Events – Page 3 – Dianne Wolfer

Ring in the new…

Happy New Year !

After five years working on PhD research; my two novels (The Shark Caller, The Dog with Seven Names) and the accompanying exegesis, “Crafting Animals Characters in Fiction for Young Readers”, it’s a wonderful (and somewhat fizzy) feeling to be able to at last be free to give attention to other projects which have been circling in a holding pattern. The first being Light from a Broken Lantern (working title).

Between final drafts of the exegesis I’ve been researching this manuscript; the third (and final?) book in the Lighthouse/Horse Boy series. The story steps back to explore the early WW1 years from the perspective of English nurse, Rose before she meets Jim (Light Horse Boy). This early stage of shaping an historical story is exciting in that research reveals all sorts of potential leads, some of which will be followed and woven into the plotline while others slip quietly back into history. I’ve been keeping a scrapbook journal of progress and notes, so that I can revisit some of the quieter snippets in later drafts.

In early June, another long-term project, Nanna’s Button Tin will be released by Walker Books Australia (and Candlewick for the U.S. market). Heather Potter’s beautiful illustrations hold lovely details which add multiple layers to the story. I can’t wait to share more details in a following post.

2017 also brings exciting events linking to Lighthouse Girl and Light Horse Boy, as well as festival and school bookings. Here are some details for those:

Feb: Lighthouse Girl and Light Horse Boy will be included in an exhibition of Australian and New Zealand Children’s picture books called Anzac Stories Behind the Pages – held in Brisbane libraries.
March: I’ll be filling in for Warren Flynn while he takes leave from his position as English tutor at the Albany UWA campus. I’m looking forward to working with first year students on texts including Shaun Tan’s The Arrival and Art Spiegelman’s Maus.
Also in March: Between the Lines Writer’s Festival is on again in Busselton. I’ll be talking about The Shark Caller as well as sharing ideas for creating animal characters.
- April 21 and 22 : Time to frock up for Black Swan Theatre’s premiere of Lighthouse Girl in Albany. Playwright, Hellie Turner’s terrific adaptation also links to Light Horse Boy.
April – May: Black Swan Theatre’s season of Lighthouse Girl continues in Perth.
June : Nanna’s Button Tin will be released by Walker Books Australia (and Candlewick).
August: For the first time in many years, Children’s Bookweek will be spent in Albany and the Great Southern, coinciding with the Albany exhibition of Anzac Stories Behind the Pages. As well as Albany and Denmark sessions, I’ll be travelling to smaller communities and schools across the Great Southern.
Repeat bookings are always lovely and in 2017 I’ll be revisiting some favourite schools and places including; St Marks, The Literature Centre, Woodthorpe and Margaret River Library. More about dates and details in following posts.

Until then, thank you for your interest in my books and this blog. I enjoy receiving feedback, so please feel free to send me a message. In 2017, I hope to post more regularly, let’s see how I go …

Ring out the old…

2016 has been a whirl, with so many highlights, as well as the challenge of balancing study, writing and work commitments.

With just a few tweaks left to finalise my PhD research (Crafting Animal Characters in Children’s Literature), I look forward to working on several new projects over summer and launching a new book in 2017, but first I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to the schools, festivals and libraries that hosted me in 2016. Here are some of the highlights:

The inaugural 7 Rooms 7 Stories Writers Festival in Busselton was fabulous and I’m thrilled to have been invited back in 2017. Boasting a sparkly new name ‘Between the Lines’ this festival is sponsored by Dymocks Busselton and will be held in March at Mary MacKillop College.
A few weeks after 7 stories, and further south, I enjoyed mixing with local creators and interstate visitors at Great Southern Grammar’s Literature Festival.
Meeting readers during school visits and returning to schools I’ve previously visited is especially rewarding. In the first half of the year that included St Stephen’s, St Mark’s and Lakeside SHS (Perth) as well as St Josephs College in Albany…
Travelling to Wickham in the Pilbara, celebrating Granny Grommet and Me being part of Better Beginnings Recommended Reads for 4s & 5s was fun.
So was revisiting NSW’s Riverina. Thank you Albury and Lavington Libraries for organising school visits last May.
Each Winter brings the excitement and anticipation of the SCBWI WA Rottnest Retreat. This year was as fabulous as ever, spending time reading, writing and workshopping with friends as well as being inspired by visiting legends Erica Wagner and Craig Smith. Thanks to the SCBWI organisers…
July brought the long-anticipated launch of The Shark Caller, a YA novel that was ‘in-production’ for about ten years. Some books take longer than others! To celebrate there were two launches; one at the Albany Surf Club and the other at Perth’s fabulous Aquarium (AQWA). Both were wonderful evenings.

