The 2014 Brisbane Writers Festival had an inspiring launch on Thursday night when author/publisher Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, What is the What – about the lost boys of Sudan) told a full tent about the genesis of McSweeney’s publishing company and its 826 Valenica Writing Centres. The tutoring behind these pirate, […]
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Blog: Perpetually Adolescent (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Jackie French, Andy Griffiths, John Boyne, Morris Gleitzman, Tristan Bancks, david malouf, Dave Eggers, McSweeney's, pamela rushby, Nick Earls, Jennifer Byrne, Kate Eltham, Isobelle Carmody, Stella Prize, a.j. betts, Joy Lawn, 100 Story Building, 826 Valencia Writing Centre, analogue men, BWF, Clare wright, Dangerous Allies, David Hunt, forgotten rebels of eureka, Girt, Josephine Moon, malcolm fraser, Martian Embassy, Sydney Story Factory, Will Kostakis, Book News, Author Interviews, Book Links, Add a tag
Blog: Perpetually Adolescent (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: My Side of the Mountain, Book Reviews - Childrens and Young Adult, Joy Lawn, Intruder, roald dahl, Tristan Bancks, Christine Bongers, New Book Releases, Random House Australia, two wolves, Add a tag
Two authors from the creative arc which encompasses northern NSW and SE Qld have had YA novels published recently.
Tristan Bancks’ Two Wolves (Random House Australia) and Christine Bongers’ Intruder (Woolshed Press, Random House) both look at teens who have family problems and are struggling because of their parents and yet are able to work through these issues and strengthen their own characters.
Thirteen-year-old Ben Silver in Two Wolves has parents who are culpable. They have allowed him to grow up spending hours watching screens and to eat so poorly he is overweight. Their business dealings are suspect and the novel begins with Ben and his seven-year-old sister Olive being thrust into their car and on a ‘holiday’. Ben wants to be a detective and he is dubious about what’s going on, especially when he finds a bag of money in the cabin where they are staying.
While keeping the narrative exciting and fast-paced, Bancks poses moral dilemmas and choices which increase the depth and literary worth of the novel. Should Ben be a detective or thief? Should he warn his family when they are at risk? Should he run or surrender? Should he capitulate to the bad wolf of pride, jealousy and greed or follow the good wolf of kindness, hope and truth?
Set in a Queenslander (Qld’s quintessential timber house) in Brisbane, Intruder explores a difficult situation where Kat’s musician father must leave her alone at night so that he can work. Her mother has died from cancer and neighbour, Edwina (who Kat seems to despise) looks out for her. Like Two Wolves, Intruder opens with a bang – Kat is awakened by an intruder. Whilst remaining in the same geographical location, this novel embarks on a literary journey as Kat makes friends at the dog-park and untangles and resolves the secrets of her past.
Both books refer to other literature: Kat has her selection of Roald Dahl books – Matilda, The BFG and James and the Giant Peach. The protagonists in these books seem to resemble Kat because their parents are either not present or uncaring. Ben’s adventures remind him of Sam Gribley, the protagonist of Jean Craighead-George’s My Side of the Mountain but he feels inadequate about his survival skills, especially when compared with Sam’s achievements.
In spite of traumatic situations, Ben and Kat make good decisions which will place them positively for the future. They are flawed, realistic but positive role-models for their teen readers.
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JacketFlap tags: Paul Jennings, Dimity Powell, two wolves, Galactic Adventures, Book Reviews - Childrens and Young Adult, Little Chef Big Curse, mid grade readers, moral dilemmas, Tilney Cotton, Morris Gleitzman, Tristan Bancks, Michael Gerard Bauer, Nit Boy, New Book Releases, Random House Australia, Mac Slater, Scholastic Press Australia, my life and other stuff i made up, Add a tag
Mid-grade readers, tween fiction, early YA; call them what you will, but books for 8 -13 year-olds must satisfy vital criteria. They require substance, humour be it belly-busting or cloaked as parody, and a completely honest rendering of imagination, no matter how fantastical the premise. Little Chef, BIG Curse and Two Wolves fulfil on all counts. Both are heftier reads for mid to upper primary aged kids (in excess of 200 pages). And ones I could have gleefully gobbled up again immediately I reached the end.
