I'm Sally Murphy, an Australian author of over 50 children's books. You'll find bits of me buried somewhere in every one of my books. I love reading, writing, and speaking about reading and writing and I especially love poetry and verse novels.
View my books or hire me to speak at your school, festival, or writers group.
I am quiet at present while I process the loss of my mum, who I adored.
But today the news that a poem I wrote during Mum’s admission to hospital earlier this year has been published. You can read it in Creatrix, the journal of WA Poets.
If you have a mum, hug her for me.
I’m a bit late with my list of May reading – but I did get through quite a few reads in May in spite of lost of busyness. here’s what I read.
We Shall Remember: The Story of Singapore at War, by Sim Ee Waun, illustrated by Lim An-Ling (Pepper Dog Press, 2022). Picked up while in Singapore for AFCC and read with interest – the nonfiction explanation of WW2 from a Singaporean perspective taught me things I did not know, which is important.
This brings my total for the year to 45. Lots more to come.
How amazing my last week was! I flew to Singapore for the Asian Festival of Children’s Content
(AFCC). Note the first time I have attended this wonderful event and, each time I go it gets bigger and better.
Here are some of the things I did:
You can see a highlight reel of the event here:
Key takeaways:
I could go on, but if you want to see more of what I did, I posted highlights over on Instagram each day.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE getting to speak to audiences large or small and want to do more of it. If you need more poetry in your festival, school or other event, reach out via the contact form here, and let’s talk.
This time next week I will be on my way to wonderful Singapore to present at the annual Asian Festival of Children’s Content(AFCC).
This is my third time attending this event – I first went in 2015 and then again in 2024. This time I am delighted to be presenting on the wonders of verse novels, sharing poetry live on the stage in the National Library of Singapore plaza, and visiting local schools to speak to students and teachers.
And, of course, I won’t just be presenting – I will be listening and learning from creators, publishers, educators and more from Singapore and from further afield. What an opportunity.
If you are in Singapore – or want to plan a last minute trip – you can find out more about the festival and the amazing programmes here
One lovely feature of the AFCC each year is the festival bookshop, run by Denise from Closetful of Books. I was really excited to see Denise sharing a review of Worse Things over on the AFCC Facebook page. Check it out here.
If you are in WA (or if you just want to fly interstate for a booklaunch), there is still space available for you at next week’s launch of If I Could Eat the Stars. Would love to see you there!
You can book here.
Haven’t got your hands on If I Could Eat the Stars yet? Never fear here is a way to get a glimpse inside and hear three of the poems read aloud.
Wonderful to see the book profiled as part of the Premier’s Reading Challenge (WA) weekly story time.
And, if you are a young person in WA and not aware of the PRC, now is a good time to remind you that you can take part through your school, or simply sign up independently. All the details are here.
Not from WA? Each state has its own PRC, so do look them up. They are excellent.
And don’t forget, If I Could Eat the Stars is out now, and reading poetry is FUN.