Mailee and Sasha from The Literature Centre

Between these two launches, my sister, Karen and I went on a road trip/writers tour of Esperance and the Goldfields region where I enjoyed meeting students at Esperance SHS, Esperance Anglican Community School and Kalgoorlie’s John Paul College.

The second half of the year is when things get busy for children’s authors and 2016 winners & r up2 was no exception. The excitement began with Albany Library and Penguin Random House helping to organise a Shark Caller Haiku Competition. The entries were delightful and I met with the winners to enjoy a milkshake meeting.

Then it was Bookweek. Thank you Iona, Newman, Mel Maria, PLC, Southlands Albany and Brighton Primary. As well as Rio Tinto for organising a full day trip to Paraburdoo …
In September I was honoured to join Maria Gill, Aleesah Darlison and Neridah McMullin on a panel session at the Australia/NZ SCBWI Conference in Sydney and a follow-up event at The Children’s Bookshop in Beecroft with my panel buddies as well as Hazel Edwards , Penny Morrison, Emma Allen and John Heffernan. Thank you to the amazing Susanne Gervay for organising these events and the lovely Deb Abela for offering me her spare room 🙂
Being in Sydney also gave me the opportunity to spend the day with Penguin Random House publicist, Zoe Bechara visiting local bookshops to talk about The Shark Caller.
After flying back to WA, it was into the car and straight on to Toodyay for a session at the Avon Valley Writers Festival.
Then in October (and November) it was time to celebrate Fremantle Press’s 40th birthday. What a fabulous milestone for an independent publisher!
In October I also enjoyed an amazing week in Bunbury and Busselton as part of The Literature Centre’s Talented Young Writers’ Programme facilitated by one of the Centre’s motivating Education Officers, Beck Blaxell. Each year the TYWP programme reaches hundreds of budding creators, giving them unique opportunities to develop their skills. It was a pleasure to work with these highly committed high school students.
One 2016 regret was having to cancel sessions at Bremer Bay Primary due to urgent family illness. Thankfully my Mum is now okay and I hope to visit Bremer early 2017.

light horse girl So that was my 2016. Thank you again to all of the schools, festivals and libraries that hosted me this year. After the adventures above, my 2017 resolution was going to be to slow down and enjoy each moment… however with some exciting events coming up, this might be a challenge!

More about that in the next post. In the meantime, I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Talented Young Writers

The Literature Centre runs a fabulous program called The Talented Young Writers Program in Fremantle as well as six regional centres across Western Australia. Last week I travelled to schools in Bunbury and Busselton with Education Officer Beck Blaxell to work with some of these creative students.

The students (from Years 6-12) meet four times a year with a visiting author to hone their writing skills. We talked about developing ideas, plotting, character development and my PhD research topic ‘anthropomorphism’. Students shared their own ideas and writing drafts. I heard so many great stories and can happily report that the future of WA storytelling is in safe hands.

Thank you to all at The Lit Centre for inviting me to be part of this great program, to the schools, teachers and parents for supporting this investment in our future. And… a special shout-out to Beck who made sure everything ran smoothly, for being wonderful company and for introducing me to the delicious cabbage salad at Market Eating House (sounds weird, tastes great).

Australia! Story Country

Thank you to all the wonderful students and teachers who hosted me for Bookweek. With schools ranging from inner-city Perth to Tom Price and Paraburdoo, this year’s theme certainly resonated with my travels …

‘Australia! Story Country’ was a fun theme and the 2016 displays seemed even better than usual. Granny Grommet and Me, Lighthouse Girl and The Kid whose Mum Kept Possums in her Bra worked particularly well with the Aussie theme.

Here are some of my favourite Bookweek photos.

Thanks again, Newman College, Mel Maria Catholic Primary, Paraburdoo Kindies, Tom Price Year 7, Presbyterian Ladies College and IONA Presentation College, Albany’s Australian Christian College (and next week Brighton Primary).

5 sleeps until Bookweek

This year the theme is Australia! Story Country.

In addition to the amazing books that are shortlisted, here is a quick shout-out for Frane’ Lessac’s terrific new picture book, A is for Australia.

