sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

A Layman’s Guide to the Cheaper Books Debate

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I am deviating from my usual content (focusing on writing for children) today, because there is a big debate raging here in Australia about the scrapping of Parallel Importation restrictions for books. Whilst the debate is fierce, if you are not closely involved in the industry, then the issue is hard to understand, particularly because it’s become clouded by unsubstantiated promises of cheaper books for all. So, today, I present the following, in an attempt to demystify the issue for those not in the know.
A Layman’s Guide to the Cheaper Books Debate

I want cheaper books. Let’s face it – everyone does. I also want cheaper fuel, cheaper groceries and cheaper housing, among many other things. In recent months, newspaper headlines have proclaimed that scrapping the mysterious PIRs will result in cheaper books. At the same time, you have probably heard authors, publishers and other book-ish people opposing the changes. You could even be forgiven for thinking they are wrong – after all, if it’s going to mean cheaper books, that has to be a good thing. Right? Wrong. Scrapping PIRs is not a good thing – not for the book industry nor for you, the consumer. In order to show you why, I’m going to take some time to explain to people who perhaps haven’t followed the debate, what the issues are.

Firstly, What are PIRs?

PIR is an abbreviation for Parallel Importation Restrictions. Put simply, these are laws, currently in place, which prevent books being imported which are already being published in Australia. So, for example, when Harry Potter books are released, Allen& Unwin, an Australian publisher, has the rights to publish these books in Australia. So, a bookstore selling the latest Harry Potter must stock Allen & Unwin’s version rather than importing copies from overseas. If Allen & Unwin stops publishing the book, booksellers can then import it. Similarly, if a book is released overseas but no Australian publisher buys the rights to publish it here, booksellers can import the book and sell it in Australia.

The Productivity Commission has recommended the scrapping of PIRS. What this means is that, regardless of whether or not a book has been published in Australia, booksellers will be able to import the book from overseas rather than sourcing it from within Australia.

So, What’s Wrong With That?

There are several problems with abolishing PIRs. The most obvious is that, if Australian publishers can’t have exclusive rights to publish a book, they are unlikely to publish it. It would not be financially viable to put resources into producing an Australian edition of a book, only to find that booksellers instead source their stock from overseas. Why produce an Australian edition of Harry Potter when it will then have to compete, for example, against the US version?

Flowing on from this, Australian publishers will lose income. When an Australian edition of a book is purchased, the Australian publisher makes money. When that publisher makes money, they then have more money to spend on publishing Australian books. The money generated from big sales of the Harry Potter books, for example, can be put towards the cost of producing books by lesser known Australian authors, and on Australian topics. Without the income generated from selling these overseas books, publishers will be forced to cut back on their Australian publishing programmes.

If Australian publishers are forced to cut back on their Australian publishing lists, fewer Australian books will be published. Whilst some authors may manage to get their books published overseas, others won’t stand a chance. Books with an Australian focus are unlikely to be published by overseas publishers. Which American publisher wants to produce a book about Ned Kelly? A book about Aboriginal culture? A book about Australian birds?

A second, but related, problem is that, even if a book is written and produced in Australia, it may have to compete for shelf space with a foreign edition of the same book. At present, a book published first in Australia may be republished overseas with adaptations for that foreign market. The most obvious change is the alteration of Australian spelling to US spelling (Colour becomes color etc) – a prospect which should alarm teachers and parents. However, the changes run deeper than this. Cultural references, locations and even character names are adapted for foreign readerships. A vegemite sandwich might become peanut butter and jelly, a kangaroo might become a squirrel and so on. Australian identity is weeded out of the book to make it better fit the foreign market – and that is acceptable for that market. But to then import that watered down version of the book back into Australia because it may save a dollar or two is an idea with no appeal. Yet, with PIRs scrapped, it is a very real prospect that a bookseller may choose the foreign edition at the expense of the Australian edition.

These foreign editions have another disadvantage for the publishing industry. When an Australian book is republished overseas, both author and local publisher get less money per copy than if it were published here.

