

A bit of industry news, in case you missed it:

CBCA Notables and Shortlist has been announced, and, as usual I am thrilled for my fiends who made the lists! You can find them here. 

The inaugural Forevability Awards, celebrating books for kids with a theme of disability, illness and inclusion, were announced recently. It was a joy to be one of the judges and see what amazing books are being created dealing with these important topics. Congratulations to the winners and shortlisted creators, and to all creators who reflect a diversity of characters and situations and help readers stretch their empathy muscles by creating books with great artfulness, insight and sensitivity. You can see the winners on the awards Facebook page here.

On this theme (Blatant pug here): Wombat Books, has a fantastic value Empathy book pack with four 4 books for $55 – including my When I See Grandma and books from my friends, Katrina Roe, Penny Jaye and Heather Gallagher. It would be a fabulous resource for school libraries as well as for in the home. You can order the pack on their website here.

For those who’d like an insider’s guide to publishing for children, United Publishers of Armidale (UPA) have compiled Inside Story, a book with heaps of useful information about the publishing process, from writing and illustrating picture books, through MG and non-fiction, to editing, marketing and distribution and everything in between. I’ve got my copy and was excited to see some of Jenny Hale’s illustrations included, and CBCA friend, Jan Latta with a segment.

The new Australian Children’s Laureate has been announced for the next two years, and I think Gabrielle Wang is a marvellous choice! You can see a short video of her here.

​Cheers to Christmas! It's been a crazy couple of years, and books have been the heroes for many of us, kids and adults alike, keeping us company when we were lonely, wrapping us in their cosy, comforting warmth like a hug, or helping us escape Covid constraints by going on an adventure. As wonderful as books are, I hope that you can spend this holiday time in the real life company of friends and family as well.

And the best early Christmas present I got this year, was a new picture book contract! I'm excited to bring into the world a couple of characters that I hope everyone will fall in love with, thanks to EK Books and illustrator Arielle Li. So cheers to that as well!

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and bright, sparkly New Year.

​Debra xo

It’s so good to be out and about in Sydney again! I hope you’ve been able to enjoy some time with family and friends as restrictions ease. I'm looking forward to catching up with my writer's group in person, for an end of year celebration, FINALLY after nearly two years on zoom! SO exciting! Talking about writing...

#AmWriting

I am super-thrilled to have my play Dancing with the Cars published in The School Magazine, ‘Touchdown’ edition, illustrated by the incredible Tohby Riddle! I can hardly believe it! I’ve taken happy snaps of all the pages and posted them here. I’m also excited to be talking to a publisher about a picture book manuscript. Things are progressing very nicely and I’m trying to be 'quietly' hopeful!

I had the privilege of doing a couple of manuscript assessments for Greenleaf Press recently. It was really gratifying helping others polish their stories, and also instructive to be on the other side of the pen!

#AmCelebrating:

I was honoured to part of launching Jean Saxby’s YA The Craving, on zoom. Jean is the minutes secretary of our CBCA NSW Northern Sydney Sub-branch and I was chuffed that she asked me to interview her at the launch. The Craving is a fantasy romance with deep themes and steeped in allegory. I love Jean’s visceral way of writing, it pulls you right into the world she’s created. It’s a compelling read.

On the subject of launches, I enjoyed attending Libby Hathorn’s launch of her picture book, The Best Cat, the Est Cat, about the NSW State Library and its collections. The library has such a huge collection of artefacts, so I love how Libby decided what to include – the -est things, like the small-est, the old-est etc. Kids love -est!

#AmJudging

Results of the Just Write For Kids Pitch It competition are in and you can see the winners here. I love judging this competition and I'm thrilled about the success of previous winner (and one of this year's judges), Stef Gemmill, whose pitched manuscript has now been turned into a real-life picture book- Toy Mountain is published by EK books and colourfully illustrated by Katharine Hall.

I'm also pleased to be one of the judges of the new Forevability Book Award, for books with themes of disability, illness and inclusion, and own voices creators.  You can find out more about these children's book awards (entries closing today,  I think) here, and more about Forevability and their aims here. I’m pleased to have both my picture books listed on this website.
 
On the subjects of awards, I was thrilled that one of  my favourite recent picture books was among the winners of the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year awards. Congratulations to Kaye Baillie and Tracie Grimwood for Boo Loves Books (a story close to StoryHound Archie's heart!) You can see the winners here. I interviewed Kaye for the Just Write For Kids blog, and you can read the interview here.

Talking about Archie, he's been lying low for bit. He had an operation to amputate his dew claw due to a (benign)  tumour :-( Thankfully he is getting back to being himself again now. It won't be long before he's back in front of the camera!

