What fun! Last week I was interviewed by the wonderful Calum Greenall for his shiny new podcast Modern Classic Wildcard, where he asked me to nominate three books – one Modern, one Classic, and one Wildcard.
You can hear the episode here on Spotify, or search for it on your favourite podcast app.
And then come back and tell me what three books YOU would nominate.
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.
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.
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.