My favourite page is the Rottnest Island spread. With lots of fun facts, it’s a great Bookweek resource.

This year I’ll be at Newman College, Mel Maria Primary, Presbyterian Ladies College and Iona Presentation College for Bookweek. I’ll also be in Paraburdoo as part of Rio Tinto’s Groundbreaker Pilbara Exhibition. I’m looking forward to meeting hundreds of young readers and hearing all about their favourite Australian stories.

Shark Launch #2: Perth

AQWA, the Aquarium of Western Australia was the perfect venue for The Shark Caller Perth launch. Friends and colleagues gathered by the front door and were met by a snorkel-wearing shark and a glass of bubbles. Then we moved downstairs into the tunnel…

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The tank at AQWA is huge with sharks, turtles and other exciting marine creatures. I am grateful to the AQWA team for their generosity, Beaufort Street Books, my agent Clive Newman and Professor Shaun Collin for his fascinating speech linking aspects of my new book with his leading edge research into shark sensory systems. I was thrilled that several other shark researchers were also able to attend; Lucille Chapuis, Kara Yopak and Caroline Kerr. Lucille has spent time in villages near the (fictitious) PNG setting in my story and I look forward to hearing more about her research.

Now that The Shark Caller has been launched twice, I am looking forward to sharing the story and writing process with students during Bookweek. Meanwhile the Albany Public Library has been running an ocean-themed haiku competition to tie-in with the Albany launch and winners will be announced next week. More details about that soon …

Friends appearing in the photographs above: Professor Shaun Collin, Jen Mars, Kris Williams, Meg McKinlay, Jen Banyard, Frane’ Lessac, Maree Whiteley, Mailee Clarke, Sasha Burbridge, Sophie Wolfer, Anni Wood and Melinda Tognini.

Shark Launch #1 Albany:

The countdown to Launch #1 began with my sister flying in from the east. The Shark Caller is dedicated to three people and Karen is one of them. And last week, Karen surprised me with the most amazing gift; a shark carved from obsidian. If you read the book you will understand why this is such a precious gift. Over the past few years I’ve trawled the Internet for obsidian and never came close to finding anything like this.

For many children’s authors and illustrators, August is the busiest time of the year with Bookweek school and library visits spilling over into the rest of the month. For me, 2016 is busier than usual with two book launches to celebrate the release of The Shark Caller with Penguin Random House and a mini book tour of Esperance and Kalgoorlie.

Launch 1 was held at the Albany Surf Club, supported by Albany Public Library and Paperbark Merchants. It was a wonderful evening and here are some photos of the event.

Better Beginnings & Rio Tinto

Better Beginnings is a fabulous program that promotes early literacy.

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The pilot scheme began in 2004 with six WA libraries providing reading packs to the families of newborn babies. What a wonderful way to encourage a love of reading!

Since then, the program has grown and includes far flung communities from Wyndham to Esperance. Each year over 60,000 families receive a Better Beginnings reading pack. I’m honoured that Granny Grommet and Me, my picture book with illustrator, Karen Blair is one of the 30 recommended books for 4 and 5 year olds. And the cover image sits beside one of my all-time favourite stories, Harry the Dirty Dog.

Better Beginnings is sponsored by state and local government as well as Rio Tinto. This year, to commemorate 50 years since iron ore ship, Houn Maru left Dampier for Japan, Rio Tinto is facilitating the Groundbreaker Pilbara Tour.

Last week I travelled from Perth to Wickham in the Pilbara to help celebrate Rio’s ongoing link with Better Beginnings.

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While I was there, I met lovely Pre-Primary to Year Two students from Wickham Primary. They were keen readers and we had fun sharing stories. I even met the son of one of the real Granny Grommets.

Before my sessions I squeezed in some sightseeing, with a quick trip to the old port of Cossack, the Burrup peninsula and a selfie with the wonderful Red Dog.

In August I will be visiting two other Pilbara communities as part of the Groundbreaker Tour. On 19th August I’ll be in Dampier and then on 22nd August I will travel to Paraburdoo. Thanks to the Rio Tinto organisers. I’m looking forward to meeting more Better Beginnings readers soon …

A shoal of Sharks

… or a shiver of sharks. Or just a school of sharks.

Either way, my first box load of The Shark Caller arrived today. After so many years and hundreds of drafts, it’s become a book.

shark cover

It’s not actually on bookshop shelves yet, but has officially reached the ‘pre-order’ status, so that shouldn’t be too far away. So exciting…

AQWA Story Readings

This week I’ve been meeting young readers at the WA Aquarium for story-time.

