How fortunate I am feeling after a whirlwind trip to the Gold Coast to attend the Primary English Teacher Association of Australia (PETAA) Conference.

The conference featured a line up of academics, educators and creators all passionate about building writing skills in and out of the classroom through pleasure, purpose and pedagogy. I filled notebooks, soaked up new learning, talked, laughed and made new friends while also spending time with long standing ones (including my big sister). Here I am, just before I spoke, trying to blend in with the Storybox banner in my fabulous Jericho Road dress.

I was tasked with delivering the closing keynote and shared the value of using verse novels as mentor texts and more. Although I used my own as examples, I hope I also got across the message that there are a plethora of gold standard verse novels educators can use.

I was particularly pleased that the analogy I used to talk about mentor texts allowed me to talk about my beloved Fremantle Dockers, and especially David Mundy. It isn’t a Sally Murphy presentation if I can’t sneak in some mention of Freo. I also managed to make people laugh, cry and nod their heads approvingly (not all at the same time).

I’m back at my desk today, filled with determination to keep doing what I do, to ensure that young Australians have books (and poetry!) in their hands, homes and classrooms, and that educators have the tools to make sure this happens.

To that end, if you’d like me to visit your school, festival or professional learning event, let me know.