Looking briefly at an author’s share, it is important to spell out that most authors are NOT wealthy. Whilst some do earn a full time living from their writing, many many more rely on second and even third jobs to make ends meet. Whilst book prices might seem high, the income an author receives from the sale of each book is low. Author royalties are rarely more than 10% of cover price. More often, they receive less. So, when a book is sold for $25, the author receives a maximum of $2.50. At $2.50 a copy, the author needs to sell ten thousand copies of a book to make $25,000. Not a princely sum – and given that print runs are often much smaller than 10 000, you can see that writing books is not a wealth-generating strategy.

However, it gets worse. If a book first published in Australia is then also published overseas, the author’s cut diminishes greatly. Put simply, there are more links in the chain before the author gets her cut – and that $2.50 might become 50c. Now, if PIRs are scrapped, that author’s $25 000 income could become $5000. Hardly enough to feed a family, is it?

But Books are Too Expensive, Aren’t They?

Australian books are expensive, and that is sad. So too are Australian groceries and Australian petrol. There is no doubt that some books are available cheaper overseas, especially if you buy through sites like Amazon. However, there is little proof that it is the PIRs which are making books so expensive. The US (where Amazon is located) and the UK both have similar import restrictions. And, whilst Australia is considering lifting its restrictions, neither of these other countries are looking at lifting theirs. So, if the changes go ahead, they will have free access to Australian consumers, but Australian publishers will not have access to theirs.

One reason for the high cost of books in Australia is the margins which booksellers put on books. The bookseller’s margin is generally 50%. So, going back to that $25 book – whilst the author gets $2.50, the bookseller gets $12.50. But there’s more – some of the big name booksellers actually add a few dollars to the rrp – so the $25 book costs $27, the author still gets $2.50 and the bookseller gets $14.50. Discount stores such as Target and Kmart demand publishers give them higher discounts – up to 75% off the retail price. And guess whose income is cut when this happens? The author’s.

But the Productivity Commission is Promising Cheaper Books!

No. The Productivity Commission is not promising cheaper books. In fact, their report states there is no guarantee that scrapping PIRs will reduce book prices for the consumer. The people who are promising cheaper books are the organisation which seems to have won the ear of the Productivity Commission – the Coalition for Cheaper Books.

Sound like a bunch of nice people, don’t they? Working hard together to bring cheaper books to the public. Unfortunately, anyone can give their group a touchy feely name. It doesn’t mean they have a touchy feely purpose. The ‘Coalition’ is in fact made up of some very familiar names: Dymocks, Woolworths, Coles, K Mart, Big W and Target. Only one of these has selling books as a core business. All of them have retail as a core business – and a responsibility to maximise their profits to keep shareholders happy. And yet we are asked to believe, because they call themselves ‘The Coalition for Cheaper Books’ that their primary aim is to reduce book prices.

Think, if you will, about recent press about grocery prices. Consumer groups have been hugely concerned that the virtual duopoly held by Coles and Woolworths in the grocery market has driven grocery prices up. This pair also holds a vast share of the petrol market – where prices again go up even as world oil prices drop. Coles and Woolworths (and their subsidiaries) make up a major proportion of the so-called Coalition for Cheaper Books. If they are not concerned with lowering grocery and fuel prices, why should we believe that they will decrease book prices? Even if they are able to source books more cheaply, there is no legislation to ensure that the savings are passed on to consumers. So, cheaper books for the retailers, possibly, but not for the consumer. Again, note that the Productivity Commission has not found nay evidence that book prices will drop.

In the only other country where PIRs have been scrapped, New Zealand, book prices have not decreased. What has decreased is the number of New Zealand books being produced, the income of New Zealand authors, and the number of New Zealand publisher. Why are we not learning from the New Zealand experience?

So, Who Should be Worried about the Removal of PIR’s?

In short – YOU.

