I AM JACK touring USA
I’m going home soon after a whirlwind trip with I AM JACK with thousands of kids and teachers seeing I AM JACK, media and adventures.
Loved that SCBWI authors and illustrators saw the play too. Special hi to Des Moines and of course Suzanne Morgan Williams who flew into las Vegas to see it – and we had fun too. Check out the BANANAS.
I love Aussie kids, but love American kids too.
They’re so funny at times and gorgeous and real.
Questions and comments by the audiences moved me about being bullied and how Tim McGarry who plays JACK and 11 characters reached them.
Ended up with catching up with my USA publishers of the I Am Jack series – Kane Miller Books
- Love Kira Lynn Publisher and Lynn Kelley the Marketing Manager- and some of the consultants I met there – Pat Vecio who took me on a wild and woolly ride into Orange County – so made it with heaps of detours and I got to speak to kids from one month old to 15 with parents and grandparents
- and thankyou to Mia for a lunch of taco fish??? New cuisine for me.
Monkey Baa Theatre and Tim McGarry continue their USA tour through snow and sleet – they’ll be home mid March and I’ll be home soon.
What an amazing trip.
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It’s the start of 2014 & it’s drop in time before the crazy life of writing tours, events, festivals , school visits, media …. start seriously.
Where’s the drop in centre? You guessed it -The Hughenden.
I loved catching up with:-
-the award winning Albany (WA) Dianne Wolfer whose Lighthouse Girl & Lighthouse Boy (Fremantle Press) are best sellers!
- Monica Lizama the Chilean-Australian writer who dresses up as her character PAWS!
- Jennie Orchard with Margaret Wilcox from Room to Read who are developing the Writer Ambassador programme to raise awareness of the need to educate the kids of Asaa and Africa. SCBWI is on board with lots of our authors taking on the role of ambassadors.
- Libby Hathorn dropping in with her poetry books and she’s got a new book coming out with HarperCollins on ANZACS.
- Chris Cheng with Bini getting ready to head off to New York for the SCBWI Conference and then Bologna Book Fair …. and other favourite creators!
And I’m getting my spangles ready to hit Las Vegas for the I AM JACK season at the Smith Center of performing Arts!\
I’m staying at the EXCALIBUR HOTEL, so getting into princess gear … their could be some princes there. or toads!
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How do you feeling about our crazy life?
Ask the PUG!!!!!!
Can any more events, parties, book fairs, get togethers …. be squished into the 4 weeks before December’s Christmas!!!!!!
It’s on … we’re heading for the turkey and an almighty crash!
Diary of November 2013:-
- Celebrations of Hazel Edwards receiving an Order of Australia – YEAH!
- MC for SCBWI’s INSIDE STORY with our loved authors & illustrators at The Children’s Book Beecroft telling the inside story of creating their books including Deborah Abela, Tony Flowers, Yvette Poshoglian, Jan Latta, Christopher Cheng and more.
- Lunch with assistant editor of School Magazine - LOVE Sue Murray - a talented playwright as well as editor
- Sharon Rundle editor and friend and I went off to the launch of ’A Country Too Far’ at Glee Books- caught up with professor Elizabeth Webby and Tom Keneally, Rosie Scott and others.
- brilliant theatre at the opening at The Ensemble of ‘Rapture Blister Burn’
- catching up with my favourite actor Tim McGarry to talk about the I AM JACK USA tour for 2014
- Society of Women Writers’ at the State Library – lunch and collect a prize for ‘Ships in the Field’ – lovely
- Christmas celebrations at the CBCA lunch Northern Branch – catching up with children’s laureate Alison Lester and fabulous illustrator Sarah Davis
-Unleased Writers Festival in Sydney – loved speaking about the journey of writing with the audience
- post Unleashed Festival shared the book industry over dinner with publisher Paul Collins and author James Roy
- I’m the prize on e-bay for the UNLEASHED FESTIVAL! Talented author Mo Johnson won me – well a mini mentorship!
- Caught up with Sue Meyer at the Francis Keevil Gallery to se Sue’s beautiful art
- lunching with the fabulous authors Meredith Costain & Louise Park for Christmas cheer
- dinner with my wonderful publisher Lisa Berryman from HarperCollins to share news and my new book JACK 4 – yet untitled!
- coffee with Jesse Blackadder – love her last book STAY the last dog in Antartica -at The Hughenden who’s down in Sydney for a minute meeting her publishers
- my darling friend Kim’s 40th birthday
- the Australian Publisher Association party – sooo good and caught up with the HarperCollins team there.
- speaking at my old school Daceyville’s Creative Writing Festival – aaahhhhh – memories
- Books in Homes committee meeting selecting books for indigenous & disadvantaged kids – great charity
- launching Margaret Roc’s ‘Jellybean Goes to School’ at the Lindfield Learning Hub – lots of jellybeans and love Margaret
- the SCBWI BOOK FAIR at The Hughenden with some of our best ever authors like Sopgie Masson. kate Forsyth, Belinda Murrell, Deborah Abela and the lsit goes on.
- at the BOOK FAIR supporting ROOM TO READ www.roomtoread.org – loved seeing Jennie Orchard, Wendy Rapee, Cathy and Margaret and the Room to Read team.
- MC for Susan Wyndham’s talk on her book she edited and contributed to ’My Mother. my Father’ (Allen & Unwin) with authors Margaret Rice and Gerard Windsor – such great wrietrs at The Hughenden. Buy the book for Christmas.
Phew – that’s November!
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Kids, parents, grandparents gathered to celebrate reading at Randwick City Council Library for the end of The National Year of Reading with a fund raiser for:-
the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation to promote literacy indigenous communities.
As an ambassador for the NYR 2012, I was pleased to accept the invitation to read ‘I AM JACK’ to as part of the celebration of a terrific year of reading.
I am jack is having another season at Darling Quarter Theatre, Darling Harbour:-
Book at www.monkeybaa.com.au
Sucks your emotions out
Makes you question man’s capacity for evil
Relationships damn you?
Relationships redeem you?
The power of imagination
In the deepest darkness of a South American Prison, there’s the beauty of story with Aurora transforming the violence and filth of the cell into the glorious world of film, music, passion … redemption through love?
Did I LOVE it? YES!!!!!!!!!!!
Highlights:
- the talented Alexis Fishman transforming the brutal cell into glamour, dance, salvation
- James Lee’s moving portrayal of Molina
- complex direction by Stephen Colyer that seemlessly moved between characters, places
- complex musical direction by Craig Renshaw
- powerful production
The technical design and stagcraft were so well crafted in a limited theatre space.
Special appreciation to Jed Silver who did the sound design – he was also the sound designer on Monkey Baa Theatre’s production of ‘I Am Jack’.
It’s worth seeing- so much to talk about afterwards, to think about, to question.
Playing until Sun. 8 Aug 10
Ended up with catching up with my USA publishers of the I Am Jack series – Kane Miller Books