#AmReading

So many books! It was a pleasure to review some of them with Katrina Roe on Hope 103.2 radio recently (see picture below). Dinosaur Dads by two of my favourite authors/illustrators, Lesley Gibbes and Marjory Crosby-Fairall is a rhyming, rollicking, romping, stomping delight of a book. Full of playful fun between kids and dads.
Where's my Dinosaur? by Ashling Kwok and Jasmine Berry is a fun, sweet, charming book about expecting a new baby - perfect for growing families.
The Song of Lewis Carmichael, is a mid-grade novel by Sofie Laguna & Marc Mcbride. It's an atmospheric, whimsical, moving adventure through the Arctic in a hot air balloon, with a young boy and a talking bird with broken wing. It’s stunning and beautiful. I cried. Gave me all the feels of Charlottes Web.

I’ve also collected these books for Christmas presents:

The Lion Who Came to Stay by Victoria Mackinlay and Ronojoy Ghosh is the remarkable true story of Victoria’s Grandfather getting a lion cub for a present!  
Mary Had a Little Lamb: What really Happened, by the hilarious picture book writer, Amelia McInerney and illustrated by Natashia Curtain. This is a wickedly funny fractured fairy-tale guaranteed to get the kids giggling, and maybe even raise a few eyebrows! 
Tish and Magnolia Moon both Junior Fiction books by Edwina Wyatt with her trademark heartfelt delight and whimsy. With illustrations by Odette Barberousse and Katherine Quinn respectively. 
​The travelling Bookshop: Mim and the Baffling Bully,  a new JF series by Katrina Nannestead and illustrated by Cheryl Ornsini
I’m also excited to see a new YA book by Sarah Epstein, Sugar Coated. If you sign up to her newsletter, you’ll get a free e-novella set in this world. I can’t wait to start reading mine!

#AmListening

Have you discovered Project ARI podcast yet? It’s written by One More Page podcaster and author Nat Amoore for NOVA FM and the government’s Stop it at the Start campaign about respect. It’s about 10-year-old Ari, who’s the world’s first artificial intelligence prototype, trying to wrap his ‘data brain’ around the human experience. This series is Nat’s trademark funny and silly, with plenty of heart, and has been designed as a tool to help start meaningful conversations with kids about respectful behaviour. And it’s been nominated for two Australian Podcast Awards! Congratulations Nat! Listen here.

#AmWatching

I'm late to the party (as usual) but I am so loving Ted Lasso! (NB not for kids). It's such a feel-good, funny, heart-warming, wise show. I don't know what I'm going to do when I've binge-watched the lot! I love what I read in the paper on the weekend about the show: that there are two types of people in the world - those who love Ted Lasso and those who haven't watched it yet! 

Looking forward to:

Catching up with my CBCA NSW Sub-branch committee in real life in December.

Catching up with my writer's group for a real life dinner in December! 

SCBWI zoom Christmas festivities. 

Christmas!

​Christmas reading!

Hoping your December brings with it a chance to unwind a little and spend time in the company of family and friends.

Until next time, I'll leave you with a photo from the launch of The Best Cat, the Est Cat - can you see the small-est book in the library's collection?

Take Care.

August and September have been zooming – quite literally! Whilst I’ve been relatively unscathed from lockdown measures cocooned in Canberra for a while, inevitably Covid invaded Canberra and everything moved to zoom. Even book week was on zoom again this year. However, it has been lovely to join in events around the country, and support my writing friends on social media. I’ve also taken the opportunity to give my website a bit of a spring clean: you can check it out here.

#WritingLife

September is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and I wrote a guest post on the Wombat Books Blog for Alzheimer’s Awareness Day on the theme ‘A little support makes a big difference.’ You can read it here, and Story Hound Archie thought he'd help demonstrate the concept in the photo, left.

​I was so thrilled to see The Scared Book in ‘double vision’ in the Braille House library, with braille tape attached, so children and parents who are blind or have low vision can enjoy it! How cool is that? I wrote a post about the amazing work Braille House does for the Just Write For Kids blog last year - you can read it here.
​
I made a little video teaser about my piece in the Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds anthology, and you can see it here.  I’ve also seen lots of cool videos by other creators about their pieces in the anthology too.

I’m excited to once again be one of the judges for the Just Write For Kids Pitch it competition – picture book category, and I’ve been asked to judge the exciting new Forevability Book Award next year, for books with themes of disability, illness and inclusion, and own voices creators. I’m pleased to have both my picture books listed on this website. You can find out more about Forevability here. 