But in more detail:

Authors/Publishers/Printers/Publicists: Thousands of people are employed in the Australian printing and publishing industry. The scrapping of PIRs directly threatens every one of these jobs, because it will diminish the number of books written, published and printed here in Australia.

Lovers of Books: Have you been to the discount bookstores cropping up all around Australia? These are full of cheap, remaindered books. Remaindered because they couldn’t sell. These shops have their place. But would you like every bookstore to be a remainders shop, full of imported books that couldn’t sell overseas? If PIRS are scrapped, this a real possibility.

Teachers and Parents: Your children and students are already well immersed in American culture, thanks to television. If they no longer have access to books with Australian spelling, Australian history and Australian context, then we may as well kiss goodbye our unique Australian culture.

All Australians: Again, our culture is at risk. This is not an anti-US, or anti-any culture argument. It is good to be exposed to books from around the world, in the same way it is good to be exposed to music, food, experiences from around the world. But that global perspective MUST contain Australian experiences. In books, Australian stories are told and published in Australia, not overseas.

Okay, But What Can I do about it?
Get angry and get loud. The Productivity Commission has recommended that the government scrap PIRs. The Coalition for Cheaper Books has loudly (but falsely) announced that cheaper books will result. You need to let the government know that you don’t support the scrapping of PIRs. Write to your Federal MP, your Prime Minister, and his cabinet and tell them of your opposition.

Tell all your friends, neighbours, work colleagues about this issue, and tell them to get loud too. Write to your daily newspaper voicing your concerns.

Let people power stop these changes being implemented.

Please, get involved.

The Verse Novel Form: Guest Blogger Lorraine Marwood Tells How and Why

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I am delighted to welcome children’s author and poet Lorraine Marwood to my blog today. Lorraine’s second verse novel for children, Star Jumps has just been released (you can see my review of it here), so I asked Lorraine to drop in and talk about why she chooses to use the verse novel form This is what she had to say:
Why use this genre as a way of story telling?

Years ago when I finally gave into my life long desire to write, I could only snatch a few morning moments before the cowshed work, before getting the six kids ready for school, or after the evening meal; to write down lines. I trained myself to write quickly- poems- maybe three a day about details that happened, words spoken, emotion expressed through the rural landscape. Poems were attainable, satisfying and I began sending them out into the literary world of journals.

Many were published. But I still wanted to write for children. I began to write poems specifically for children and many of these poems found their way into the journals of School Magazine New South Wales.

After gathering a collection of poems together, Five Islands Press published one volume ( Redback Mansion) and then later a second ( that downhill yelling).

Now, I wanted to evolve a longer piece of writing. I wrote a short prose verse poem about a picnic in a paddock. I loved the intensity of feeling and atmosphere and setting that prose poetry could give. I wanted to write a novel. But how to take the plunge?

Of course I’d read Sharon Creech’s novels and Karen Hesse’s novels and always enjoyed Steven Herrick’s work. How could I find my own voice in the verse novel?

I researched my topic: I researched human accounts of gold finding and the turmoil and untold stories that were humped across the gold fields. Then I found a voice, an entry, an immediate creation of suspense and atmosphere that I wanted. The striking of atmosphere in the first few words of Ratwhiskers and Me’ was the steering of the story trail.

‘Boy, they call me boy.’

Yes! I was on my way to the exploration of theme and plot and voice. I could use what is kinda instinctive in my writing: my poetics.

The verse novel became an atmospheric device in itself. It is very conducive to the playing out of sensory detail, and the propelling of the bare bones of the story. And while it is shorter in words than an ordinary novel, it strips back the verbiage and puts the reader right there emotionally.

Recently two students from Latrobe Uni were researching the editing process and came to ask me a few questions. They highlighted the way I make a narrative of the verse novel rather than individual poems, and for me that was a point to ponder. I make this distinction because I do naturally write so much poetry. I wanted to experiment with form. And my version of the verse novel is one long poem.

Because my writing is always evolving, the subject matter of the verse novel itself dictates the way a book is written.

