I wish all my readers a Happy New Year!

Unfortunately here in Australia, the exciting, shimmering start to the new year has been scorched in the blast of the fires.  The heat of January has taken its toll and whilst my home and livelihood has not been threatened this year, none of us Aussies can remain unaffected by the devastation caused by raging fires. Our hearts have gone out to our land, our animals and our people. Our prayers and wishes and hopes have been for rain. 
 
When we all felt immobilised by the horror unfolding, a couple of YA Aussie authors who thought they'd try and lend a helping hand to those working relentlessly on the front line - the rural fire fighters - gave us all a way to express our gratitude and do something practical to help, reducing our sense of hopelessness. So thanks to Emily Gale and Nova Weetman, and a myriad of other behind the scenes bookish people who made #authorsforfiries an amazing success. 
 
If you didn't catch it, then in a nutshell, #authorsforfiries was a Twitter auction in January where authors and illustrators offered works, or their time, to the highest bidder. There were some big ticket items by big name authors, as well as modest items from equally modest authors, like yours truly, but combined, the effort made over half a million dollars! Amazing! 
 
I'm looking forward to working with the winner of my auction. I've sent off the copies of my books and Story Hound Archie and I will be giving feedback on a short story written by a 9 year old. As the winner of an auction, I'm thrilled to be receiving an artwork (below) by illustrator Liz Anelli, from her Ten Pound Pom picture book. A story close to my daughter-of-a-Ten-Pound-Pom heart. To find out more about the auction, check out this link. And for an hilarious video advertisement from the unstoppable Nat Amoore, check out this facebook link.

​Some exciting news for me recently, was that my short story, Waiting, was Highly Commended in the Odyssey House short story comp. the theme was 'Family' and had to make a reference to drugs or alcohol. You can read my story on their website here. Note - it's not a kid's story.
 
Talking about competitions, Greenleaf Press has a picture book manuscript competition - closing midnight tonight - so if you're a writer for kids and have a polished story- don't dilly dally!

I've been on Hope 103.2 radio twice this month, talking to Katrina Roe about books series to beat holiday boredom, and back-to-school picture books. 

StoryHound Archie has been on an Instagram hiatus in January - he's had a stubborn sore eye that refuses to heal properly and he is rather sick of constant visits to the vets, although they do have much yummier liver treats that we have at home, apparently. So that's a consolation!

And whilst we're on things medical, I did a first aid course this month with a coach who comes to you (if you have two or more people). Chris was engaging and fabulous, and half of the learning is done online at your own pace so you actually have time to process the information. If you're interested: First Aid Coach
 
Things I'm looking forward to in February:
 
Two friends of have picture books coming out in February - both of them Pennys! Penny Morrison is launching A Perfect Little Monster at Harry Hartog Warringah Mall on Saturday 8th. Details here. And Penny Reeve's The Other Brother will be out at the end of the month. (See photos below)

And I always love seeing a new Lesley Gibbes Picture Book - her latest. Three Little Mermaids is on the shelves now, and looks gorgeous. (see below) It's by the same dream team that brought us Little Bear's First Sleep.
 
My CBCA sub branch committee will meet this month to plan our year - it's always fun to get together and toss ideas around.
 
The CBCA NSW Night of the Notables event at Dymocks in Sydney is the 25th Feb. This always a casual and interesting night full of excitement as the notable books are revealed. Details here.

REMINDER:

It's not to early to book me for author talks and workshops for Book Week or other times throughout the year. Details on my website.

That's about all from me, at the beginning of the year. Wishing you health and success in the New Year!

​Until next time,

Debra 

I had the most marvellous time gallivanting around London and Oxford, with my husband, in November. It’s amazing how many children’s literary icons you bump into in that part of the world! From sipping mulled wine at JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis’ old haunt, the Eagle and Child pub, through to coming face to face with the Dodo from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice’ in the Museum of natural history, and discovering Tolkien’s’ dragon-treasure in the Ashmolean museum, finding Harry Potter curios dotted throughout the town, to imagining Lyra from Philip Pullman’s books slipping around the alleyways as we sauntered around the cobble-stoned town. And that’s only Oxford! It's such an inspiring and stimulating place, the centuries of creative thought seem to have infused the air!

In London, I missed out on visiting Paddington Bear at the station by just a smidgen, due to an over-enthusiastic porter (I can’t complain- he took pity on us dragging our heavy bags from Oxford, and gave us a lift on his tractor, direct to the taxi rank, bypassing my plan to stop off at platform 1)  but I got to catch up on some rebels in kid’s lit at an exhibition at the British Library. Imagine seeing Roald Dahl’s Matilda manuscript with editor’s notes, and Lauren Child’s original collage artwork for Clarice Bean! And then there is the permanent exhibition with Lewis Carroll's beautifully bound handwritten story of Alice’s Adventures Underground. Just WOW!

At the library, I also got to meet up with author and friend, Stephanie Ward, whose new picture book, Arabella and the Magic Pencil is glorious! I took home a signed copy!

And of course, a visit to Shakespeare’s globe is a must for any literature lover in London – the guided tour was an anniversary gift from our children and it brilliantly evoked a bygone era. Marvellous!

Back on the home front, I had fun making a little video trailer for my story, Nine Christmas Carrots, in the Christmas Cornucopia anthology – check it out here. Move over, Marvel movie trailers, I say - they'll be knocking on my door for hints soon ;-)

Inspired to polish my writing skills by my time away, I’ve done a few things since returning:

1. Had a chat with legendary best-selling author Andy Griffiths, via a webinar run by the ASA. It was great!
2. Embarked on a short online course with Jen Storer about writing Junior Fiction.
3. Picked up a few handy hints on writing humour from Oliver Phommavanh and on literary illustration from Margrete Lamond, at the SCBWI Christmas party.
4. Networked with my support crew, at both the above party and the CBCA Northern Sydney Christmas drinks, where we also marked the closing of The Children's Bookshop with Paul and Beth MacDonald as guests of honour. Paul and Beth have been a major supporter of local Kid's book creators and the bookshop's closure is a loss for all of us as well as the local community. The good news is that Paul and Beth are opening a new bookish venture in Glebe, and I wish them the very best of success.
5. Took a seemingly never-ending story to my critique group to workshop and improve. They reckon it’s nearly ready now!

I’m taking a couple of month’s break from my author/illustrator interviews with Just Write for Kids, but I hope you caught up on the final instalment of my interview with Kiah Thomas in November. If you missed it, you can find it here. I was also excited to announce the winners of the JWFK Pitch It competition for which Kellie Byrnes and I judged the picture book entries. It was a strong field of pitches, and I’m glad that both Kellie and I agreed on the place-getters. You can find the shortlist here, and the winners here. Congratulations to the winners and all those that 'had a go.'

​This month  I got to talk with Katrina Roe on Hope 103.2 about two novels that are great for starting conversations around deep themes – Girl Running, Boy Falling, by Kate Gordon, a YA story around the aftermath of youth suicide, and All the Things I never Said, by Samantha Wheeler, a  mid-grade novel about a girl with a severe disability and her family. Both books were CBCA notable books this year.
​
With Christmas fast approaching, I joined up with Penny Reeve to sell our books at a Christmas market stall. It’s a lovely way to engage with customers in an immediate way, sell a few books and make connections. Penny wrote a beautiful post about it that you can read if you’re on facebook, here.

​The end of the school year is upon us, and I was honoured to be asked to present the library award at a K-2 presentation assembly at Brookvale Public School this week. I didn’t have a speaking role, but if I had, I would have explained that I think the library award is actually the most important, because as we know, reading feeds the imagination and, as Albert Einstein is quoted as saying:

‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited whereas imagination        embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.’

So…

‘If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.’