We’ve been reading Granny Grommet and Me in front of a tank that’s home to some of the sea creatures that appear in the story. Lilian spotted angel fish in the tank and in the book!

Young book lovers also knew the names of sea stars, leafy sea dragons and many other marine animals.

I’ll be reading again tomorrow at 11.45, so please come and say hello if you are planning a trip top AQWA.

For middle and upper primary teachers and students, I’ll be back again on July 29th to read from The Shark Caller on the same day it will be launched.

My favourite sea creature so far, was this friendly ray in sick bay.

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Gairdner Primary

The K-Year 2 students at Gairdner Primary and their teachers are very talented artists. Look what they made after we read Granny Grommet and Me!

I love the way the budding illustrators mixed the bright colours with edacol dye. If you look closely you can see all sorts of sea creatures; saw fish, octopus, jellyfish, angelfish, whales and even leafy sea dragons… Thank you for inviting me into your classroom.

World Oceans Day

good one

Happy World Oceans Day.

I had hoped to be celebrating with a walk at beautiful Middleton Beach in Albany, but given the wintry weather, have made do with a brisk walk at the harbour instead.

For the past three years as I’ve reworked drafts of nearly-published, The Shark Caller (Aug 1st), my mind has been focused on underwater creatures and the challenges threatening our oceans. Since completing the final draft in January, the situation has become even more dire for our Great Barrier Reef and here in WA, we hear heated community discussions over sharks and keeping swimmers safe. Sadly there are no easy answers.

I love swimming, diving, snorkelling and walking along the beach, and hope future generations will also be able to enjoy these simple pleasures in an ocean free of pollution and acidity.

The Shark Caller has been one of those stories that’s had a very long gestation, with the first idea, sparked by wonder at the beauty of marine life on a reef in Papua New Guinea. Despite our various inventions and deep-sea explorations, for me the ocean still holds that sense of wonder, mystery and adventure, qualities evident in some of the old classics like Hemingway’s, The Old Man and the Sea or Jules Verne’s fabulous, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I never finished Moby Dick but with whale season just starting, maybe I should give that one another go.

And there are so many fun ocean stories for children. My favourites include: Kylie Howarth’s Fish Jam, a jazzy picture book for young and old which is currently CBCA shortlisted; Bruce Whatley’s Looking for Crabs and Naomi Kojima’s quirky Singing Shijimi Clams (might be hard to find the latter). Karen Blair’s illustrations for Granny Grommet and Me also always make me smile! face3

For music lovers who like ocean themes, Simone Keane’s latest album, The Breath of the Ocean donates proceeds to Sea Shepherd, and for me, one of Simone’s earlier songs, Life’s Ocean conjures lovely memories of Fay Catherine Howe (it was played at the Albany launch of Lighthouse Girl accompanied by historic photos of Breaksea Island)

There are so many ways to enjoy Ocean Day. I hope you find one…

Booktrailers

Book trailers are a wonderful way for readers to peek into a book and gain a quick understanding of what the story is about so they can then decide whether to buy/borrow and read.

James Foley and Fremantle Press created a cracker clip for my Light Horse Boy, and there are multiple clips linked to Lighthouse Girl (details below), however as yet, there are none for my other books. And so, my resolution for March, is to make at least one more book trailer…

There are two specific Lighthouse Girl clips on Youtube. I love the trailer that was created by Year 4 students at Rosalie Primary School in 2010 – great that it’s still out there…

Then there is my own first attempt at creating a trailer. It’s quite factual and a bit basic as far as clips go, but it gives a nice view of King George Sound and Breaksea Island.

There are many, many YouTube clips linked to the Little Girl Giant, a character which was inspired by the book, Lighthouse Girl (more details on earlier posts). Amongst the terrific clips below, is one posted by Tracey Timmins, the granddaughter of Fay (the lighthouse girl). It’s a crackly but close-up view of Fay as the Little Girl Giant at PIAF 2015. There’s also one that I posted, and others by people I don’t know.

The first waking up

Walking

Waking up to Edith Piaf

A lovely soundtrack version clip linked to Lighthouse Girl is by Caddy Cooper Her clip features a song that she wrote, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter which was inspired by Fay.