Star Jumps, my recently released novel allowed a more poetic vista of details like the ghostling breath of the cows on a cold frosty night. I wanted to convey to non- farming children, as much as possible; a real life snapshot of a farm at its most busy period- the calving season. I wanted to show the drought in action and the decisions that are constantly being made in many rural communities.

My words made flesh and blood of Ruby as she took us through her farm life and showed us hope played out. Only the genre of the verse novel allowed me to recreate the emotion of farming without the didactic and sentimental picture so often stereotyped as farming.

Thanks so much for sharing, Lorraine. You can visit Lorraine Marwood online at http://www.lorrainemarwood.com/.

Letters to Leonardo Blog Tour Day 1

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I am really thrilled to welcome Dee White to my blog today, on the first day of her blog tour to promote her new YA novel, Letters for Leonardo. Dee is busily preparing for the launch of Letters on July 1, so I asked her to pop in with a guest blog about how she plans to promote the book online. So, welcome Dee.

Thanks so much for inviting us to visit you Sally. Matt, (the main character from my new YA novel Letters to Leonardo) and I are thrilled to be here.

When I first told Matt we’d be touring the world to talk about his story, he was rapt. But when I mentioned a June/July tour, he groaned, “But that’s exam time.” So, we agreed on a compromise – a blog tour! What a great way to meet people without having to even leave your own computer/desk.

Matt’s shy, so I’ve promised to take most of the heat, but every now and then, he’ll be popping up on tour to have his say.

I was a complete dunce when it came to travelling in Cyber Space, so Matt had to teach me all about it. I discovered that a blog is not a weird form of Cane Toad – and that Facebook is not a bizarre beauty routine.

It has been a fair and fun exchange. I’ve fed Matt’s obsession for Leonardo da Vinci and he has taught me all I need to know about the internet.

Matt told me that setting up a blog is just like planning a painting – you have to think about what you want to say, who you want to say it to, and how you want to say it.

As soon as I set up my blog Matt couldn’t wait for me to start telling his story. We found that blogs are great because you don’t have to just use words, you can also use pictures, videos and audio to talk to people.

Once the blog was set up, we were ready to go on tour. Now we just needed blog hosts. Lucky for us Sally that you’d already set up Aussie Blog Tours so we already had a list of people who might be interested in hosting us.

Matt’s the creative one; he said we needed to come up with different things to do at each blog stop. Our conversation went something like this:

Matt: We can’t just talk about the same thing every day. That would be lame.

Dee: Good point. So, what do you think we should talk about?

Matt: We should talk about our tour of course – and the story.

Dee: It’s your story, what do you want people to know?

Matt: You know, all sorts of stuff.

Dee: What stuff?

Matt: Things like how you did the research for the book and where your ideas came from…

Dee: And why art was important in telling your story…and how we ‘both’ became obsessed with Leonardo da Vinci while we were writing it.

Matt: People might be interested in the themes in the book too…

Dee: And how hard it was to get it published…

Matt: And what it was like working with a publisher – with all the editing and rewriting…

Dee: They might be interested in how I turned the facts into fiction…
Matt: It would be good if somebody could interview me too.

So once Matt and I agreed on all the different things that could be in the blog tour, we asked the blog hosts to choose their topics, which they did with great enthusiasm.

Next, we had to think of some way to celebrate Letters to Leonardo coming out.
The Cyber Launch was my idea. Matt wanted a party to launch the book, but Dave (Matt’s dad) was worried that it would interfere with his exams and like Dave said to Matt, “If your mum finds out about it, she could turn up and there might be trouble.”

I said, “What about an online party – a Cyber Launch?”

Matt thought it was a great idea. “That way, people from all over the world could come.”

The next big job, was organising the Cyber Launch at http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/ on 1st July. Planning the Cyber Launch was a real team effort. We had to come up with activities – and work out who was going to do what, when.