#AmReading

I've caught up with Katrina Roe on Hope 103.2 radio to chat about these brilliant books. I’ve raved about all of these books in earlier newsletters, except Lisa Nicol’s hot off the press The What on Earth Institute Of Wonder. It’s an exquisite middle grade novel which explores the interconnectedness of all things and the wonder to be found in nature and the human heart. With a talking Kakapo and a jazz loving African Forrest Elephant, and some huggable humans, it's written with the humour of Roald Dahl and the sensitivity and insight of Kate DiCamillo, it’s funny and it’s heartfelt and it’s a must read. Lisa is one of my writing buddies and I am so proud to have had even a tiny role in helping bring this beautiful book into the world - it was a buzz to get a mention in the acknowledgements!

August is always book party time with Book Week. What a shame that so many celebrations had to be online. I hope it didn't stop kids dressing up - Archie certainly got in on the spirit (see photo at the end). On the plus side, everyone had the opportunity to watch the online events, and if you missed them you can catch up here. I was particularly thrilled to see Kate Gordon’s quiet, wise, deep novel Aster’s Good Right Things, by a small indie publisher, take out the younger readers category.

Talking about awards, I was  thrilled that Lian Tanner’s A Clue for Clara won the Sisters in Crime Davitt Award (I love this book so much and I can’t wait for the companion book) and Nat Amoore’s The Power of Positive Pranking won the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award for Children’s literature. So cool!
​
A new picture book out in time for Christmas is Star. I love a nativity book and Artelle Lenthall has written one from a unique perspective – the Christmas star! Star is a fable-like story with a lovely message about compassion and finding your ‘shine,’ and glowing illustrations on a vibrant blue backdrop, by Margaret Deware. I can see this delighting young children in the early school years.

#AmLearning

Some gems I’ve taken away from recent events:
​
I’ve actioned a tip from Tina Clark’s CYA workshop and made a spreadsheet to keep track of my daily word count! Tina said it’s about monitoring, not measuring, and it’s surprising how motivating such a little thing is, to want to put a number in the daily column instead of leaving it blank! I’ve made a very small and achievable target, but anything at all, even a few words, is moving the manuscript forward, and I’m encouraged to keep it up every day for a perfect record! Thanks Tina!

At the SCBWI QLD Bibliotherapy conference I was interested to hear from Claire Mansour about the importance of books from a speech pathologist’s perspective, that spark kid’s imagination and curiosity, because engaging a child will help them learn, encourage conversation and play with new words. I was also interested to hear from Anouska Jones about how EK books rose out of the health, wellbeing and self-help Exisle Publishing. They asked ‘what if kids were given the tools to not need self-help books in the future?’ And EK developed into that space. Anouska generously allowed participants to email her a picture book manuscript to jump the slush pile – so fingers crossed for something I sent in!

Also in Queensland, I got to hear the wonderful Claire Saxby talk about narrative non-fiction picture books at a Book Links event. She specifically talked about her stunning book, Iceberg and how she came to this subject through the remarkable, evocative language of ice, like ‘cheeky growlers’ and ‘old grandfather blues’ etc. The language and pictures in this book are truly stunning - if you haven't read it, you absolutely must! One of the more difficult things for this genre is working out what, of the amazing creatures and information, to leave out – does it belong in this story? Is there room? Will it detract? What I also found particularly helpful was thinking about the setting’s duration – eg Iceberg is set over a year in Antarctica, Big Red is from dusk to dawn over one day, Dingo is set over four dusk hours in winter.
​
Irma Gold at the SCBWI ACT event, echoed some of the comments Deb Abela made at the CKT event earlier in the year, about the different functions of each manuscript draft. Paraphrased: every book is about something and with each re-write you distil and refine the essence of that something.  Irma also recommends not only putting the manuscript away for at least six weeks before editing, but also printing it out in a different font and size to help you read it like a reader rather than a writer. Irma also echoed Claire Saxby in that research must be in the service of the story, and often the hardest thing for authors is to let go of fascinating research as it slows the story down.
 
I also found this really helpful post on the Children’s Book Academy blogfish, about search engines for libraries. It has so many uses for authors! Find it here.

Looking forward to:

Reading all the amazing Pitch It comp pitches!

​CBCA NSW Northern Sydney Sub-branch zoom meeting on the 20th October with a showreel of  authors presenting their 2021 new releases, and Paul MacDonald talking about the year from a bookseller's perspective. Find out more here. 

Some easing of restrictions, now I am back in Sydney. Hooray!

Until next time, wishing you safe and well. 

​I’ll leave you with Archie’s Book Week costume, at left.
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Caption: Archie has food allergies so he identifies with Zed. Although thankfully he CAN eat bread. But on a serious note - Archie hopes he hasn’t found Zed, dead, covered in bread! 😱😂 Did someone feed him bread, again?
.
P.S. Who knew Nike bags made such good dog dress ups?!