I hope that more clips of my books will appear soon. In the meantime, you might like to check out these clips by other WA authors and illustrators:

My Dead Bunny , The Last Viking Returns, Ned Kelly and the Green Sash, A is For Australia, Zac and Mia,

This is just a sample, you will find more on most authors’ websites…

Perth Writers Festival

The annual Perth Writers Festival has been a delightful blur. As a regional author, the loveliest part of the weekend is catching up with friends and colleagues. SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Authors and Illustrators) held their breakfast on the lawn meeting on Sunday. I loved exchanging news with people I don’t see as often as I’d like to …

karen and dipg — with award winning illustrator Karen Blair

The Friday afternoon Inspired Learning Program was inspirational with two streams; Primary and Secondary each with three panel sessions focusing on different aspects of literacy. Speakers included many of our talented local authors and illustrators as well as interstate luminaries; Sally Rippin, Andy Griffiths, Carole Wilkinson and Greg Dreise.

There was (unconfirmed) talk of this being an annual event. If so, and if you missed out this year, I’d recommend it for 2017. If you are a teacher I believe you also get PD points…

An interesting part of the 2016 program was the Young Creatives Blog. Albany girl, Katie McAllister was one of the chosen bloggers. We had a great catch-up over coffee and Katie has some exciting ideas for developing the arts in the Great Southern!

FullSizeRender I enjoyed many sessions. Simon Winchester’s presentation was informative and at times deeply shocking as was Rosemary Sayer’s In Conversation with North Korean defector, Hyeonseo Lee. I haven’t heard her TED talk yet, but will soon… My favourite session was UK’s, Katherine Rundell talk about her book, The Wolf Wilder. After hearing Katherine read the beginning, I had to buy a copy. Her story is beautifully written, evocative and surprising. I love it. (Even the cover is gorgeous!)

The PIAF Writers Festival continues in Albany this evening. Congratulations and thank you to all the organisers.

Breaksea House @ GSG

This morning I went to Great Southern Grammar’s Start of Year Assembly to donate copies of my historical novels, Lighthouse Girl and Light Horse Boy. The occasion?

black and white photograph of the real Fay Howe — The real Fay, image courtesy of Don Watson

GSG’s new boarding house has been named Breaksea House to honour Fay Catherine Howe, the ‘lighthouse girl’ who signalled to the departing Anzac nurses, troops and horses in 1914.

I was honoured to present signed copies of my books to boarding house student leaders; Emma Taylor and James Gonzales.

LHG cover LHB cover

GSG has also purchased original artwork by illustrator, Brian Simmonds. The image appears on page 94 of Lighthouse Girl and shows Fay searching the Albany Advertiser for news about the troops in the Middle East. This lovely charcoal illustration will now grace the walls of the new boarding facility. I hope to see it when I visit for an informal book chat.

The full school assembly was a terrific occasion, welcoming the 2016 student leaders who then offered a badge to each Year One student, celebrating their new beginnings.

breaksea1 breaksea2

Fay’s story continues to touch a chord with readers, particularly those living in WA. I often wonder how Fay would feel to know that so many people remember her…

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Farewell 2015

The last day of the year: a time for reflection and forward planning.

Tucked in a holiday house in the hills behind Apollo with my family, its also a time for counting blessings; we’re all relatively healthy and we have homes to return to.

2015 has been a huge year for me with several highlights including:

Lighthouse Girl’s close link to ‘The Giants’ performance through the streets of Perth. Following the Little Girl Giant as she searched for The Diver was an unforgettable experience. My special pass enabled me to stand right beside the fabulous giants.
signing with Newman Agency. Clive Newman has some exciting ideas for reinvigorating some of my backlist and also new markets for new titles. More info soon…
The Shark Caller’s acceptance for publication with Random House in mid-late 2016. The final edit is almost complete and I can’t wait to share this story with readers.
the presentation of Granny Grommet and Me to the Duchess of Cornwall. I do hope those young royals enjoy hearing about Albany’s surfing grannies.
Moss Vale High School selecting Light Horse Boy to be the 2015 book that the entire school reads (all 700 students and staff) as part of their school book club.
Light Horse Boy being serialised over 10 weeks in The West Australian newspaper.
flying to Breaksea Island in a helicopter to be interviewed for Channel 9’s TV show, Destination WA
my daughter’s Masters graduation ceremony.