Matt made a movie preview of the book, telling a bit about his story. Then we asked Margaret Hamilton if she’d Cyber Launch the book because Matt and she had sort of clicked right from the start. Our wonderful publisher Walker Books Australia had agreed to provide a piece and Matt suggested we get some YA readers to review the book. The publisher also said we could publish a Sneak Peek from Letters to Leonardo on Cyber Launch day.

And because Matt and I both became obsessed with Leonardo da Vinci during the writing of Letters to Leonardo, we decided that Matt would interview me about how I incorporated Leonardo’s works into the book. The parent in me said that we needed to include some classroom writing activities for the Cyber Launch and Matt wanted a word search and some tips for young writers to be included – so we’ve got all that as well.

So basically, there’s heaps of interactive Letters to Leonardo reading and writing activities happening over the next two weeks and we are just so lucky to have people like you Sally who have invited us to drop in to talk about our book (which of course we love doing).

Thanks so much for having us Sally. We’ve had a blast. Hope to catch up with you in Cyberspace at our Cyber Launch on 1st July.

We’re also going to be visiting some other fantastic author, reviewer, book lover, YA and literature blogs, so feel free to come along for the ride. Here’s our hectic itinerary:

24th June 2009 http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/
Dee and Matt talk about promoting Letters to Leonardo online.

25th June 2009 http://spinningpearls.blogspot.com/
Author interview

26th June 2009 http://thebookchook.blogspot.com/
How art has been used in Letters to Leonardo

27th June 2009 http://belka37.blogspot.com/
The research process involved in writing Letters to Leonardo

28th June 2009 http://weloveya.wordpress.com/
Guest blogger – talking with Vanessa Barneveld – interactive discussion with bloggers

29th June 2009 http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale
An author interview covering things like inspiration and perspective

30th June http://www.letshavewords.blogspot.com/
Mentors in YA fiction, and Leonardo da Vinci’s involvement in the book

1st July Cyber launch http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/ including cross to Robyn Opie’s blog http://robynopie.blogspot.com/ – hurdles overcome on the way to publication.

2nd July http://persnicketysnark.blogspot.com/
How the author’s life paralleled Matt’s – her growing obsession with Leonardo da Vinci

3rd July http://bjcullen.blogspot.com/
Working with a publisher and the editing process

4th July http://sandyfussell.blogspot.com/
Interview with the elusive Matt Hudson

5th July http://teacherswritinghelper.wordpress.com/
Class writing activities based on Letters to Leonardo

6th July http://tips4youngwriters.wordpress.com/
Tips 4 young writers on how Letters to Leonardo was written

7th July http://www.jenniferbrownya.com/
An overseas stop before heading home

Thanks for sharing with us, Dee. If you’d like to learn more about Dee or about Letters to Leonardo, you can visit her online at http://www.deescribe.com.au/ or http://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/. Letters to Leonardo will be available from all good book stores from July 1, and can also be purchased online at

Author Interview: Katie Hines

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Today I’d like to welcome author Katie Hines, who ahs dropped by to talk about her new YA book, Guardian, soon to be released by 4RV Publishing. Welcome Katie.

1. Tell us a little about Guardian.
Guardian is a great story about a boy (Drew) who has promised him dying mom that he’ll find the journal, search for a lost treasure, and in the process, discover his destiny. The Oak Island treasure story, a true-to-life treasure story, set in Nova Scotia Canada, provides the backdrop of this boy’s search. He and two friends travel from Maine to his grandfather’s house in Nova Scotia to fulfill that promise. Along the way, he meets the mysterious Brotherhood of the Holy Chalice, is kidnapped and barely escapes with his life. Finally, after a tension filled night, Drew and his companions come to Oak Island, find the treasure and uncover a destiny worth living for.

2. There have been many books written about the Holy Grail. Was it hard to come up with a new angle?
It was not hard to come up with a new angle because I didn’t set out to write a Grail story–I planned on writing about a boy, his promise to his mom, and an adventure to Oak Island. I began with the Oak Island treasure and the Grail sorta wrote its way into the story.