Also on the subject of libraries, I was so pleased to see this article recently about the way a school turned around flagging grades by reviving the library! It was a lovely antidote to the article I wrote for the Students Need School Libraries blog, The Mystery of Shrinking School Libraries, earlier this year - as I said in that... it's not rocket science!

And talking about schools, if you’re a TL and you want to book me for an author visit or workshop next year, check out my presentations page here. I’m happy to say that I’m now represented by Creative Kids Tales Speaker’s Agency and Greenleaf Press. 

As we wind down (and ramp up) to Christmas and the New Year, here's what I am looking forward to…

1. Putting my feet up and making a dent in my ‘to be read’ piles!
2. Christmas, of course. Talking of which, I love a nativity book, and this year Jess Racklyeft has illustrated this beauty, at right, reviewed by @Story_hound Archie on Insta, of which I’ve bought a number of copies…
3. And for the New Year – I think I’ll start off with a bang and enter that ‘never ending manuscript’ into this Picture Book Competition – anyone going to join me? 

 
To close the year, Archie and I wish all our readers and followers a joy-filled Christmas abounding in love and laughter - I think this photo encapsulates just that! Happy Christmas!

October has whizzed by in a flash, and I’ve had the pleasure of doing some amazing things and meeting some amazing people this month. As Halloween is creeping up to the doorstep of this blogpost, I thought I'd start with that first.

I was thrilled to be invited as a guest onto Brydie Wright’s radio show on Radio Northern Beaches, By the Book, this month. You will have heard me speak about her show before, and this month, her theme was Halloween, highlighting a few kids books perfect for reading at this time of year – including… The Scared Book! So I got to speak about my book, and about fear in picture books in general, as well as the Northern Beaches Young Writer’s Comp that I judged earlier in the year, my latest story in A Christmas Cornucopia, and, of course, Storyhound Archie. Brydie has even managed a podcast of her interview! You can find it and listen here! Thanks so much, Brydie!

You can catch up on some past interviews, like the one with Paul and Beth MacDonald that I mentioned last month, and one with my friend, Shelly Unwin, here.

​And now I’ll hop from one book to another! I was totally overwhelmed this month, when I met up with a remarkable young person at a book launch (more on the launch later) who had used my picture book, When I See Grandma, as a mentor text to make her own book. Not only that, she has since gone on to remarkable writing success. I was so impressed, I had to ask her for an interview! So, I'd like to introduce you to a young person that I'm sure we’re going to be seeing a lot more of… Chelsea McInerney.

Chelsea, it was lovely meeting you the other day and hearing how my picture book, When I See Grandma inspired you to write your own version of the story. What was it about my story that captured your imagination?

I loved When I See Grandma so much! I have a soft spot for sentimental, emotional stories… I found your book very moving and the girl very caring. I liked reading about the loving relationship between the girl and her grandmother. And then I just kept on writing!

That’s just so beautiful to hear. I may just have wiped a tear off my keyboard! What was your book about? Can you share a few lines with us? And a photo of you with the book? 

I was 9 when I wrote it, (I’m 11 now) and I totally copied your idea! My book is about a girl who visits her very sick mother in hospital. Her mother doesn’t have dementia or Alzheimer’s but the girl still brings her different items that she loves, to make her mum feel better.

That is so adorable, and I'm so flattered! I love how you’ve copied the style and made it your own as well. Brilliant! I feel so honoured. And I also love your added extra in the code! My book has something similar - all the flowers on the cover are found somewhere in the illustrations - you have to look hard to find some!

So not only have you written your own take on my book, now I hear you’ve co-authored a story with your mum, published in Funny Bones (Allen and Unwin) alongside some other pretty impressive authors! That’s so amazing! I’m so jealous! How did that come about?

Thanks! Well, every night, I write in my journal before bed. I mainly like writing adventure with heart in my fiction writing, but I usually write funny stories about my real, day-to-day life in my journal. I just choose one thing that happened that day to write about. Mum read one of my stories and asked me if I’d like to offer it to the Funny Bones anthology that she had just volunteered a story for, and I thought that would be awesome, so she edited it and they accepted it!

That is incredible! What can you tell us about the story?
​
Well, it’s called The Pits, and it’s a funny story about the horror that unfolded when mum decided it would be a good idea to try using an all-natural deodorant. It’s a true story. Unfortunately.

Ha ha –I love the way you just told that - I’m laughing already! I can’t wait to read it.

I wonder when you discovered the joy of writing, and do you write a lot?  

When I was 6, I loved this anime-style cartoon called The Legend of Korra so much that I started writing my own book of other episodes they could make. (So writing and illustrating more stories using those characters.) Then I wrote a bunch of funny little stories based on literal interpretations of sayings. Now I write every night, at my desk, before I read in bed. I’ve got a few journals worth of little stories now!

I think that sort of writing with characters from an established book has a name – Fan Fiction: it’s a thing! That’s wonderful that you write every night – it’s clearly paying off! Do you have any special tips for other writers who want to take their writing to the next level? (Apart from all reading When I See Grandma, of course ;-) )

I don’t really have any tips. Just write about whatever you want to write about. And read whatever you want to read.

I think also, from what you’ve said – write a lot! Thanks Chelsea. I'm sure you're an inspiration to other writers out there! (Chelsea’s mum is children’s author Amelia McInerney, who I interviewed on the Just Write For Kids blog, here.)

Talking about Just Write for Kids, I hope you’re following along with my interview with the delightful Kiah Thomas. You can find October’s instalment here. And I’m so excited to discover that Just Write For Kids has been ranked 14th for the best Aussie book blogs by Feedspot. See the list here.

Also on JWFK, I just finished judging the picture book Pitch It Competition entries, with Kellie Byrnes. It was a tough field of entries! You can find the longlist up now here. Congratulations to those that made the list!

And now for the book launch I alluded to earlier…

​It was a joy to attend the launch of picture book Tulip and Brutus, written by one-third of the One More Page Podcast crew – Liz Ledden, and illustrated by Andrew Plant, published by Ford Street. This launch at Berkelouw Books, Leichardt, was such a treat! Podcast co-hosts Kate Simpson and Nat Amoore sang an hilarious rendition of I got you, Bug, to the tune (I use the word loosely 😉) of I Got You, Babe. If you’re on Instagram, you can see a video snippet of them singing, on my Insta page @debra_tidball. Liz also had a ‘spin the wheel’ challenge – with the choice of winning either a chocolate bug-lolly or a real-life crunchy bug! The kids seemed equally pleased to be munching both – num num num! I can safely say, I’ve never seen that at a book launch before!

 It was their own take of the Halloween video the One More Page Podcast crew made with my book a while ago – do you remember this one?

Also on my radar…    (Photo below right. Clockwise from top left):

​Author/illustrator, Belinda Landsberry, showed me her newest picture book, Once I was Loved. It reminds me of the classic The Velveteen Rabbit. Read with tissues. It is divine.

Storyhound Archie was sent the delightful picture book, Miss Eliza FLowerdew Can Nearly Touch the Ceiling, to review, and I can’t help from yapping about it too. I love the way Brenda Gurr had captured the child’s view of the world, and the physical perspective the illustrator, Helene Magisson’s beautiful, soft and flowy pictures add to the feel. A story that very naturally and sweetly shows the blossoming friendship between a child and 99 year old Miss Flowerdew because of a child’s natural curiosity. It is sublime.

My old writing buddy, Stephanie Ward’s picture book, Arabella and the Magic Pencil, is a magical, effervescent story with luscious language, whimsical illustrations and a strong emotional resonance that will surprise and delight young readers, and will especially appeal to older siblings. It's a must!

I won the junior fiction, Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Film Flip, by Cameron Macintosh and Dave Atze, in a Books on Tour give away and I’m keen to read it – it sounds like a fun, futuristic adventure, trying to work out 'historical' items, like a roll of film!