Little Chef, BIG Curse is the debut work of Tilney Cotton and possibly one of the most exuberant reads I’ve enjoyed in ages. I’m not sure if it’s because of the foodie in me or the zealous, ribaldry with which Cotton writes but Little Chef, BIG Curse is utterly delectable and insanely moreish.
It’s an off-beat tale about hapless 11 year-old, Matty Swink who dreams of being a famous chef. He is practically enslaved by the foul-tempered, mean-spirited Fenella as her live-in dishwasher. With no means, family or support, Matty’s future seems confined to sleeping under the sink in Fenella’s diner. But dreams as big as Matty’s cannot be suppressed forever and when the King of Yurp announces a grand Cook-Off and the chance to break a 500 year-old curse on his only daughter, Matty finally forges his way to fame and freedom.
This is a zinger of a tale tickling with intrigue, bubbling with soul and simmering with an underlying sinisterness that kids will find electrifying. Cotton’s brilliant mix of colourful characterisation and original one-liners like, ‘roll with pumpkins’ produces a story that is full of punch, flavour and fun. Peppered with a generous helping of comical metaphors (‘breath like dog poo’ is a favourite), sprinkled with danger and seasoned with revenge, Little Chef, BIG Curse has all the humorous and gross ingredients of a Morris Gleitzman adventure and some. Top notch nosh! That gets 10 out of 10 from me.
Scholastic Press February 2014
Tristan Bancks’ junior adventure books including the My Life, Nit Boy, Mac Slater Cool Hunter and the Galactic Adventures series rival those of Paul Jennings, Morris Gleitzman and Michael Gerard Bauer. Like kids 8 – 13 years-old, I can’t get enough of his quirky, comedy-loaded, layback style. Two Wolves however is a decisive departure from previous offerings aimed at the slightly older reader, demonstrating more drama, stronger conflicts and more thought-provoking themes. It blew my breath away.
Using the Cherokee Indian allegory that we all have good and bad (wolves) dwelling within us as the catalyst for conflict, Two Wolves explores moral dilemmas, innocence versus experience and family blood being thicker than water. Which wolf ultimately wins the internal battle depends on which one we feed, as thirteen year-old Ben Silver discovers.
Ben aspires to be a detective but naively lives in a world of limited resources and shaky real-life experience. He re-lives much of his life through the lens of an internal camera, ‘playing on the cinema screen at the back of his eyelids’.
This movie-making processing of events allows him to deal reflectively and safely with some pretty confronting issues, the most recent being the inexplicable, unplanned retreat into wildness with his parents.
Life on the run with them and his young sister, Olive, soon deteriorates into a painful battle of survival and family ethics. Ben is desperate to figure out what his parents are fleeing from and why but is uncertain of what to do with the truths he may uncover.
Ben’s most daunting concerns, apart from remaining alive with Olive, are the choices he is confronted with; right vs. wrong, family loyalty vs. honourable action. How Ben decides to end his movie makes for a gripping novel heaving with adventure and mystery.
Bancks’ delivery of Two Wolves is tight and crisp. Fragmented internal thought and observation are favoured over rambling descriptive narrative which keeps the reader firmly in Ben’s moments of extreme agitation. Ben is a believable hero. His naïve, almost tongue-in-cheek humour works beautifully against the darker aspects of this story resulting in a novel tweens can and will relate to even if they have never been in Ben’s situation.
Can money buy happiness? What scruples do you possess when it comes to family, or having to confess to a crime? Does deceit ever pay dividends? Two Wolves is destined to keep kids pondering over questions like these for months. Sensational stuff.