3. How does your book differ from other Grail stories?
One prime difference is that it is an urban fantasy, which means that the story is set in today’s time, with contemporary characters, and not the Middle Ages, or some other point in history. There is the fantasy element in it, but more from the angle of the magic surrounding the Grail rather than magic being inherent within the characters, except, of course, the Guardian.

I have read a couple of Grail stories that deal specifically with Oak Island, and the idea of the strange treasure there being the lost treasure of the Knights Templar, and that was very interesting, but again, it was taken from a historical perspective, rather than contemporary.

4. Tell us about the path to publication for Guardian –the process from writing to finding a publisher to editing and so on. What was the hardest part of the process?
I worked on Guardian for three years. During that time, I took a break from the story for about six months a couple three times. I got heartily sick of it! Finally, after editing and editing and more editing, I realized that I could change the story for eternity, and that I finally needed to put a period and end it. I had been keeping track of publishing houses that published Grail stories, but they were usually the big ones that you have to have an agent to get into.
However, I also had a file of nothing but smaller publishing houses that published children’s works. I originally chose three publishing houses. I got a polite rejection from the first, but the second put me in touch with 4RV Publishing, who accepted my work, and I signed a contract with them October, 2008.
Since that time, I have received requested edits from the publisher, and done those. Now the book is in the layout part of the publishing process, and I believe it is to come out sometime in late June or July.
Definitely the hardest part of the process was deciding to go ahead and submit it.

5. What are you doing to promote the book before its release – and what will you do after it is released? What promotion is your publisher doing?
The lion’s share of the promoting and marketing are done by the authors these days, big publishing houses or small. My publisher is great – she attends book festivals, as do other 4RV published authors, and our work is promoted that way.
Also, I have created a blog, have a media kit, am working on a web site, and have joined a ton of social networking sites. I’ve had to scale back on the social networking some because it was too time consuming.
I also have a book trailer that a friend created, and I have been interviewed on some blogs. I plan to do more of that, hopefully closer to the release date of the book. I am also getting some shirts silkscreened with the book cover, and will be getting book marks, post cards, etc.
In August, I will be joining another 4RV author at the South Carolina Welcome Center. We can’t sell our books, but we can promote the heck out of them!

6. What is your next project? Are you working on another book?
I have several projects going, but haven’t “lit” on one particularly, although I’m leaning in the direction of a young adult story called, “My Name is Bib.” I used a chapter of that to get a scholarship to the Highlights Foundation conference at Chautauqua, NY.

The book, once released, can be ordered directly from http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/ and at some point, Amazon. One can also request it from their local bookstore, or ask their local libraries to order it. I don’t have a scheduled release date at this time. Interested parties can also contact me personally at katiebug1957@gmail.com, and I will respond to all inquiries.
Thanks, Sally, for having me today.

May Catch Up

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Time for my monthly news update. May has passed in a whirl of activity, so there’s lots to share.
May 1 marked the release of my children’s verse novel, Pearl Verses the World. To celebrate, May has been dedicated to celebrating Pearl and all things poetry.

Firstly, I headed off on a blog tour. If you missed this tour, you can still see the stops by clicking on the following links.

Day 1 – Spinning Pearls, where I guest blogged about the process of writing Pearl.
Day 2 – The Writing Life, where I was interviewed by Brenton Cullen.
Day 3 – Tips for Young Writers, where I was interviewed by Dee White.
Day 4 – Persnickety Snark, where I was interviewed by Adele.
Day 5 – Let’s Have Words, where I discussed promotion with Claire Saxby.
Day 6 – Just Listen Book Reviews, where Allie reviewed Pearl.
Day 7 – Look at That Book, where it was Lisa’s turn to review the book.
Day 8 – Write and Read With Dale, with yet another wonderful review.
Day 9 – Tales I Tell, where Mabel cleverly interviewed me in verse.
Day 10 – Robyn Opie’s Writing for Children Blog where I shared some hints for getting published.