​I was thrilled to see that my favourite YA book for the year, The Things That Will Not Stand by Michael Gerard Bauer, won the Prime Minister’s literary awards! Congratulations Michael!

Competitions: I mentioned last month that I’d entered a few writing competitions, and then I found this list  put together by Stef Gemmill, that gave me a few more places to submit. You might find it handy too. Thanks Stef! 

In other news... To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, my husband and I did something special and went to the Opera, and saw Il Viaggio e Reims. It was the most remarkable, wonderful show I have ever seen. Everything from the set and costumes to the music and the quirky, silly, storyline were amazing. It had this fabulous metafictional aspect that really appealed to me. It was funny. It was sublime. I laughed. I cried. It was the most special, marvellous night.
 
What I’m looking forward to…

1. Having a holiday :-) and then coming back to…

2. CBCA Northern Sydney sub-branch end of year drinks/dinner at Terry Hills Tavern on the 27th Nov.

3. CBCA NSW Aspire and celebrate! Evening at the NSW Teacher’s Federation, on the 28th Nov.

4. Some SCBWI Sydney cheer, at Woollahra library on the 8th Dec.

5. Presenting an award at Brookvale Public school’s K-2 presentation day.
​
 
That’s about all for my month in KidLitLand. Don’t forget, if you want to keep up with all my adventures, you can subscribe to my newsletter and get all a link to every post in your email!
Subscribe here.  I'll leave you with the posts with the most engagement on Archie's @story_hound's insta account.

​Until next time...

 You can order it at your local bookstore, or buy from  Booktopia.

In other writing news, getting a story in for the Buzz Words competition defeated me this year! There was too much going on in life, to give the story the attention it deserved. Good luck to those who entered! I did manage to get something in to some flash fiction competitions, though, and I have a couple of stories in with publishers, awaiting the outcome... 

In the meantime, I haven't been idle! SBWI had an event in Sydney at the beginning of the month, with a bumper line up. First up, Victoria Mackinlay spoke about all things Google related for authors and I think her talk should be essential listening. It. Blew. My. Mind. Who even knew all the stuff that happens in Google land behind your screen? I went home with a notebook full of handy hints to implement. Can't say I've nailed it yet, but boy, were my eyes opened!! After Victoria, Eve Tonelli from Harper Collins spoke about publishing, and it's always interesting to hear the state of the industry from a publisher. Eve was so open, offering information under the 'cone of silence' that you won't find in any tweets or social media from the day - and that's the value of SCBWI membership! Katrina McKelvey and Kirrili Lonergan rounded up the day with warmth and humour and tales of their picture book partnership springing form their real life friendship. 

It's always fun being one of the Stars at CBCA NSW Inc Northern Sydney Sub-branch Lunch With The Stars. This year's special guests were the wonderful Tim Harris and Matt Cosgrove. How cool is the booklet cover design by Matt? After 10 years of organising this event, Belinda Murrell has decided to take a well earned rest, and we really can't thank her enough for the legacy she has left with this flagship event.
 
Talking about CBCA and  literary lunches, I caught up with Kiah Thomas at the Illawara lunch and lined her up for an interview on The Just Write for Kids Blog -  you can see part one here. Kiah was a delight to interview, and such a good sport, agreeing to the interview days out from giving birth. You can catch part two of the interview on Friday (4th Oct).

Also on CBCA, it was wonderful to celebrate with Northern Sydney Sub-branch President, Jan Latta and other members of our supportive group, on Sydney harbour for a high tea in honour of her significant birthday. Happy Birthday Jan! I think she's about to jet off to Asia for school visits - she is irrepressible!!

Reading Hour this year for me coincided with the presentation night of the Northern Beaches Young Writer's Award for which I was one of the judges. It was a lovely synergy, I thought. The night was a  sparklingly joyous evening, with all the judging authors saying some very lovely and encouraging things about the stories from this talented pool of writers, who were so excited and proud. I loved Jaclyn Moriarty's simile about her finalist's stories sparkling like stars, and how the runner-up and winning stories sparkled just as brightly, only they were a different colour. 

After hearing the judge's comments, I was inspired to read the stories, and you can too, if you follow this link. and scroll to the bottom for the ebook: Wild. Thanks to the Northern Beaches council for these photos:

I had so much fun travelling with author buddies Katrina Roe, Penny Reeve/Jaye and Kat Colmer to Brisbane for the Wombat Books Conference. This was a wonderful celebration of TEN years of Wombat Books and a great opportunity to meet and network with other Wombat Books' authors and Illustrators for the 'in house' personal development day. We heard about the vision and staffing of the company, and shared with each other from the wealth of experience and wisdom in the room.

The conference day drew participants from wider afield, and focused on skills development. Kate Forsyth, as keynote speaker, set the tone for an inspiring and encouraging day of workshops and panels - Kate Gordon even bribed her audience with chocolate (Mint Slice, Cherry Ripes and Crunchie bars - the food of her childhood) as she and Lora Inak spoke in a warm and insightful way about writing from experience and memory (photo below left).  

Below are some photos from the days. At right are Tina Marie Clarke who is the force behind the CYA Conference and super-nice person, and Renee Treml, whose picture book, One Very Tired Wombat is my go-to for new babies, who I met for the first time this weekend. Sadly, there were so many photo opportunities that I  missed!

Back at home, I've been reeling from the news of the imminent closure of the oldest specialist bookshop in NSW,  The Children's Bookshop, Beecroft, in November. Those who regularly read my news will know what a significant part it plays in many of my adventures in KidLitLand. The support Paul and Beth MacDonald give to those in the children's book industry is invaluable. The bookshop will be sorely missed, although gladly, Paul and Beth will continue their involvement with children's books through their writing, illustrating and other exciting plans. You can hear all about what they are up to next on Brydie Wright's radio show on Radio Northern Beaches from 3-4pm this Saturday (5th Oct). Find out more about the show here. 

Talking about The Children's Bookshop events, I attended the launch of Robert Vescio and Nicky Johnston's beautiful new picture book, Under the Same Sky, (and Robert gave me a cup-cake for my birthday - so sweet!!) and met Karen Foxlee, who read her delightful new picture book, Horatio Squeak.

#am reading

Lisa Sibery's The Brilliant Ideas of Lily Green was fresh and fun with a dollop of fantasy - a charming read. You can listen to the Middle Grade Mavens talking about it and interviewing Ampersand prize winning Lisa, on Episode 28, here.

At left are my book purchases this month - I can't seem to walk past a bookshop, or go to a conference, or run into an author (in the case of Jules Faber), without buying a book! I love how eye-catching all the covers are!

My Hope 103.2 radio reviews this month were: Can't Beat the chemistry by Kat Colmer, and The Things the Will not Stand by Michael Gerard Bauer. I totally adored both these YA books. 

​Kat's book was fresh and fun and I didn't want it to end. Michael's book was funny, deep, wise and layered - a book I wanted to hug! It's been shortlisted for the Prime Minister's literary award. Click on their titles above to see my full Goodreads review.
 
I also WON a book form a Books On Tour giveaway! I'm really excited to read Cameron Macintosh and Dave Atze's Max Booth, Future Sleuth: Film Flip - the premise of a kid in the future (the year 2424) investigating 'ancient' technology, like a roll of camera film, really appeals to me! Plus, there's a dog! You can find out more about the book by following the blog tour here.

​​@story_hound Archie was excited to hear a shout out for his Insta account on One More Page Podcast episode 37 - thanks Liz! The episode also reviewed two books on our radar - The Secret Science Society by Kathy Hoopmann, Josie Montano and Anne-Marie Finn (illustrator) that we bought at the Wombat Books conference (and got signed, of course!), and my writing buddy, Stephanie Ward's gorgeous picture book, Arabella and the Magic Pencil, that I've mentioned before.

