sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

Hello!

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.

Click here to view Sally Murphy's books

What I Read in March 2026

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Another month has ended – and one begun – so time to look at what I read in March. I read 8 books, with my usual eclectic mix. Here’s what they were:

Books for Children

  1. The Only Branch on the Family TreeThe Only Branch on the Family Tree , by Sherryl Clark (UQP, 2025).  I love verse novels, and I especially love the work of Sherryl Clark, so it was a delight to read this one. I loved seeing connections between this story and my own prose novel, Looking Up – in that they both deal with family estrangement, and a protagonist who discovers that a grandparent is not dead, in spite of what they’ve been told.
  2. Owl Know How [With Pattern(s)]Owl Know How , by Isobel Knowles and Cat Rabbit (Thames and Hudson, 2012). Not sure how I hadn’t come across this delightful little picture book before.
  3. The Worm Who Knew KarateThe Worm Who Knew Karate, by Jill Lever & Terry Denton (Penguin, 2019). Delightfully silly!

Poetry Books

  1.  100 Great Poems selected by Victoria Parker.I bought thisa whilea go in a second hand shop and finally picked it off the shelf and read it over a few weeks. Many familiar poems, plus perhaps an equal number unfamiliar, either at all, or that I knew of but not well. I enjoyed the poems, but also the little contextual note for each and the illustrations, from a range of illustrators.

Books for Adults

  1. The Ghost of Gracie FlynnThe Ghost of Gracie Flynn, by Joanna Morrison (Fremantle Press, 2022). Been on my shelf for a while. Narrated by a ghost, talking to a baby as she shares the story leading to her own death, and, much later, tot he death of the baby’s father. Cleverly woven.
  2. A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet and DiseaseA Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet and Disease, by Shilpa Ravella (Penguin, 2023). I have been on a quest to reduce inflammation in my own body and this led to me this book. It took a lot of reading – it isn’t light reading and was not quite what I was expecting (it isn’t a how to reduce inflammation type book) but I found the journey through the story of inflammation and scientific understanding of it really interesting, and the writing was superb.
  3. Everything is FigureoutableEverything is Figureoutable, by Marie Forleo (Penguin, 2021). I heard the author on a podcast episode, which led me to the audiobook of this. Some really sound guidance on self belief, following dreams, solving problems and more. I enjoyed it.
  4.  Past the ShallowsPast the Shallows, by Favel Parett (Hachette, 2011). This one was in my to read pile for a very long time – picked up from a giveaway pile while I was doing my phd.  I am glad I finally read it – heart-wrenching, beautiful and stunning writing. This will stay with me for a very long time.

That brings my total for the year to date to 19. Hoping to get through a few more in April – I have the extra long weekend marked for catching up on some quality reading time, including more of the CBCA Shortlisted titles, which were announced earlier this week.

What have you been reading?

Look at this Cover!

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How beautiful is this cover? Really looking forward to sharing this beauty with the world – out in late April.

Edited by Rebecca M Newman  and me, illustrated by the divine Briony Stewart , published by Fremantle Press and with poems from established and emerging Western Australian poets, is a feast of poetry for young readers – readers of any age, really.

Available for preorder now from your favourite local bookstore or online.

 

Can’t wait to share more with you!

Happy World Poetry Day

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Did you know that today is World Poetry Day?  Well, you do now!

 

Why do we need a day to celebrate poetry – well, because although we need poetry every day, marking a special day reminds us of its importance, and its commonality – as the UNESCO site says, poetry is  ‘one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity’.

Poetry makes us laugh, cry, think, express things we find hard to express, connect with other experiences, and so much more.

But, poetry is often seen by people who don’t know better as something hard, or something elite, or something that is somehow frivolous.  It can be each of these things, but  I am here to remind you that if its hard or elite then you can look elsewhere for poetry that is accessible.  And as for frivolity, though not all poetry is frivolous, a bit of frivolity is a wonderful thing.  At a time when the world is really hard for many people, moments  of frivolity or joy can remind us of WHY we need to fight for change.

