Maranoa Gardens

Rather than cram it into the pre-Christmas crowdedness, a few friends and I met today for our annual picnic. When 36 deg was forecast, we revised our meeting time earlier. 

We met at Maranoa Gardens in Balwyn, a lovely oasis in the midst of suburbia. 

It was delightful, and cool under the trees, although we enjoyed the bright day.

The only other people we saw were a couple rehearsing their wedding vows with their celebrant and - as we were leaving - park employee on the mowing tractor.

I'm recommending it to my family as the site for our next family picnic. It was also much easier to find a park than at the Botanic Gardens, our normal gathering spot.

New beginnings

What's the connection between these two images?
The first is Grandma Poss from Possum Magic.
The second is Queen's Hall, part of the original building of the State Library of Victoria.

Grandma Poss has most recently been resident in the gardens of Dromkeen, a wonderful place for immersion in children's literature, particularly the art of children's literature.

Sadly, Dromkeen is for sale.
Fortunately, the SLV has become the new custodian of the amazing collection of original picture book art that was housed there.
Even more fortunately, the SLV is interested in continuing the work of Dromkeen, that of bringing readers and creators together.

On Wednesday, writers, illustrators and library experts gathered to begin the discussion about just how to keep alive some of the Dromkeen programs, and how to shape and develop them in the future.

Stay posted.

Exciting

ps Our meeting on Wednesday was in this glorious space, Queen's Hall.
pps Grandma Poss is now in Melbourne .

The First Tuesday Children's Book Club...

...has arrived! Or begun...or birthed...

Late last year I posted a note on PIO calling for interest in a children's book discussion group. There were lots of responses and suggestions, and the result is - ta-da! The First Tuesday Children's Book Club (FTCBC).

I met with Jen Storer on Wednesday at The Abbotsford Convent (in Abbotsford, Melbourne) to nut out details.


The FTCBC will meet monthly on a Tuesday 10.30am - 12.30pm and talk about children's books. We plan to discuss a picture book each month and also two other books, alternating junior fiction and young adult books. This first meeting will be to discuss the various incarnations of 'Where The Wild Things Are' - original text, film and Dave Eggers novelisation.

The group is open to anyone interested in children's literature, not just writers/illustrators.

First meeting is Feb 2.

Contact me for more details if you're interested...

Double sunshiney day...

Today I trained it down to Frankston for the YABBA (Young Australian Best Book Awards) announcements. There were students from about ten schools there (I think) in the Frankston Art Centre and about 16 or so authors and illustrators. Also teachers, publishers and the wonderful group of people who administer the awards.

We authors and illustrators were asked to prepare a little (90 seconds we found out as we spoke!) piece on our first publication. It was fascinating to hear the variety of responses and indeed interpretations of the request.

Awards were presented to the winners of the inaugural Write On! writing competition and then the YABBA's were presented.

After morning tea, we all reconvened in the vibrant Frankston Library for book signings. Great fun.

Well done YABBA committee. Well done YABBA voters. Congratulations YABBA winners. Go here for details.

And in late breaking news...well late to me as I didn't get home until late...

The Australian government has voted...Parallel Importation Restrictions are to be retained...Australian copyright holders will continue to be protected. For more info on this wonderful news go here

Reading Matters

I'm just now surfacing after a fantastic weekend at Reading Matters Conference. This conference is held every second year and is an initiative of Melbourne's Centre for Youth Literature. The focus is works for young adults, which includes everything from Libby Gleeson/Armin Greder picture books to crossover novels that could equally be read by young adults and ...well...all other adults.

I didn't take many notes as I was too busy listening but here are a few of the bits that spoke to me...

John Green, author of Paper Towns talked about being an individual around whom the world spins. He said that perspective sometimes changes as we age...but sometimes not. He reported being sure that everyone around him was alien and sneaking out after bedtime to catch his parents out of 'human costume' but they were always too fast.

Teenagers like to read about themselves, AND about 'other'. He also said he often knew his characters much better than he knew even close friends.

