Last week I had the pleasure of working with Year 6 students from across Perth as part of The Literature Centre’s Talented Young Writers’ program.

We crammed a range of springboard writing activities into one day and I was impressed by the students’ creativity and eagerness to try new ideas and share first drafts. The Talented Young Writers’ Programme is unique. Its aim being to nurture a group of students over several years. Young writers (in Perth and regional centres) work with four writers each year. The educational benefits are multi-faceted and assuming ongoing funding can be found, the future of story-telling in WA is in excellent hands.

My sessions came hot on the heels of The Centre’s 2017 Celebrate Reading Conference so last weekend I was fortunate to attend the second day and hear inspirational sessions by Gus Gordon, Meg McKinlay, Kyle Hughes-Odgers, Deb Abela, Mark Wilson, Anna Fienberg, Jeannie Baker and Australian Children’s Laureate Leigh Hobbs.

Thank you Lesley Reece, Beck Blaxell and everyone at The Literature Centre for a wonderful week. I’ve come home tired but brimful of ideas and inspiration! If anyone is able to support The Centre by becoming a Friend, just click on this link.