On that note, I made a little video for today, shared on Instagram, including a somewhat frivolous poem. I hope you enjoy it!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sally Murphy (@sallymurphyauthor)

School Holiday Events Coming Up

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With the school holidays fast approaching here in Western Australia, I want to share  where you can find me and my books.

Firstly, I am delighted to be a Children’s Literature Champion for South Perth this year and, as part of this, I’ll be presenting a writing workshop at South Perth library on April 9. You can book a ticket here and then come hang out with me and write write write.

Then, in the second week of the holidays I will be in Bunbury at both the Bunbury and Withers library for three different sessions – one for young writers, one for parents

and carers, and one for the very young (and their parents and carers). This is all part of the Bunbury Literacy Festival and you can find the full program and book free tickets here.

One of my favourite things in all the world is live appearances where I can share the joy of reading and writing – so I hope you can join me in April!  If you live further afield, know that I love to travel, and can be booked for festivals, school and library visits, workshops and more.

Double Book Birthday: Toppling and Do Not Forget Australia

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When you have a big family, you are used to birthdays coming thick and fast, but when you’re an author, it’s a different kind of pleasure when the book birthdays do, too. Especially when they are for books that remain in print.

On Friday I celebrate Right Way Down’s second birthday and now, just two days later, I’m celebrating not one, but two more book-birthdays.

So, happy happy birthday to TopplingToppling which is a massive 16 years old today! In human years that would be nearly old enough to drive. In book years, being still in print at 16 is an awesome achievement.

If you haven’t read Toppling, the fact it is still in print means it’s not too late! And here’s a taster for you – me reading the first chapter

And, because I will never forget a younger sibling, happy happy birthday to Do Not Forget Australia Do Not Forget Australia which is an awesome 14 years old and, again, still in print. If you don’t know the story of the liberation of the French village of Villers-Bretonneux and the subsequent long lasting connection between Australia and France, then this story will take you there.

I’ve blogged before about the reasons some books stay in print longer than others. Sometimes it’s good fortune, other times it’s that the topic remains current, or the book has won awards. Not every book can stay in print forever but I am mighty glad that these two continue to be there for readers to enjoy. And that’s due  in no small part to the readers who have read the books in the last 16 and 14 years. So if you HAVE read them, thank you!

What I Read in February 2026

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Two months down in this new year already! Time just flies. Here’s what I read in February.

Books for Children

  1. The Month That Makes the YearThe Month That Makes the Year, by Inda Ahmad Zahri (Allen & Unwin, 2023). What a beautiful explanation of Ramadan in picture book form.
  2. The Secret Cooking ClubThe Secret Cooking Club, by Laurel Remington Chicken House, 2016). From my to-read pile, though I am not sure when/how I acquired it.  About friendship, family, social media and, of course, cooking.
  3. MillicentMillicent, by Jeannie Baker (Scholastic, 1980). I picked this up on the local online marketplace and am glad to own it, alongside my other Jeannie Baker books. i love the apparent simplicity of the text alongside the great depth of the textured illustrations.
  4. Our World of Wild WondersOur World of Wild Wonders, by Jevita Nilson and Jess Racklyeft  (CSIRO Publishing, 2025). What a stunning picture book celebrating the diversity of wildlife around the world, with lyrical text and wonderful illustrations.

Books for Adults

  1. Rest Is Resistance: THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERRest Is Resistance, by Tricia Hersey (Aster, 2022). What an important, thought provoking book. Not sure I can sum it u with enough detail, so what I will say is that if you are tired of the grind culture, always busy and regularly saying you don’t have time to rest, this book will help you to reclaim the rest that has bene stolen from you, while also ensuring  you revisit capitalism and Black history. I will be rereading this one, regularly.
  2. TenderfootTenderfoot, by Toni Jordan (Hachette, 2025). I bought this on the recommendation of Beth at Dymocks Busselton, and she was right. The writing is beautiful and, even though it deals with some tough topics, it’s not a book that you can put down.

That brings my total for 2026 (so far, of course) to 11 books. I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading.

sallymurphy.com.au