Talking about Archie, I'll leave you with the post below, with the most comments on his Insta account this month - would you believe it was one of the easiest photo shoots to date?

But before then - what am I looking forward to in October? This is a big family celebration month, with weddings and birthdays scattered throughout the month, although I'm sure I'll find some Kidlit adventures tucked away in the cracks :-) . In November, I'm looking forward to celebrating the end of a busy year with the CBCA: Northern Sydney drinks at Terrey Hills Tavern on the 27th and NSW Aspire and Celebrate 2019 on the 28th.

Until next time,

​Debra 

​August means Book parades! Here's a photo of me straight out of the rabbit hole from Alice In Wonderland. It was taken the year Neil Armstrong walked on the moon! Book parades date back to even before the moon landing, I told the amazed infants students at John Colet school last week, when I was up the front of over 100 students, power point clicker in hand, feeling like a rock star.
 
That rock star feeling lasted all week, even in the more intimate settings of preschools. One particular preschool prepared the students by watching my YouTube video reading of The Scared Book with Renee Price and Digby Fixit, so when I arrived, they felt like a super star was visiting them! It was a delight - thank you Mary Bailey House.

There have been many, many authors and illustrators visiting schools and preschools across the country, some for the entire month of August, flying the flag for the super power of reading. To them I say: you are all super stars!

And thanks to the amazing efforts of people like teacher librarians, teachers, preschool directors, parents, various committees and booksellers that generate hype about books and make these events happen. Not to mention the CBCA volunteers: from the grass roots sub branches organising events for kids, like literary lunches, to the judges for the Book of the Year awards and organisers of events around the announcements. I salute you all!

And of course, congratulations to winners and honour books of the BOTY. See the full list here. Did you pick a winner? 
​
In case you know anyone who may be wondering 'why all the fuss about kid's books?' here’s a quick article on the web by Speech Pathologist and author, Sonia Bestulic about the importance of kid's books to child development.

Talking about book week events, I loved joining the newly revamped, re energised CBCA Illawarra sub branch this month for their literary lunch at Fairy Meadow. I sat with an enthusiastic bunch of students from Coniston Public School, and listened enthralled, to Allison Tait talking about writing superpowers. The kids also got a chance to exercise their creative muscles by collaborating on a story at their tables. Such energy and excitement! And I got to catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones, as well as arrange my next interview for Just Write for Kids. Watch out next Friday for my chat with Kiah Thomas, an Illawarra author who is about to be BIG and I’m not referring her to her late stage pregnancy :)
​
Above are a few photos with (clockwise from top left) Kiah Thomas, Kate Simpson, a group shot, Edwina Wyatt. Of course, book buying and signing was involved! 

I'm looking forward to being part of the Northern Sydney Sub Branch's 10th anniversary Lunch With the Stars next week, with Tim Harris and Matt Cosgrove as special guests.

Talking about the CBCA, the Northern Sydney Sub- branch's 10th anniversary Christmas in July dinner with David Legge and Margaret Wild was fantastic, as expected. Margaret spoke about what she had learned from her journalism background in South Africa, about everyone covering the same stories, but what sets them apart is the unique angle they bring to the story, and about getting to the important stuff up front (or it will be edited out). Reflecting on her picture book career, she said that the 1980's were the 'golden age' in children's publishing when publishers were willing to take risks. She doubts whether some of her books (eg Fox) would have been published if they were submitted today. She sees the place to pitch stories in the current market is junior fiction for 5-7 year-olds.

David spoke, amongst other things, about the value of shifting perspectives, like sitting on a moving train, to loosen up creativity. And I got my anniversary copy of Bamboozled (first published in 1994, the year before my first daughter was born, and a strong favourite of hers.) As always, it was brilliant fun catching up with so many friends.

Unfortunately, I’m suffering from a post-book week virus! Nothing too dreadful, but I am developing a good cough – don’t come too close! So, for my birthday dinner, I was inspired by the title of Wai Chim’s new YA novel The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling, to go to a dumpling restaurant for dinner. And it was surprisingly powerful! Yum! Unfortunately, I haven’t yet read Wai’s book, not being able to make the launch, as it turned out ☹ I do see she’s having an event at Dymocks, Sydney, coming up, so I might get one there. I've heard great things.
 
Talking about launches, I did get to see Tim Harris and James Foley in action at the launch of their new book, Toffle Towers, which was inspired by one of my family’s favourite shows growing up – Fawlty Towers. The kids were in stitches over Tim and James’ animated reading. You can check out Storyhound Archie's post about this book on Instagram. 

I also got to the launch of Susanne Gervay and Marjory Crosby -Fairall's new picture book, The Boy in the Big, Blue Glasses at Waverly library. Susanne was in hilariously fine form and the kids loved all the activities and festivities that went into this event. It's a beautiful book about vision impairment, empathy and empowerment, which has been getting a lot of media attention for its message about eye health. It's also being transcribed into Braille and is part of the Good Vision For Life campaign. 

Another launch I’m looking forward to at The Children's Bookshop, is for Robert Vescio and Nicky Johnston’s, latest picture book, Under the Same Sky. Although technically in August it won’t make this edition of my news, because it’s at the end of the last day. And still on the bookshop, did you see my interview with Paul and Beth MacDonald, From Bookseller to Book Creator, on the Just write For Kids blog? You can find ithere.

​#amReading:
The gorgeous picture book haul I bought from the literary lunch:

Fox and Bird is like a philosophical fable of playground politics, inviting conversation. The divine illustrations and endpapers are to swoon over. A stunning picture book by Edwina Wyatt and Alice Lindstrom 

Allergic Alpaca, Kiah Thomas' first book with Connah Brecon, is quirky, fun and playful, but does require a bit of alphabetical understanding to enter into the game.

Any story about a bulldog has got me in, and George is absolutely lovable. Katrin Dreiling’s illustrations are quirky, rich and textured, and Pat Simmons’ rhyming story is fun with a great twist at the end, and the endpapers are delicious.

Dear Grandpa is a beautiful epistolary exchange between grandson and grandfather with whimsy and longing. I loved hearing the creators, author Kate Simpson and illustrator Ronojoy Ghosh’s discussing the creation of the book on TheOne More Page Podcast.

I'm also reading WritingNSW buddy, Lisa Sibery's The Brilliant ideas of Lily Green a charming, fresh, inventive mid grade novel with sprinkle of fantasy, and a great message of inner beauty and being true to yourself. An antidote to our beauty obsessed culture, despite the setting in a beauty salon!
 
I've wanted to read YA novel, Amelia Westlake for a while, and as author Erin Gough is one of the other judges of the Northern Beaches Young Writer’s Competition, I wanted to read it before meeting her. I'm totally hooked! I especially love the narrative voice of rules-stickler Harriet who walks around in an entitled bubble until bumping into feisty Wilhelmina's orbit, and the opposites attract romance is ignited. I'm enjoying the hi-jinks of their making up a fictional character to challenge the flawed establishment, and whist the 'elite private girl's school' stereotype makes for a good story in this context, I can't help thinking that I would like to see a more nuanced depiction of this in fiction in general - I've seen a lot of good in these settings too.

Watching:
 
Two programs that I’ve watched this month have hooked into the inspiration behind my first picture book, When I See Grandma:
 
Old people’s home for 4 year olds. This is a story close to my heart and I love the concept of this show. It’s a series documenting a research experiment bringing preschool to an aged care home, which is, coincidentally, based nearby me, on the northern beaches of Sydney. It highlights one of the issues that I showcase in When I See Grandma, that is, how taking young children to aged care homes can brighten the lives all the residents. The inclusion of my protagonist’s younger brother in the visual narrative shows the possibilities of interaction with residents generally. There are also moments in the show reminiscent of Mem Fox and Julie Vivas’ Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge. I watched the first episode with my daughter and she said ‘My heart hurts in so many ways!’ It’s equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. And what joy to see older men playing teacups and dress-ups with the children and each other!
 