I also visited two other blogs during May –Sandy Fussell’s blog. Instead of interviewing me herself, Sandy shared Pearl Verses the World with her nine year old son and got him to pose some questions both to me and to Pearl herself. What wonderfully curly questions! You can read both questions and answers here. And, later in the month, I visited Sheryl Gwyther’s blog.
And, to return the favour, I had several guest bloggers drop in here and share their thoughts on poetry. You can see their posts by scrolling through all of my May postings.

Pearl has received some lovely reviews, being reviewed in Magpies magazine, on ABC radio, in the Sunday Age, Readings Bookstores newsletter and, online at sites including Susan Whelan’s column at Suite 101 here, Dee White’s blog here and The Book Chook’s blog here.

The feedback and good wishes I have had during the month has May has kept me dancing – it has really been like a month long birthday party. But just because May is over, this doesn’t mean the celebration is over. Pearl Verses the World is still available online and in good bookstores all around Australia – and hopefully this will be the case for a long time to come. And, the wonderful news is that I have just had news that Pearl will also be published in the USA, so if you are in that part of the world watch this space for more details.

What else has happened in May? More writing. In between my promo work, and a new day job, and a sick mother, and a bad early winter cold, I have managed to make good headway with a third verse novel and also managed to completely rewrite a historical picture book which I have had on the backburner for some time. Sometimes I think that the busier I get the more writing I get done.
I also had time to do some reading and reviewing, with twenty two new reviews added to Aussiereviews this month.
That’s my may wrap-up. Keep coming back during June – there will be plenty more happening here to keep you in touch with the world of writing for children.

Verse Off – The Round Up

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For the last four weeks, fellow children’s author Kathryn Apel and myself have joined forces to challenge visitors to our blogs to respond in verse to a photo prompt. Kathryn was celebrating the release of her rhyming picture book This is the Mud,

and I was celebrating the release of my verse novel, Pearl Verses the World, so we asked readers to respond in rhyme on Kathryn’s blog and in free verse here on mine. Now that the verse off is over, we thought we might recap on the pictures and the poems which made this month so special.

In week one we asked visitors to respond to this beautiful turtle picture, taken by Kathryn’s husband Felix.

From Dee White:

Necks bared to watching predators,
bask with apparent ambition
fearless heads point forward anticipate together
reflection
synchronised stillness
seep into slow dive
slide beneath the surface
and disappear
just in time.

An Acrostic from Fletcher Apel:

Turtles are interesting
Underwater swimming
Reptiles with shells
Terrapin a terror for pronouncing
Look cute swimming in clear water
Eating fish and shrimp
Sunning themselves.

From Kathryn Apel:

necks craned
mute
turtles gaze
at untapped depths
of blue skies

Branyon Apel wrote:

shells on a branch
above water
sunning

Janeen Brian contributed:

‘Hey Charlie,
ever wondered
why they call this place,
Turtle Point?

Sally Odgers wrote:

T is for terrapins
Climbing from water into sky
The branch their bridge
Between realities

Finn (no link or second name) said:

on the log
looking up
where am I?

Felix Apel (rounding out the whole family’s contribution) said:

A reflection
seen by others
is not as we see

Andromeda Jazmon, from A Wrung Sponge, contributed:

Exposing our necks,
content to be still
dark marks hung
between mirrors of blue.
Waiting to fully
absorb the heat of
stillness;
nothing more.
But you see double;
see an arrow,
see hope or fear or
victory.We are just
turtles on a log.

J.R. Poulter‘s response:

Seamless
Sewn with invisible stitches
Earth and sky
No entry point and nowhere
To exit
We sit
In a line
Biding our time till
Something opens up
And something else
Will merge….

And Fletcher and Kathryn Apel combined for this one:

Turtles totter on the log
step-by-step
two-by-two
Splash!

