St Mark’s Drummoyne was filled with buzzing kids, parents and the wonderful CBCA (NSW) welcoming authors Nathan Luff, Oliver Phommavanh, Ursula Dubosarsky and me.
Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illlustrators (SCBWI) Australia East and New Zealand supports the Children’s Book Council with authors Oliver Phommavanh, Nathan Luff and I - we are both SCBWI and CBCA members.
Mary Anne Cartwright from the CBCA committee was a great host – thankyou for a lovely Author Tea, especially the terrific orange cake. I have a terrible sweet tooth.
Author Toni Brisland is the SCBWI (NSW) liaison member with the CBCA.
It was a National Year of Reading (NYR) event – I am proud to be an ambassador for NYR
www.love2read.org
One of my favourite photos of 2011
Order of Australia OAM Susanne Gervay
is when the Governor Professor Bashir, the first woman to be appointed Governor of New South Wales, presented me with an Order 0f Australia (OAM) for children’s literature and other associations at Government House
Dr Bashir is a leading light in children’s services, psychiatry and mental health services, and indigenous health programs. and when appointed was Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney ; Area Director of Mental Health Services Central Sydney ; and Senior Consultant to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern and to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Kempsey.
She is patron of the Children’s Book Council. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 for her services to child and adolescent health; and was invested by Her Majesty, the Queen, with the insignia of a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 2006.