Playschool recently aired an episode with the theme, Beginnings and Endings, addressing the concept of death and grief. It’s interesting how something so universal, caused such media interest. Preparing children for the death of a loved one was another impetus behind writing, When I See Grandma, which celebrates Grandma's life and cherishes the shared moments. ‘A joyful and poignant celebration of life and love,’ is the quote on the book, from Hazel Hawke’s daughter, Sue Pieters-Hawke.

Judging:
 
Short stories written by kids in years K-2 for the Northern Beaches Young Writer’s Competition. I’ll be announcing the winners of the K-2 year group in September. It's such a joy reading the inventive stories.
 
The annual Just Write For Kids Pitch It competition - I'm judging the picture book section  with Kellie Byrnes – detailshere.
 
Talking:
 
To Katrina Roe on Hope 103.2 about Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth and Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire.

Looking forward to:

Feeling better!

Launch of Under the Same Sky today.

Lunch with the Stars - 3rd September.

SCBWI Q and A afternoon with Eve Tonelli from Harper Collins - 8th September.

Reading Hour and the Northern Beaches Young Writer's Competition awards night on the same day - 19th September. 

Heading up to Brisbane for the Wombat Writer's Conference and professional development day - 27-28th September.

Getting my short story in to the Buzz Words short story prize by the end of the month.

That's enough to keep me busy, I reckon.

I hope to see you somewhere around in KidLitLand :-) 

Leaving you with the most popular post on Storyhound this month (at left)...

Celebrating

​I managed to get to two amazing book launches this month. The first (technically the end of June) was Amelia McInerney’s almost wordless picture book with Philip Bunting as illustrator – Bad Crab. This book is a delight. How Philip Bunting emits emotion from a crustacean has to be seen to be believed - it is picture book magic at its best! The story by Amelia is delightfully fresh and oh-so pertinent to little people who might find it hard to keep their ‘nippers’ to themselves, but also just plain funny on its own. You can check out my recent interview with Amelia, HERE, if you haven't already.

​The second launch was for a picture book illustrated by Beth McDonald, of The Children’s Bookshop fame. Paperboy is a thoughtful, reflective evocative book written by Danny Parker and published by Dirt Lane Press. Paul McDonald describes it (and many of the books published by this publisher) as open-ended, with the story going beyond the ending of the book, inviting thought and discussion. This book is worth reading for Beth’s exquisite collage alone. At the launch, it was fascinating to hear her talk about the process of illustration, and if you look closely, you will see that Paperboy is clothed in his own story – quite literally, his clothes are cut from the manuscript. So much love and consideration has gone into this book, It is really quite remarkable.

Talking about The Children’s Bookshop, I’m interviewing Paul and Beth MacDonald on the Just Write For Kids blog this Friday, about their picture book collaboration, The Hole Idea, that I mentioned last month, so look out for that. I also chatted to Katrina Roe about the book on Hope 103.2 radio, along with Real Pigeons Eat Danger from the Junior Fiction Real Pigeons series by Andrew McDonald and Ben Wood.

Plus, last night I had the pleasure of speaking to the emerging writers group that meets monthly at the bookshop. It’s always a joy to speak about kids books and the children’s literature community to an enthusiastic group of writers and illustrators. (Thanks to Paul and Beth for the photo below),

​Ranting:

I was asked recently to write an article for the Students Need School Libraries campaign, and after speaking with a Teacher Librarian friend of mine about the state of her school library, I was inspired to write The Mystery of Shrinking School Libraries. I’ve been stunned at how this post has resonated and generated discussion in online forums. I’ve never had so many 'shares' of a Facebook post in my life!  Do check out the website and get informed about this important issue.

On my radar:

Congratulations to Aura Parker who launched Meerkat Splash this month. I wasn’t able to make the launch but the book looks joyous.

Brydie Wright has started a fabulous community radio program on Radio Northern Beaches called By the Book about all things related to children's literature. It's on Saturday afternoons from 3-4 pm. I loved listening to Lesley Gibbes on the show recently, and finding out about her inventive 'googling!'. This Saturday's show has a music theme -nursery rhymes and music from kid's movies.

#Reading

I finished Nat Amoore’s MG Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire this month. It’s great fun. Brydie Wright likened it to the movie Home Alone, and I’d have to agree, but with lashings of heart and wisdom.

I loved Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth - do yourself a favour and read this MG novel, if only for Lisa Nicol's brilliant use of language. I constantly marvelled at her metaphors and similes - they were so captivating I couldn't let them go - I had to write them down to marvel at again and again, and try and work out how she does it! And the story is divine - full of all the feels.

Both these books are so eloquently reviewed on the Middle Grade Mavens Podcast, with bonus interviews with the authors, so I highly recommend tuning in (I even get a mention in one :-) The photos below are Instagram sensation, @storyhound Archie with the books.

I am in the middle of reading Don't follow Vee by Oliver Phommavanh. I love Oliver’s characters and his humour and heart, and the way he nails playground politics – perfect!

I’ve also got myself a copy of Raising Readers by Megan Daley of Children’s Books Daily fame – teacher librarian extraordinaire! I was bummed to see that I missed Megan speaking in Sydney recently (don’t know how I missed that one) but she is a fount of bookish wisdom and her book is infused with it. 

Lastly, I’m a bit late to the party with Wonder, but I finally caught up with what all the hype is about!​

Out and About
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My daughter and I went to a lego fair this month and met Henry, one of the winners of Lego Masters, and Marielle, one of the other contestants. It was so inspiring seeing some amazing lego creations and hearing Henry and Marielle talk about developing their Lego skills and it was fun to hear the behind-the-scenes stories from the show. My daughter bought me these fabulous Lego flowers from a trip to the new LEGO shop in Bondi recently.

What I’m Looking forward to:

Tonight is the CBCA NSW Northern Sydney Sub branch dinner with Margaret Wild and David Legge. I’ll have a few books tucked under my arm for Margaret to sign, and I’m in the market for a copy of David’s Bamboozled – it was a strong favourite in our house when the kids were little, and I see that it’s actually 25 years old!

August means Book Week, and the month when authors and illustrators become stars! I’m one of the stars’ at Lunch with the Stars for both the Illawarra CBCA sub branch on the 14th August, and Northern Sydney sub branch, at Manly on the 3rd September, PLUS I’ll be popping into a few schools and preschools to share bookish fun with the kids.

Launches, launches, launches! I’m hoping to get along to a few book launches this month:

Susanne Gervay is launching her book illustrated by Marjory Crosby-Fairall, The Boy in the Big, Blue Glasses on Tuesday 6th August at Waverley library.

Kate Simpson is launching her second picture book, Dear Grandpa, illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh, on the 10th August at Miranda Harry Hartog. Unfortunately I can't make it, but do get along to support Kate, if you can. This is also Love Your Bookshop Day, so pop into any bookshop and show them love! Quite a few bookstores are holding events – I know my ‘local’ The Children’s Bookshop, has a day packed with things to see and do.

Tim Harris’ new series Toffle Towers is launching at The Children’s Bookshop, Beecroft on the 17th August. I hope to be there.

Wai Chim is launching her YA The Surprising Power of a Dim Sim at Kinokonyia in Sydney on the 22nd August. I've been following her Instagram posts and they are very intriguing and inviting. Story Hound Archie is hoping I’ll bring some dim sims home for him! EDITED UPDATE: the launch has been moved to Wednesday 21st and I don't know if I can make that now :-( . 