Random House Australia March 2014
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Blog: Perpetually Adolescent (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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‘All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.’
A few years ago, on a stopover in Singapore, I had reflexology on the fourth floor of a haphazard shopping mall on Orchard Road. The man charged with the unfortunate task of reviving my crusty, travel-worn hooves asked, ‘What your job?’ I replied, ‘Writer.’ He clicked his tongue several times as he continued to punish my feet. I eventually asked why he was so disappointed by my occupation and he said, ‘Tch,’ again. ‘Stuck in head. Forget you have body.’
I wasn’t overjoyed with this, but the feet don’t lie. Indeed, much of the time, I am stuck in head, forget I have body. I think it was Jerry Seinfeld who said that he looks at his body exclusively as a vehicle for transporting his head around and, once upon a time, I agreed but, apparently, this approach is a killer. Australia’s recently released Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines link inactivity with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and obesity. Not great news for writers. (Especially the bit about doing 300 minutes of physical activity each week.)
Ernest Hemingway, famously, wrote standing up. So, too, did Lewis Carroll, Nabokov and Thomas Wolfe (although he died at age 37. Sadly, standing up is not a cure for tuberculosis.) And, since that fateful reflexology session I have tried to inject more activity into my writing process.
Most of my latest book Two Wolves was written outdoors. It’s a crime-mystery story about two kids who are kidnapped by their own parents and taken out on the run to a woodsy cabin. Connection with Nature was an important part of the story and over the five years of writing the book I spent many weeks on the beach in Byron, jotting Notes on my iPhone or capturing ideas in Voice Memo. Something about being grounded, shoes off, breeze on skin, with the white-noise roar of the ocean, allowed the words to flow more freely and honestly. In the space of four hours I could write 2500 words – far more productive than my indoor, desk-bound efforts. And writing on the beach has the added advantage of not feeling like real work. An iPhone Note doesn’t look like an ‘official’ manuscript page, which relaxes the inner critic and allows you to get on with the business of sketching a draft (while simultaneously staving off cancer, obesity and depression, it seems.)
Like many writers, I still sit for too long most days, I still get trapped on the Web, but I believe in the mental, creative and physical benefits of activity, whether it’s beach-walking or yoga, a treadmill desk or simply setting an alarm every hour as a reminder to stand up and walk to the fridge. I like to think that my best work is ahead of me and it would be nice to be alive in order to write it.
As I type these words I’m in a restaurant with durian fruit, bananas and chickens hanging all around. I’m on another short stop in Singapore, and I have a good mind to track down that smarmy reflexologist guy with the clicking tongue, and thank him for potentially adding years to my life.
Tristan Bancks is a children’s and young adult author. Two Wolves is released in March 2014 by Random House Australia. www.tristanbancks.com
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Tristan Bancks is a writer and filmmaker. He has a background as an actor and television presenter in Australia and the UK. His short films have won a number of awards and have screened widely in festivals and on TV. Tristan has written a number of books for kids and teens, including the Mac Slater, Coolhunter series, It’s Yr Life with Tempany Deckert, and My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up. Tristan’s drive is to tell inspiring, fast-moving stories for young people.
1. Can you remember the first story you ever wrote and, if so, what was it?
I think it was a rip-off of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in which kids could gain all their essential nutrients by eating ice cream flavoured like meat, pumpkin, brocolli etc. When I visit schools now and run workshops with younger grades I notice that kids are still writing that story. I am considering suing several of them because their work is way too close to my version. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
2. How many novels did you write before your ‘first novel’ was published?
My first novel Mac Slater, Coolhunter was published but I had written lots of short films, a couple of un-produced feature film screenplays, hundreds of articles and a number of Educational fiction and non-fiction titles prior to having that book published.
