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I've recently been appointed to a newly created position—Western Sydney Young People's Literature Officer. My brief is to develop programs to engage the young people of Western Sydney with literature, as both audience and creators. I will be working with writers, illustrators, publishers, fellow arts and community workers on the project.



It follows (some years later!) my Churchill Fellowship in 2001, which allowed me to visit community based literature programs for children and teenagers in the USA, Ireland and UK. I've also been back to the US twice, speaking at various conferences, festivals and universities about Australian children's literature.



I have an MA in children's literature from Macquarie University. I have worked as a high school English teacher, an editor of magazines and books for children and teenagers, and on a range of projects for young readers and writers including the Aloud program for the NSW Branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia, the Byron Bay Writers' Festival and the Nestlé Write Around Australia at the State Library of NSW.



I teach courses in writing children's books and advanced creative writing at the Sydney Writers' Centre. I also write reviews and other articles about children's and youth literature.



I keep two blogs: the Misrule blog, my personal blog about children's and youth literature, and the new westword blog, which documents developments in the new western Sydney project.

I've recently been appointed to a newly created position—Western Sydney Young People's Literature Officer. My brief is to develop programs to engage the young people of Western Sydney with literature, as both audience and creators. I will be working with writers, illustrators, publishers, fellow arts and community workers on the project.

It follows (some years later!) my Churchill Fell... More