Robert Vescio is launching yet another picture book, this time with illustrator Nicky Johnston, Under the Same Sky, on the 31st August at The Children’s Bookshop, Beecroft.
 
And if August couldn’t get any better, I’m celebrating my own birthday at the end of the month – I’m sure books will be involved!

So much to do and celebrate this month. I hope I’ll see some of you at these events.
​
I’ll leave with the fave Story Hound Insta posts this month (did you notice I sneakily snuck a few others in this blog post? Because you can't have enough of a French bulldog with books)  :-)  

I bought a pot of gerberas this month! I got a bargain! They are such happy flowers, don't you think? They make me smile. They bring me joy! As do my adventures in KidLitLand! So what's been happening in June?

I was excited to be asked to be one of the guest judges for the Northern Beaches Young Writer’s Competition this year. Entries are OPEN now and close on the 7th August. It’s for anyone who lives or goes to school on the Northern Beaches of NSW. The judges are an awesome line-up – and I don’t mean just me ;-) There’s also greats like Anna Feinberg, Oliver Phommavanh, Nathan Luff, Jaclyn Moriarty and Erin Gough - I’m shaking my head how I even got a look-in! But I am excited! Follow the link here for more info.

I was also happy to receive the edit of my short story for the Christmas Press Anthology to be released at the end of the year. It makes it feel like it's on its way. But I was mortified at my rookie mistake of not capitalising the proper noun for 'Mum.' How could I have overlooked that! Argh!

​I also had the most amazing time reading my flash fiction story, Tagging, at an event in the Blue Mountains recently. Organised by a new private gallery and a writing friend, Arna Radovich, I can’t tell you what a wonderful experience it was! Ten authors read their very short stories to an open, generous crowd of people amongst stunning artworks. It was spine-tingling to feel the mood of the room as the pieces were read. As writers, most often our work is read in the privacy of someone else’s head, so being able to read aloud and sense the crowd being carried along with the story was truly magical. Below is a photo of Arna reading her piece, How to go with the Flow: a Survival Guide, which is published in a brilliant little anthology, Story Cities: A City Guide for the Imagination. And at right is a photo of me mucking around with the Impact Anthology, edited by Irma Gold, in which Tagging is the lead story. (PS Technically not KidLit, but I'm not apologising ;-) )

It was fascinating to hear author Catherine Greer and psychologist Mary Arlington Watt in conversation about Catherine’s thrilling YA novel Love, Lie Repeat, at the Gordon library. A focus of the discussion was perfectionism in young girls. I reviewed this gripping novel last month.

Belrose Public School hosted a fabulous Author Afternoon Tea for TEN members of the CBCA NSW Northern Sydney sub branch this month. The kids were absolutely delightful, listening to and engaging with the authors/illustrators, and the school community so wonderfully supportive. We even had our names up in lights!

The week after, we were back at the school as they generously hosted our CBCA Sub-branch event in the library. The topic of the night was publishing, with self-published Matthew Shallvey and Big Sky Publisher, Diane Evans. As usual, it was a wonderfully interesting and insightful night, with lots of fun networking and catching up with friends. 

Talking about publishing, I hope you got to read the third and final part of my interview with the delightful Jo Sandhu on the Just Write For Kids Blog. Jo was a generous interviewee and I learnt heaps from the interview. I hope you got something out of it to. You can recap here.

Launches:
What fun to be invited to the launch of the century - Nat Amoore launching her debut mid-grade novel, Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire in over-the-top millionaire style, complete with money raining over the crowd, and school principal and a couple of police officers coming to investigate. The crowds were so thick, I didn't get my fan-girl photo! The kids were super-hyped to hear Nat read – or was that to do with the fistfuls of sugar consumed??!! It was a brilliant launch, in true Nat style, although not a fart joke to be heard! What happened there, Nat? I hope you upped your game in Melbourne ;-) 

I’m so excited that members from my writer’s group have not one, not two, but THREE books being launched over the next couple of months, not to mention, the great, fun short stories being published in The School Magazine.

First launch is Lisa Nicol’s Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth. Reviews in already are making comparisons to Roald Dahl, Kate DiCamillo, and Jessica Townsend! How’s that for grand! I’ve had sneak peeks along the way, and I can tell you it will be truly, marvellously, wonderful! I’m bummed to not be able to get to the launch but I’m sure it will be fabulous – I hear smoking drinks are on the menu!

Next up is Lisa Siberry with her Ampersand Prize winning mid-grade novel, The Brilliant ideas of Lily Green. I’ve had sneak peeks along the way with this one too, but I can’t wait to see how glimmering it will be after the editing process. The cover alone (middle, below) takes my breath away!
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The third is a picture book by Stephanie Ward, with gloriously whimsical illustrations and a fun story that kids with siblings especially, will relate to. Available for pre-order on the EK books website. More on all of these in upcoming newsletters.

Talking about new books, ​Story Hound Archie and I got to catch up with wildlife photographer and writer, Jan Latta this month, and reviewed her latest book, Adventures in the Wild with Jan Latta, on my blog here.

I’m also excited to celebrate the launch of Amelia McInerney’s Bad Crab, illustrated by Philip Bunting, on Saturday. I’ll have photos in next month’s news! This is her second picture book and it looks fantastic. I reviewed her The Book Chook on Hope radio this month, along with Robert Vescio’s Bigger than Yesterday, Smaller than Tomorrow. Robert also has another gorgeous looking book coming out soon with illustrator Nicky Johnston, Under the Same Sky.
​
#amreading: two books I’ve read this month have been stand-outs:

In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black is an extraordinary YA and totally deserved all the accolades it got last year.  See my Goodreads review here.

Mrs Whitlam by Bruce Pascoe set my horse-loving young-girl heart ablaze. See my Goodreads review here. 

What I’m into:
Given that writing is a sedentary activity, I decided at the beginning of the year that I needed to invest in my cardio health. I was inspired by my physiotherapist telling me about a 90-year-old client who does a workout everyday via youtube. I figured if a 90-year-old could do it, so could I! My daughter recommended POPSUGAR Fitness, and I haven’t looked back.  I started small, deciding that I could invest 10-15 minutes most mornings, and now I supplement those workouts with 30-minute ones, or combine a couple of my favourites, a few times a week.  Click here for one of my staples, if you’re interested. Noe: I’m often doing the ‘modified’ option!

My favourite instructor is Anna Renderer, and I ignore any talk about calories, and just think about keeping my heart healthy. For some infuriating reason, talk about calories goes hand in dumbbells with exercise for women – is it the same for men, I wonder? Anyway, POPSUGAR Fitness have a range of different styles of workouts – being a dancer, my daughter likes ones that are more dancey.

​Celebrations:
A good friend’s very dear daughter got married last month and I was privileged to be invited to the wedding. I love it when the couple’s personalities shine through in the little touches on the day – like the amazing table decorations with each guest’s name carved in wood, and bonbonniere’s that were a donation to Oxfam with a bamboo goat pin to take home. Joy multiplied!

June has been birthday month for Story Hound Archie. Here’s his birthday Insta post this week:

What I’m looking forward to:

1. Launch of Bad Crab on Saturday.

2. Launch of Paperboy, illustrated by Beth MacDonald and written by Danny Parker, on the 20th July.

3. CBCA NSW Inc Northern Sydney Sub branch Christmas in July with Margaret Wild and David Legge. I’m wildly excited about this! It’s on the 31st July and there’s still time to book  - details here.
 
The CYA Conference is on in July, and it's on my radar to get to one of these years, it sounds fabulous and the writing comp is second-to-none. Congrats to many of my friends who were shortlisted! But instead, this year I’m going on a little mini-break to Noosa with my husband. Can’t wait! 
 