Thank you to the schools and libraries across WA and beyond who hosted me in 2015. I believe teachers and librarians are unsung heroes of literacy. They open doors to learning, empathy and understanding for children and teenagers – the extent of their influence may not be known for years, but they enrich our community in immeasurable ways. I’d love to see teachers and librarians honoured and appreciated more in 2016.

Next year:

In addition to the launch of The Shark Caller, for YA readers, I hope the illustrations for my picture book, Nanna’s Button Tin will soon be completed. The artwork so far is lovely.

My main aim at the moment is to complete my PhD research ready to submit before mid-year. Hopefully the next blog post will have an update on my progress.

I have school and library bookings in Albany, Busselton, Bunbury and Perth and plan to visit Sydney/Melbourne, Canberra and regional NSW. Please use the contact page if you would like me to come to your school/library.

Book Launch for Gabriel Evans

Being asked to launch a book is an honour, especially when the book is created by someone who has illustrated one of my books!

In 2013, Gabriel Evans brought Annie and her snails to life for me and he has since illustrated and written several more titles. Gabe’s website is a great place to find details and workshop tips: Gabriel’s website

Last night was the Albany launch of Gabriel’s new book,The Mice and the Shoemaker, a joyful reinterpretation of the fairy tale with sweet furry characters instead of elves. The book is a delight with intricate illustrations that will stimulate young imaginations.

The Albany Library was packed with fans and well-wishers and it was great to see so many young readers coming along to celebrate. Lockie from Paperbark Merchants was kept busy, but says he still has a few signed copies at the shop.

: Clare Valley with her signed copy

The book’s themes of kindness and generosity link to Christmas and best of all… The Mice and the Shoemaker has fun pop-ups. I love pop-ups!

Congratulations Gabriel and Five Mile Press on this beautiful book.

Back to School

In WA students, teachers and librarians are going back to school, which reminds me that at the end of last term I became too busy to post some Term Two highlights.

I love it when schools come up with writer visit variations. Here are photos from two special events last term. One was a boat trip to Breaksea Island, home of Fay the ‘Lighthouse Girl’

Year 5 students from Great Southern Grammar studied Lighthouse Girl in Term Two. After a more formal classroom presentation and workshop, their teachers invited me to join the students on a post-Naplan week boat trip to experience the island from an interesting perspective. It was so much fun, and a great extension activity…

Great teachers like Carys Nichols and Paul Osborne and inspire literacy!

Another terrific extension activity was organised by Sandi Parsons, the creative and fun librarian at Mt Lawley Primary.

Sandi, Narrelle Thambipillai and other staff organised a short writing competition. The age group winners shared a party lunch with me after my presentations. It was lovely to meet them and hear about their stories. Here are some photos of the winners:

For most authors, illustrators and librarians, Term Three is the hectic one.

In between school and library visits I will be working hard to complete two novels; The Shark Caller and The Dog with Five Names. I hope to post updates on my progress and also share some inspirational articles by fellow authors in the next few weeks. More soon…

‘The Shark Caller’ swims again

After setting aside my ‘Shark’ manuscript for 4 months, I’m now back underwater at last.

I’ve come to learn that letting stories settle is an important part of the writing process. It’s tempting to send away a manuscript after the first few drafts but I’ve found it’s usually better to wait. Not usually as long as this one, however…

I have emails that go back as far as 2006 mentioning this story!

But the good news for my long-suffering family and friends is that I think Shark Caller is getting closer to being publishable. I hope. It’s also one of my two PhD Creative Works so it needs to be completed by September.

The Shark Caller is an underwater fantasy story that I hope readers aged about 10-14 will enjoy. Here are a few beautiful illustrations by Year 3 students at St Mark’s Anglican School. They were created in response to Granny Grommet and Me, but the artwork has helped me shift my focus underwater again and so I wanted to include some here. There are more beautiful drawings but they don’t all fit. Thank you Year 3’s for giving them to me.

More details on The Shark Caller soon…

Bunbury Primary’s wonderful Entry Statement

Just a very quick post to share this photo of Bunbury Primary School’s entry statement sculpture.

Dianne with south-west librarians Catherine Richards and Marina Harris

What a fabulous way to greet visitors; with someone enjoying a book. And what a powerful statement about the value of literacy. On my way to the school library I saw boxes of fun dress-ups in the school yard for lunchtime imaginings. Children went about their games in colourful, frilly and funny outfits.

So simple, so brilliant!

Thank you to the librarians at Bunbury and Capel Libraries for organising my visit.