3. What sorts of books do you love to read?
I seem to love page-turning reads with unadorned prose and strong characters that explore an idea. My favourite adult books include Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and Jack London’s White Fang. My favourite children’s and middle-grade reads include Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Markus Zusak’s Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Tim Winton’s The Bugalugs Bum Thief.
4. If you were forced to co-write a novel with someone (as we’re not presuming that you’d want to co-write with anyone necessarily) who would it be?
I have co-written a novel, it’s yr life with Tempany Deckert, which really brought the writing process alive for me. I also love collaborating with illustrators. These days, I think I find it difficult to co-write but I would love to collaborate with a Web / Gaming person to build interactive elements into the story as I write.
5. What are you working on now and next?
I am working on my third book of weird-funny-gross short stories in the My Life series and, in the background, I am exploring another darker middle-grade crime-adventure book along the lines of Two Wolves.
Author website: www.tristanbancks.com
Twitter: @tristanbancks
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Blog: Jrpoulter's Weblog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Uncategorized, Poetry, games, art, Stories, competitions, Wendy Orr, Tristan Bancks, Terry Denton, Deborah Abela, Lucia Masciullo, Martin Chatterton, Kerry Brown, Christian Bocquee, colour-ins, Hilary Badger, Jennifer R. Poulter, Julie Fisan, Petr Carnavas, Add a tag
The Untangled Tales website is the best of the Summer Reading sites. Going over the site, was like being in one of the famous ‘But WAIT, there’s more!’ advertisements! At every click of the mouse, there was more! There is something here for children of all ages [preschool, primary, secondary], for their parents, teachers and librarians. The site is gorgeous [literally] to look at, easy to navigate, entertaining in content and layout and engagingly informative!
The Celebrity Corner questions brought out the creative quirkiness of authors and illustrators in a very entertaining way and featured a very diverse group of creatives!
The Untangled Tales game is a blast – great fun! It challenges memory and prods research capabilities and informs about other cultures, their customs and attitudes as reflected in their fairytales and legends.
Check out the side tabs and their drop down menus – there is heaps and heaps of fun activity, fantastic tales, playful poetry and fanciful stories, arty opportunities, creative competitions in writing and art activities and painless learning along the way!!
Blog: Books for Little Hands (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tristan Bancks, Nit Boy, Mac Slater, My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up, Galactic Adventures, Story Scrapbook, Add a tag
Blog: Susanne Gervay's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: News, SCBWI, Sally Murphy, James Roy, Tristan Bancks, Ursula Dubosarsky, Mark Greenwood, Michael Wagner, Wendy Blaxland, Sue Whiting, Christopher Cheng, Frane Lessac, Deborah Abela, Samantha Hughes, Oliver Phommavanh, Jacqueline Harvey, Serena Geddes, Scott Westerfield, Aleesah Darlison, SCBWI Conference at The Hughenden, Leigh Hobbs, Karen Brooks, Lesley Vamos, Somerset Celebration of Literature Festival, A J Betts, Dianne Lawrenson, Georgia Blain, Norm Jorgenson, Add a tag
If you’re not away or flying back from Bologna or at festivals and conference, the SCBWI Network is:-
5-7 p.m.
Monday 2nd April
at The Hughenden
14 Queen Street Woollahra (near Paddington, Sydney).
I have been on a conference and festival trail where I have met kids, librarians, teachers, adults, even politicians from Queensland to Picton to the beautiful Dixon Room in Sydney’s heritage Mitchell Library overlooking our Botanical Gardens towards the Opera House.
I’ll be keynote at the Glouceter Festival , touring the USA with my ‘Butterflies’, visiting Taree, Melbourne ….and more ….. and I am looking forward to speaking at the IBBY Congress in London. It’s crazy but the wonderful life of a writer.
Deborah Abela, Serena Geddes, Lesley Vamos, Christopher Cheng … are just back from Bologna Book Fair; and
shared a fabulous time with heaps of brilliant authors and illustrators in Somerset on the Gold Coast like Jacqueline Harvey, Michael Wagner, Oliver Phommovanh, Ursula Dubosarsky, Tristan Bancks, Karen Brooks, Leigh Hobbs, Scott Westerfield, James Roy, Georgia Blain and the brilliant list goes on.