Happy July everyone! Keep warm,
 
Debra xx

PS signing off with the three most popular Story Hound images this month, two of them taken on location with a trip to the beach:

As I was growing up, I had a heat-bursting desire to go on safari in Africa, fuelled, in part, by my favourite TV shows like Daktari and Kimba the White Lion. Fast forward 20 years and my 6-year-old daughter is gifted a copy of Jan Latta’s Diary of a Wildlife Photographer, and her fascination with Africa begins. I admit to harbouring misgivings about the rather text-heavy content, but what I didn’t foresee was the lasting impression this book would have on my daughter, as she flipped through the pages of beautiful animal photography and interesting details about them. It was a book she returned to, on her own, for years to come. She was in awe of Jan.
​
Fast forward anther 20 years and who would have dreamed that Jan and I would share involvement in the same writing networks and become friends? My daughter is impressed! Jan is a prolific author, whose fourteen True to Life Books bring into focus the world’s endangered animals in a way that is accessible and delightful for children. It’s brilliant narrative non-fiction.

Jan’s new book, Adventures in the wild with Jan Latta, is different. It’s a tour with Jan through the sights, sounds and smells of Africa as she takes the reader on safari with her. This is a record of her 11th trip to Africa earlier this year, to photograph wild animals for her True to Life story books, and she reflects upon experiences from her other trips too. It’s aimed at a young readership and makes a great companion to her other books.

Each page of this adventure book is alive with her photographs of animals, bursting with colour and personality. The anecdotes of her safaris draw the reader into the moment. Jan’s evocative writing style allows the reader to experience the rich texture of Africa using all the senses.
​
Hippos, it seems, are an explosion of senses – literally! Giving out ‘soft, contented musical notes,’ munching as they nibble grass, loud angry honking and farting, not to mention the swish of dung into their neighbour’s faces. Delightful! Oh- and be careful where you tread when you get out of the tent in the morning or you might just step in something soft and stinky!

​I enjoyed reading about Jan’s reaction to her adventures: the difficulty of photographing Zebra’s, for instance, or the fear of walking past lions to get to her tent at night, or the thrill of watching a hunt. It is a wildlife book, and there are a few shots of big cats eating their prey. Jan acknowledges the seeming cruelty from our viewpoint, but emphasises the need for the animal’s survival.

With comments like: ‘At night, owls make a soft, hooting sound, contrasting with the roar of the lions. It’s all part of the orchestra of the sounds in the night.’ (P56) it makes me wonder how Jan ever got some sleep with all the ruckus! And makes me glad that she has done the adventuring for me and I can sit back and enjoy reading about it from the comfort and safety of my cosy sofa!
​
The book has interesting headings like ‘How to get close to a lion without being eaten,’ and it’s set out in neat chapters for each animal, moving from lions, through elephants, the big migration, leopard, zebra, cheetah, giraffe, birds and other interesting creatures. 

As I mentioned above, Adventures in the Wild with Jan Latta is a brilliant addition to read alongside her True to Life books to extend learning and give a behind-the-scenes look at the experiences that went into making them.

At the end is a helpful compendium of useful information if you wanted to recreate her trips, or foster an elephant, as Jan has done for many years.

If you wanted hear Jan talk first hand about her adventures, she gives fascinating author talks for schools - check out her website for details. http://www.truetolifebooks.com.au/ Failing that, this book is the next best thing. 

Also, to celebrate the launch of Adventures in the Wild with Jan Latta, Jan is giving an author talk at Gordon library (details below) and running an art competition (you may not know that Jan is a celebrated artist too!).

Art entry details download here:

After a delightfully mild May, winter announced itself this week with gusty and frosty force, giving the trees one final shake to loose the straggling leaves and send  them whipping around in wild flurries. Hunkered down in the warm indoors, we primed ourselves with vitamin C against winter colds by juicing the oranges from our groaning tree - don't you just love the synchronicity of nature? Vitamin C just when you need it! And the sweet juice, squeezed by loving hands is to be savoured, not taken for granted like a supermarket commodity.

​With a new season comes a re-naming of my regular news updates. I think it encapsulates the heart of my ramblings and saves you, dear reader, from cheesy attempts at alliterative or clever titles! Plus, each title was only good for one time, a bit like single-use plastic bags.

This month's kidlit adventures included a visit to the Sydney Writer's festival, where I got to see Sally Rippin talk about the new and last book in the gorgeous Polly and Buster series. My adult daughter shares a love for fine kids and YA books, and this series has captured her heart. I also saw Sally and her co-host of The Kid Lit Club vlog/podcast/facebook, Adrian Beck host an impromptu story-telling session with Deb Abela, RA Spratt and Oliver Phommavanh (authors included in Total Quack Up anthology). So zany and fun! You can listen to a great interview with Sally and Adrian at the festival on the One More Page Podcast: Beyond the Book here.

​This month I also had a fun-filled author visit to Horsley Kids Early Childhood Centre, where the kids enthusiastically searched for hearts that had 'bloomed' whilst I read the love-story When I See Grandma. The kids then they showered their teachers with love by covering them with the post-it note hearts. It was blooming lovely! 

​Whilst (vaguely) in the area, I visited Lost In Books, in Fairfield. This is an amazing kid's bookshop that seeks to engage the local culturally and linguistically diverse community in amazing and creative ways. Their tagline is 'A kid's bookshop that speaks you language.' Do check out their website. It also had two other attractions for me:

1. They had an exhibition of children's books from around the world, presented in conjunction with IBBY (international Board on Books for Young People). As it turned out, the exhibition had been packed up by the time I got there, but the super friendly and accommodating Jane Stratton and her team allowed me to dive into cases of packed-up books. 

​2. The illustrator of The Scared Book, Kim Siew, painted the murals that adorn the walls of the shop, and she regularly runs workshops there, so there was a personal connection that I wanted to explore.

That also led me to visiting the Fairfield City Museum and Art Gallery. This not only houses an amazing display from Farifield's bygone eras (it's like a little historical village), but also cutting edge art installations that I found thought provoking and moving. One of the highlights is an exhibition called 'The Gatherer' by none other than... Kim Siew! It was a thrill to see The Scared Book peeking out from a display cabinet with some of the things you can buy on her etsy store - worth checking out!

I went to a book launch for The Children's Bookshop owners, Paul and Beth MacDonald's new picture book, The Hole Idea, illustrated by Nathaniel Eckstrom. Author and editor, Sue Whiting, helped launch the book, describing it as 'an ode to the creative process and the power of story.' It is a great book by a super-supportive duo who help keep this industry afloat. And there was cake! Watch out for interview with them on the Just Write For Kids blog soon.

Talking about the JWFK blog, I hope you've been following my interview with the wonderfully generous and talented Jo Sandhu. May's instalment is here and it's a real treat for writers. Watch out Friday next week for the final part.

May is also the month for what has fast become one of the premier conferences on the Australian kidlit calendar: KidLitVic. I went to the inaugural event a few years ago now, and it was a seminal time for building a foundation of friendships that have been a source of encouragement and mutual support in out writing lives. I found this reflections post by  Emma Bowd a good summary of this year's conference.

I have friends going to the CBCA National Conference in Canberra this weekend. It is also a (bi-annual) highlight of the Kidlit calendar. I went a number of years ago when When I See Grandma had recently been published. It was the first ever conference I attended as a writer. It was scary but wonderful and awe-inspiring. I met Bob Graham! Say no more! The line-up this year is fantastic too.

You know that I didn't get to the Flash Fiction Festival in Canberra last month, but a friend of mine went and found it invaluable. She even told me that my story was used in one of the workshops as an example of strong openings. How cool is that? Irma Gold has blogged her experiences on this event in her post Four Launches and a festival (don't you love the title?) and you can read it here. Also, I recommend subscribing to Irma's newsletter for great industry information and  inspiration. 

