Welcome and thanks for visiting. I hope you have a ball on my site, and maybe even an adventure holiday, or at the very least a hearty three course meal.
And if you're hungry for a new book, grab a placemat and a reading lamp, and please allow me to introduce, with a proud flourish in the direction of your nearest library, my latest book, Childish.
The first thing I should say about Childish is that the story itself isn't even a teeny bit childish. I know that for a fact because some very sophisticated eight-year-olds told me it isn't. Not in the way the word is most often used. They loved how Arkie and Dot, the main characters in the story, decide that being called childish can be a compliment.
Yes, there are characters in the book who use the word childish as an insult. But they're mostly grown-ups, and the kids in the story are very patient with them. A bit of youthful sighing and eye-rolling, and then the kids get on with more important things.
I should also say that the grown-ups in the story aren't bad people. They're just a bit stressed and embarrassed that something they're being paid to do, their job, is actually being done by a group of young people between the ages of seven and eleven and a half. Cheeky and creative young people who are proud to be children, even when they have to behave like adults.
I know. Who'd have thought it. So much irony and food for thought in a slim 152 page book with a funny (don't say childish) cover.
So what is the story of Childish actually about? Well, among all who already know the answer to that, I think it's summed up best by the very articulate bookmark at left. (Which you are very welcome to print and use for all legal and non-violent purposes.)
Why did I write Childish? I'm not totally sure yet. Sometimes it takes a few months for me to realise these things. One of the first people to read Childish said it's obvious - I wrote it because I wanted to have fun. And she's right, I did want it to be light-hearted and funny, but also about things that the main characters take very seriously.
One of the reasons I wrote it might be, I think, because of an idea that's been interesting me lately. That the better we get at solving small problems, the more having a crack at big problems might not seem quite so scary.
If you click over to the Childish book page, you can read something I wrote for a magazine just before I wrote the book, which might give you a few more clues. And while you're there, you can read the first two chapters of Childish, and/or listen to me read them.
And then if you feel like a bit more of an adventure holiday, or at least dessert, pop back here and keep scrolling.
My books are all down there somewhere, neatly arranged and keen to be explored. You can read the first chapters, and listen to them on audio, and also check out how and why I wrote each story. If you’re here for a peek at my life and creative habits, there’s plenty of that too. Ideas, anecdotes, insights, confessions, aspirations and regrets, all artistically displayed with sensible lighting.
In fact, now I’m spruiking, there’s a fair bit of other stuff on the way down. You’ll find details about booking a school or festival visit, a link to my biography, a signpost to learning resources, and a few other things every author website should have, including a bit of boasting.
Please enjoy.
School Visits
I speak at as many schools, festivals and conferences as I can each year. Bookings are organised by the following very capable and nice-to-chat-with agency. Get in touch with them, even if your school or other literary venue is outside Australia, and we’ll see what’s possible.
Booked Out Agency
for school visits etc in Australia and the rest of the world.
Phone: +613 9824 0177
Fax: +613 9824 0677
Mail: PO Box 580, South Yarra, VIC 3141
Email: bookings@bookedout.com.au
Biographies
Please feel free to use these for all legal and nice purposes. There’s a full-length one and a short one for schools with small notice boards.
Laureate Thoughts
I did a lot of travelling in 2018 and 2019 in my ermine-trimmed robes and official Australian Childrens’ Laureate socks, and a lot of thinking too. Perhaps you’d like to share some of those thoughts. (Sorry, the socks wore out.) Don’t worry, it’s not just abstract thinky stuff (or as we readers like to say, ideas). There are lots of reading and writing activities too.
Morris Spills The Beans
Authors are asked a lot of questions (if they’re lucky), but not everyone can be there to hear the answers. Just in case you and I never get to have a cup of tea together, here are some of the questions I thought you might have asked.
Letters to Governments
Sometimes we have questions we want to ask the Federal government, but they won’t have a cup of tea with us so we have to write them a letter.
Ideas and Activities
These expertly-prepared learning resources are a boon for busy hard-working teachers. They’re pretty useful for lazy ones too. And please, individual readers and parents with enquiring minds (is there any other kind?), feel free to make use of them as well. Absolutely no formal educational qualifications or a mug with your name on it required.
Literary Patchwork
And here we are, at the literary patchwork of my book covers. A click or tap on any one will take you to a page attractively decked out with my thoughts about that book – why I wrote it, how I wrote it, what it may or may not really be about, etc.
From each book page, another click or tap will allow you to read the first chapter of the book, and, if you like, hear me read it. (That last bit can be switched off if you prefer the sound of your own voice.)
Happy travels.