Frane Lessac, Mark Greenwood, Sally Murphy, Norm Jorgenson, A J Betts, Dianne Lawrenson, Samantha Hughes …
….and all those WA writers and illustrators are on the move throughout WA and NT at festivals and reaching remote indogenous communities.
Sarah Davis and Deborah Abela have flown to Alice Springs to join them. Love it.
Aleesah Darlison is back from Hong Hong; Jan Latta just back from China speaking at festivals; Jacqueline Harvey is doing her Alice-Miranda tour in the USA and UK.
Sue Whiting’s at All Saints in Perth which I loved when I spoke there last year
This is the coolest community ever!
If anyone is in Sydney on Monday 2nd April, there’s a great talk by Wendy Blaxland on non fiction writing; catch up with SCBWI Conference information on 29th June-2nd July and networking at The Hughenden.
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JacketFlap tags: felice arena, Tristan Bancks, Deborah Abela, Oliver Phommavanh, Leigh Hobbs, National year of Reading 2012, News, author James Roy, author Karen Brooks, author Michael Wagner, Deputy Headmaster Somerset Michael Brohier, frances watts children's author, National year of reading ambassadorts Deborah Abela Felice Arena Susanne Gervay, Somerset Celebration of Literature Festival Queensland, Somerset Festival Andrew Lewis, Conferences, Add a tag
Love, Love, Love…. this festival.
The sun is shining, tropical palms wave in the breeze, the Radisson Resort welcoming … and there’re friends, friends, friends.
We head for the pool – author Deborah Abela and picture book author Frances Watts were splashing around. So was author Felice Arena. I swim 20 laps and relax in the jacuzzi.
We had a great welcome from Festival Director Andrea Lewis, Deputy Headmaster Michael Brohier and Festival programmer Karen Mackie and a fabulous dinner.
Caught up with so many cool authors and illustrators:-
Oliver Phommavanh – Thai -riffic!!!!; Con- Nerd and new book coming – huge success
Karen Brooks – fabulous fantasy author
Jacqueline Harvey -author of the run away success Alice Miranda
Michael Wagner -watch out for hilarious Maxx Rumble series
Leigh Hobbs -iconic illustrator and creator of Old Tom, Horrible Harriet and Mr Chicken
….. and hamming it up authors Tristan Bancks and James Roy ….watch this space for more
Blog: Susanne Gervay's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Tristan Bancks, James Roy author, Brisbane Writers Festival, Dr Maria Hill historian, Emily Rhodda, Farrin Jacobs Editorial Director HarperCollins USA, Shona Martyn HarperCollins, News, Add a tag
Had the BEST day speaking at the Brisbane Writers Festival in the state of art Queensland State Library alongside the Brisbane River – it is a very special cultural precinct.
Loved catching up with my friends and colleagues there – Emily Rhodda, James Roy, Tristan Banks, Maria Hill, my publisher from HarperCollins and the fabulous publisher Maryann Ballantyne and lots of people.
It was very special seeing Coralie who came to my session. She was part of the CBCA Sutherland Shire – what a wonderful supporter and friend.
Thankyou to Shona Martyn MS HarperCollins for the best dinner ever . I sat b-
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JacketFlap tags: Lowood school, Lucia Mascuillo, Monkey Baa Theatre's 'I AM JACK', Silkstone school, Sue Whiting and illustrator Anne Spudvilas, Toogoolawah school, News, Literary events, Tristan Bancks, Gus Gordon, Sheryl Gwyther, Sally Rippin, Meredith Costain, Deborah Abela, Gabrielle Wang, Angela Sunde, Mark Wilson, Leigh Hobbs, The Ipswich Festival of Children's Literature, Woodlands at Marburg, Bethany School, Brassall school, Brian Faulkiner, Bundamba school, Festival Director Jenny Stubbs, General Macarthur, Kentville school, Lockrose school Ipswich, Add a tag
The ghost adventure is dark, eerie in the Woodland 1880s mansion at Ipswich Festival.