#amreading

I have read some brilliant books this month: 1. Catherine Greer's YA debut Love, Lie, Repeat was a gripping thriller that was unsettling and crept up on you unexpectedly. You can read my review over on Goodreads here.  2. Everything You've Never said by Samantha Wheeler: an insightful and important book for upper primary kids and beyond. You can read my review on Goodreads here.

I'm also enjoying the clever-zany junior fiction Juno Jones by Kate Gordon, (check out the Books on Tour blogs) and I was fortunate win a copy of the gorgeous picture book Colouroos by Anna McGregor, (check out the The Books On Tour blogs for this one too). You might have noticed, that following Books on Tour is a great way to find out about new release books and authors, and also WIN copies of books - it's how I won the Colouroos, thanks to the generosity at the people at Hachette. You can subscribe at Just Write For Kids here.

With Mother's Day being in May,  my family gifted me with two wonderful books for grown-ups with one, Gravity is the Thing, being written by an author of books for kids too: Jaclyn Moriarty. I'm loving it! Below is a photo of me reading it with Cat-on-a-lap, not wanting to be outdone by Story Hound!

​You can see what other books have been on my radar by following @story_hound on Instagram. At then of this post, you'll find three that have been favourites so far in May.

Things I'm looking forward to:

1. Author talk at Gordon library tomorrow night, by Catherine Greer about the aforementioned Love lie Repeat. Technically in May, but I'm preparing my news early this month!

2. Attending a Flash Fiction reading event at a new gallery in the Blue Mountains on Friday night (also technically in May). I'll be reading my award-winning piece, Tagging. It's a bit unnerving having adults as the audience instead of kids!

3. Attending an author afternoon tea at Belrose public school, organised by my local CBCA sub-branch on the 6th June. These are always wonderful events where a bunch of authors visit the school and excite kids about books.

4. CBCA Northern Sydney sub branch event at Belrose Public School on June 12th for a book launch with Matthew Shallvey and meet the publisher of Big Sky Publishing, Diane Evans. You'd be welcome to join. Details here.

5. Launch of Nat Amoore's hotly anticipated mid-grade novel, Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire on the 8th June.
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6. CBCA Northern Sydney Christmas in July at Forestville RSL on the 31st July. This a not-to-be-missed opportunity to hear from the amazing, award winning author Margaret Wild and the fabulous and award winning illustrator David Legge. I am looking forward to getting a signed copy of Bamboozled - a book which had my girls enthralled when it was first published 21 years ago. There's now a 21st anniversary copy available! Details here.

As promised, I'll leave you with the most popular stills on Instagram. Until next time...

​Debra 

For the super-cute moving pictures, you need check out Instagram :) 

​I also attended the Creative Kids Tales festival in Gymea, with this year's theme being Invest – it certainly was well worth investing in! Inspiring, encouraging, thought provoking, moving. There were so many highlights but I only managed to capture one photo - finally meeting Emily Lighezzolo from Wombat Books! Check out the CKT blog for a wrap up of the day. 
 
It was a joy to be able to celebrate the launch of Georgie Donaghey and Sandra Severgnini’s Picture book with Little Pink Dog Books, In the Shadow of an Elephant, at the festival. This is such a beautiful, stunning, moving book with text and pictures so perfectly intertwined that it's nothing less than magical. I was thrilled to hear that the book sold out even before it hit the shelves. It is that good!

On the subject of pachyderms, it was a pleasure to interview Jo Sandhu, author of Tarin of the Mammoths, on the Just Write for Kids blog this month. Don't forget to look out for part two of the interview this Friday. Catch up with Part one here.
 
As well as elephants, there's been a bit of a canine theme running through this month:
 
On Hope 103.2 radio I spoke with Katrina Roe about books featuring canine companions that would be perfect for the school holidays. The gorgeous, gentle, Mr Walker by Jess Back and Sarah Acton was my junior fiction choice - I mentioned this book in my Nov/Dec news. Then, for a totally different canine experience, The Peski Kids by RA Spratt with scruffy Pumpkin's 'take no prisoners' approach, was my middle-grade choice.
 
I attended the launch of Katrina McKelvey and Cherri Hughes' No baths week. This wasn't a launch, it was a festival! Put on in conjunction with the Newcastle Libraries, there was an array of stalls with all things doggie - vets, pet portraits and products, dog wash etc- plus competitions, like the dog with the longest ears. Katrina also spoke about her reading initiative, the RUFF challenge encouraging children to read to their dog for a comforting non-judgemental reading experience. Find out more about it here.  What a fun and engaging way to inspire kids to read! Katrina read and launched her book, with illustrator Cherri, to a crowd of human and canine listeners. I also got to catch up with illustrators Gwynneth Jones and Kirrili Lonergan. It was so worth the trip from Sydney!

​​Inspired by Katrina’s RUFF challenge and Paul MacDonald at the CBCA event encouraging people to post pics of books, not food, on social media, Archie, my French Bulldog buddy and I launched a new Instagram account, story_hound. The idea is simple – to showcase kids and YA books with Archie as the pin-up boy. Here’s our logo and the two photos with equal most likes so far. Do check us out!

What's on my radar?:
 
A couple of book launches on the same day in May – sadly you’ll have to choose between them! I don’t have to agonise over the decision as I had already RSVP’s to a wedding that day, so that’s where I’ll be :)

1. Oliver Phommavanh has a launch for his new book, Don't Follow Vee on the 18th May at 3.30 at Gleebooks. It will also be a celebration of the 10th anniversary of launching his first book, Thai-riffic! Details here.

2. Serena Geddes is launching Rosie and Rasmus, a picture book that she both wrote and illustrated, at The Children’s Bookshop, Beecroft at 4pm on the 18th May.  She also has a Melbourne launch on the 11th May.

This event/exhibition at Lost In Books, Fairfield, (pictured) put on in conjunction with IBBY and the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature, also looks interesting, but I'm not sure if I'll manage to get there. Details here.
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Also on my radar is The KidLit Club facebook page and group, where kidlit is top of the pops! Moderated by the delightful duo, Sally Rippin and Adrian Beck, this is a great online place to find out about everything kidlit and hang out with other devotees. Every second Tuesday there's a vodcast and the interview between Sally Rippin and Davina Bell was a highlight for me. If you’re a writer or illustrator, you’ll find it a fascinating insight into the interplay between creatives and the publishing house – Davina speaking as both an author and publisher. This episode was on the 2nd April, if you want to find it. 

If you're a SCBWI member, the Crystal Kite award voting is closing in a couple of days, so be quick to vote. I still get a thrill thinking about when I found out I won this award last year. This year it will be one of these finalists -the amazing Dimity Powell with Nicky Johnston, Tania McCartney and Kelly Canby. Three fabulous books and four amazing creators! Who to choose??? 

​Totally unrelated, I'm loving Lego Masters, hosted by Hamish Blake, on TV, although blowing up a Noah's Ark lego spaceship was mildly disturbing!
 
What I'm looking forward to:

Sydney writers festival. I'm going to check out the family day on Sunday and I've got tickets to a couple of events on the day.

Unfortunately, I couldn't manage to wrangle my way to the Flash fiction Fun weekend in Canberra this time, but I am keen to get my hands on the anthology that was launched on the weekend. I am, however, excited to be reading my story from the anthology at a Flash Fiction evening at a new art gallery in the Blue Mountains at the end of the month.
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And one for the diary - Wombat books writers conference in September 28 in Brisbane. It’s a great line-up so get in early if you’re interested! Details here.

Wishing you a marvellous May!

Until next time,

Debra.