Happy New Year!  I know I’m not the only one who is wondering just how could 2024 be over so quickly, but it happened, and so as I sit down to plan the year ahead, I want to look back at the year that was.

2024 was a bit of a packed year for me, professionally and personally, but, writing-wise, I want to highlight the best bits.  I tried to put them in some kind of order – could I rank them  from a bit wonderful to very wonderful (turns out no, because these are all  very wonderful things), could I stick to chronological order (almost possible, but some of the best bits occurred over several months), could I group  them in some other way (no – but I did manage to write a list on a sticky note so that I hopefully don’t miss something big I should mention). So, in no particular order, here’s my list of the best bits of my writing life in 2024.

1.  The release of Right Way Down, which I co-edited with my amazing friend Rebecca Newman . Illustrated by another amazing friend Briony Stewart, this book is one of my favourite projects ever – in part because it was the culmination of a dream Rebecca and I had had for ages about seeing an anthology of West Australian children’s poetry in print and in the hands of young readers, but also because of the sheer wonder of being able to include so many poets,  from first time poets to very established names. The launch was just sheer joy, and I still smile every time I think of it.
2. The release of The Riding Gallery , and the knowledge that the story of Anton Weniger is finally out in the world.  This book was a little while coming, because it took me a while to figure out how to tell the story, but I am so grateful that  Walker Books published it, and have loved sharing the story in schools, at festivals and other events – including, magically, a trip to Canberra, the home of the merry go round at the centre of the story.
3. Being awarded the Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature.  This still blows my mind – that the CBCA WA Branch saw me as worthy of this, just for doing what I love,  means soooooo much and makes me determined  to live up to it.  The photo was taken at the CBCA WA Bookweek dinner where it was an honour to be in the presence of Muriel Barwell herself, as well as several other ‘Muriels’ (past recipients).
4. Being given six months Academic Study Leave from my day job,  to research and write. What an absolute privilege that time was – and very productive, with a new verse novel drafted, a stack of poems written, a book chapter submitted AND a trip to Europe and Singapore where I presented at two conferences, saw amazing sights and made new friends.
5. Poems!  Lots of poems written and, pleasingly, lots accepted and published.  I had poems published in Right Way Down, The School Magazine, The Toy Magazine, Picture Perfect Poetry,  and The Birmingham Arts Journal. Also, I worked with PETAA to build on the success of Teaching Poetry for Pleasure and Purpose with a self-paced course of the same name. It makes me really happy to think that I am doing something to help teachers spread a love of poetry.
6. And, speaking of spreading the love, I was really lucky to get to spread the love myself, with festival visits, school and library events. Hard to choose highlights, but Scribblers on the Road, which saw me visit the Pilbara with awesome fellow creatives, was pretty darned special.  And speaking of special, while the most special part of any book event is, without a doubt, the young readers and writers I get to meet, I was also really aware this year of the wonderful friendships I have with fellow creatives and with the many children’s literature advocates and enthusiasts  I get to hang out with.
7. Last, but never least, I wrote – some of this has been mentioned already, including the  verse novel I drafted, and lots of poems, but I also wrote a new historical picture book, which is under contract (hooray!),   revised and polished and dabbled and wrote whenever I could.

I know I will think of something I’ve missed about five minutes after I post this, but suffice to say, 2024 was productive and fulfilling and if I have missed something, that’s because I am so lucky to have had so many wonderful writerly happenings in the past year.  How lucky am I?

And, as for 2025, what am I planning? More of the same – more writing, more speaking, more reading, more spreading a love of reading, writing and poetry wherever and whenever I can.  See you there!