Leigh Hobbs creator of the famous and fractious ‘OLD TOM’ was being ‘scary’ with fabulous author Meredith Costain hamming it up as his doppler behind him.
General Macarthur stayed at Woodlands and his red leather chair and desk dominates an upstairs room. So of course the guys all sat in the General’s chair. Then the girls go into the act.
Highlights:-
Hanging out at the pool table with all the writers & illustrators – author Sue Whiting and illustrator Anne Spudvilas were hilarious at our game of chance and dice – I rolled a full 5 dice!!!!!!
400 hundred kids packed into the performance of ‘I Am Jack’ held spellbound -Lowood, Silkstone, Bethany, Bundamba, Toogoolawah, Brassall, Kentville, Lockrose schools were FABULOUS!
Morning walk with illustrator and author mark Wilson, illustrators Anne Spudvilas and Leigh Hobbs through the mist and field.
LOVE the authors and illustrators there – Deborah Abela, Brian Faulkiner, Sally Rippin, Gabrielle Wang, Gus Gordon, Lucia Mascuillo, Mark Wilson, Tristan Bancks, Sheryl Gwyther, Angela Sunde and ……
Thankyou to Festival Director Jenny Stubbs.
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JacketFlap tags: www.roomtoread.org, Glowinskis' Library, Jamie's A Hero by Susanne gGrvay, Oleśnica, News, Markus Zusak, Room to Read, Tristan Bancks, Libby Hathorn, Deborah Abela, Add a tag
There’s something romantic about Teddy’s Library in historic Olesnica. With nearly 7500 children’s books in Glowinski’s Library, in different languages from 88 countries, children and parents have access to the world culture of books.
I’ve donated from time to time my books. Teddy just sent me this photo of his grand daughter Daria holding ‘Jamie’s A Hero’ – my first book. I’m reminded to post some books next week to the Glowinski Library.
Daria wants to be a librarian like her grandfather. I find it touching.
As an author Ambassador of Room to Read with my writing friends like Deborah Abela, Markus Zusak, Libby Hathorn, Tristan Bancks, we can change the world through books and literacy.
Teddy’s library is doing that there in his small corner of the world.
Thankyou Teddy.
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JacketFlap tags: Tristan Bancks, school magazine, My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up, Tom Weekly, Add a tag
Hey peoples - 20 now, I see! Been a while I know but I just wanted to touch base with the blogging world and post up some stuff that I have been working on. Had my head down in my studio lately and haven't spent much time on the interweb - especially since I let Facebook go. Abandoned Twitter some time ago too. Thought I would miss it all but... nah. I am quite prone (horribly so) to a distraction (pointless lists are are problem) so it feels good not to have another thing feeding off my poor defenceless brain. Anyway, ah yes... I've been fairly busy. In between books I have my regular School Magazine work. Above is a School Magazine illustration for a story that involves, amongst other things, a giant sparrow. I don't get to draw giant sparrows that regularly (never) so it was a fun one.
Below are a couple of other School mag illos. It's a great magazine and I really enjoy the opportunity to try some different approaches, mediums and ideas that may transfer nicely to my book illustration work.
As I mentioned previously, I have been working on Tristan Bancks' fantastic new book 'My Life & Other Stuff I Made Up' published by Random House. Here's the cover I designed.
It's a very funny read about a boy called Tom Weekly. I spent a good deal of time in Tom's head, drawing (and list writing - good at those!) the odd things that sprout from his over-imaginative brain. Basically I channeled my 12 year old self. The one that spent days looking out classroom windows, writing lists about girls and doodling on pretty much anything that was in front of me. Good awkward memories. Here's a sample.