Lisa Schroeder, an old critique buddy of mine (hi Lisa) contributed:

Where you go,
I follow.
For without you,
water is just water
and a branch is just a branch.
But when I’m with you,
we swim in a sea of love
and rest on a path of understanding.

On May 8 we held a special verse off to mark the launch day of This is the Mud, which of course cried out for a beautiful cow photo.

Jackie popped in and submitted this one:

Puppy says…
How now
Brown cow
Cow says…
Moo

And Kathryn Apel (my co-conspirator) says:

Warm
shades of
brown contrast
with crisp
black and
white on
rich green
canvas

And her gorgeous son Branyon Apel says:

Dog stands on calf
other calf sniffs
friends.

In week two of the verse off, I changed the pace a little with a picture of some yummy treats.

The wonderful Kathryn Apel said:

Mum,
Can I please
have a lollypop?
The one right
at the top.
It’s for
you!

Trudie Trewin’s offering:

Look Mum
A lollypop tree!
Do you think
If I pick a leaf
And plant it deep
Where it’s warm and sunny
We might grow
Our very own
Lollypop tree?
Please?

J.R. Poulter wrote:

The colours swirl
Like entrapped rainbows.
Release them – you choose

And Mabel said:

Lolly popsicals
branching
like
a tree
of sweetness.
I see
my mother’s face
where two together
make a heart
of love

In week three Kathryn shared another beautiful nature picture, which elicited some lovely responses:

Sally Odgers contributed:

Imagination coupled
with a careless finger-doodle
brings a chance of forces meeting
as dragons in the sand

Kathryn Apel (my partner in crime, who also took the photo) wrote:

sand sculptures
litter the beach
like jellyfish
cast ashore
in high
tide

Janeen Brian’s response was:

nothing indefinite
about tunnel hole
only the grain dribblings
sand scribblings
creating an address

and Mabel wrote:

‘Is this a doodle
I see before me?’
‘Nay, Hamlet, nay.
Tis but a Collywoggle
Calling its young
to a picnic
on the beach.’

Life is A Poem contributed:

Split jewels
seaweed pearls
flaunting undersea treasure
waiting for the tide
to reclasp
into necklaces
that buoy and glint.

And Claire chimed in with:

crabform beads
expelled
onto sea-smooth sand
tunnel refuse
unburied treasure

Finally, in week four we asked readers to respond to a picture taken in Eucla on my trip across the Nullarbor Plain last year.

Felix Apel said…

Whaling about,
I’m feeling blue –
Don’t ruffle my feathers,
Life’s a beach!

J.R.Poulter/J.R.McRae said…

I don’t know what to make of this
A whale away beached in the outback.
Are they thinking of ship’s of the sands,
‘Cause,
Well, I always thought
that meant camels?
And emus
Well, they’re on our coat of arms
Aren’t they?
Do we have to export
EVERYTHING Aussie!?!

Kathryn Apel said…

grey swirls
as whale
fluke crests
the rolling waves
of green
leafy shrubs

all at sea
upon dry
sand

Janeen Brian said…

Were you the sole survivor?
Seeking refuge from ocean plunderers
did you scale the red-bloodied cliffs of the Bight
and reach

the Nullarbor Plain . . .?

Belka said…

Cutting costs mean
cheaper exports
lower fuel bills
and fewer wages
to pay.
A country
that shall be nameless
requested emus
to lessen the carbon imprint
so we sent them
from Eucla
via a whale.

http://belka37.blogspot.com

Sally Murphy said…

One cold wet day
in Eucla
I wrote a postcard home
“Having a wail of a time”

At home
they thought I’d made
a spelling error.
But I, after two days driving in the rain,
was disconsolate
And the whale?
Though unexpected,
it did – almost – bring
a smile to my face.

Wow! So many wonderful contributions. If you would like to see the rhyming responses to the same pics, pop over to Kathryn’s blog. Thanks so much to everyone who visited and shared poems during May. We hope you have enjoyed the Verse Off as much as we did.

sallymurphy.com.au