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Blog: Susanne Gervay's Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Room to Read, Tristan Bancks, Gus Gordon, Charities, Deborah Abela, Add a tag
Deborah Abela gave a vivacious reading of John Wood’s kids’ book - Zac the Yak.
Zac the Yak is sending the message from Room to Read that kids in the developing world need books and the right to read. That’s the way to end poverty and change the world.
Tristan Banks gave a terrific speech about all the ways we can help Room to Read from joining their City to Surf team to joining the charity ball ….
Illustrator Gus Gordon joined in and there were lots of other authors and supporters. Even though I was a little late due to Sydney Harbour Bridge traffic, I made it for the speeches. It was a great night.
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JacketFlap tags: Room to Read, Tristan Bancks, Deborah Abela, Susanne Gervay. Paul MacDonald from The Children's Bookshop Beecroft, Yak the Zak by John Woods, Add a tag
SUPPORT ROOM TO READ & THE KIDS OF THE WORLD
Where? Kirribilli Club
Time: 6.30pm
Date: Thursday 22 July.
Launch: John Wood’s new children’s book, Zak the Yak with Books on his Back
FREE COPY OF ZAK THE ZAK to everyone attending
Room to Read Ambassadors: Tristan Bancks, Deborah Abela and Susanne Gervay speaking about Room to Read bringing literacy to the kids of the developing world
- buy their books, get them signed, and 15% goes to Room to Read
Bookseller: Paul MacDonald from The Children’s Bookshop in Beecroft
Contact: Email your attendance to Debbie Cairns, [email protected]
Room to read: www.roomtoread.org
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JacketFlap tags: Writing, The Hughenden, Tristan Bancks, Kate Forsyth, Belinda Murrell, Sue Walker, Oliver Phommavanh, Aleesah Darlinson, Add a tag
There was so much great news at the Sydney Kids Writers & Illustrators Network at The Hughenden.
There are lots of launches, festivals, conferences, CBC event and new books coming out in Oz or travelling the world. Tristan Bancks Mac Slater Cool Hunter has gone to the USA and the cover looks fantastic. More sequels are coming.
Kate Forsyth’s Wildkin’s Curse and sister Belinda Murrell’s The Ruby Talisman are featuring in lots of festivals – Sydney Writers Festival, Kids and YA Literature festival at the NSW Writers Centre and much more.
Oliver Phommavanh’s ‘Thai Riffic’ is launching at Gleebooks in June. Watch out for it.
Sue Walker’s ‘Arnie Avery’ (Walker Books) which got a 5 star review in Australian Bookseller and Author is being launched at the NSW Writer’s Centre Kids and Young Adult Literature Festival 3rd July. She showed an advance copy – it’s so good.
My Always Jack to be published by HarperCollins is due for release in October. It’s a book dear to my heart about making it OK for kids to talk. Here’s the draft cover.
There’re new books from Aleesah Darlinson, Dawn Hort, Stephen Measday’s ‘Send Simon Savage’ is selling through the roof…. lots of good stuff is happening.
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Hi Renee,
fabulous interview.
I met Tristan at CYA last year and bought his awesome SF book.
Are you going to CYA this year? Love to catch up!
Karen :)
Awesome interview, Tristan does run fantastic workshops too.
Thanks Karen and Charmaine.I attended Tristan's workshop with Belinda Jeffery at The Somerset Celebration of Literacy this year.His story scrapbook ap is awesome!
Hey, thanks for saying. And cheers for having me on your blog Renee. Love to hear any feedback y'all have on Story Scrapbook app. Feel free to leave a comment on my site or send an email. Happy writing. T.
Renee, was looking forward to this interview with Tristan. Good one. Especially love the way Tristan makes the whole process seem so much more 'real'. OMG the app is brill. Can't wait to delve further. Thanks R & T for sharing.