Alison Goodman (The Two Pearls of Wisdom) and Isabelle Carmody (The Stone Key) shared a conversation about their writing processes and more.
Isabelle reads non fantasy as inspiration...more for style than content. For her landscape comes from character emotion...bog might indicate depression, a mountain might indicate character is feeling better. For Alison, landscape was setting. Isabelle takes no notes but continues to 'gather' ideas until she has enough to begin writing. Alison reported being much more of a planner.

Reimagining History was the title of a session with MT Anderson (The Astonishing LIfe of Octavian Nothing), Bernard Beckett (Genesis) and Michelle Cooper (A Brief History of Montmaray).

MT Anderson talked about novels being 'alienation from what you know so you can reapproach what you know'

and all talked about their wish to explore the strangeness of the time they wrote about. Each would be keen to visit the worlds about which they wrote...provided they could first be vaccinated!

Several writers read from their novels including Adrian Stirling (Broken Glass), Tristan Banks (Mac Slater: Cool Hunter), Cathy Cassidy (Angel Cake), Mo Johnson (Boofheads.

Libby Gleeson and Armin Greder discussed their collaboration through six books so far.

Other speakers included Anthony Eaton, Mal Peet, James Roy, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Amra Pajalic and (a jet-lagged but you wouldn't have known it)Tim Flannery.

Add in fantastic food, plenty of opportunities to mix with librarians, teachers, publishers, editors and fellow creators and you have the recipe for an exhilarating but exhausting weekend.

I have still to go through my collection of contacts and cards (and yes, even one set of details on a cocktail napkin) but that will all wait for a day or two.

Tomorrow I'm off to Melbourne's south east to do some workshops with Year 9's. Really looking forward to it to.

A Star is born...

This gorgeous verse novel, written by Lorraine Marwood is released today by Walker Books. Ruby lives on a dairy farm and times are tough. But there is always room for hope.

I asked Lorraine a few questions...

Why Star Jumps as a title?

I love titles- this one just came, it encapsulated in one word the hope that the three children felt for their future. And it's a sort of symbol of jumping above one's problems. Whereas the title for Ratwhiskers came after many tries, many tries.

This is your second verse novel. How did the experience of writing it compare to writing Ratwhiskers?

Ah, 'Ratwhiskers' broke new writing ground for me and it combined years of interest and research into gold mining history. 'Star Jumps' was initially a challenge- how to write a second book in the same style without becoming 'samey'. For me it's the tone, the first line, the first stanza that sets the whole atmosphere for the book. And I loved how Ruby and a different setting came swiftly to my rescue.

This book evolved from years of dairy farming life. I've always lived on a farm, until the last few years. I often came across stereotyped ideas of what farm life was like, I wanted to re-create one season in a dairy farming calendar and have Ruby showing the readers a slice of her life. So her voice was crucial to the writing. If I got Ruby right then the rest flowed, well sometimes it meandered and stalled but the essence was there.

Star Jumps has its origins in your own farm experiences. Was that a difficult thing to do?

Yes, I've always wanted to write a farm story. It is based loosely on activities my own children did on the dairy farm, an intimate knowledge of the workings of a dairy farm and my own childhood response to drought.

But because I always wanted to be a farmer and we'd made the decision to sell the farm, this experience was a leave taking, a tear jerker, and nearly every line was written with tears. When I had my May Gibbs residency in Adelaide it was only a few weeks before, that I'd lost my father in-law and he was a dairy farmer too. So it's to the farming families who work so hard and so closely together, that this book is written.

Do you start at the start and end at the end or do you write bits and then join them together?

This one is easy- I start at the beginning and continue on, bit by bit each day.

I had a recent 'conversation' with Dale Harcombe about setting. How do you create your settings? Do you find settings easy or difficult to conjure?

Settings for me are based on visited physical settings or am amalgamations of them. Star Jumps is clearly our farm- the flat vista, the calving pen of marshmallow weed, the echo of noise along the flat main raod in the distance, the frost, the glorious sun rises, the cows chewing their cuds and then choosing the middle of a stormy night to calve. Setting is also sensory for me as a poet, it has to have a foreshadowing of emotion too. But I can see the setting- its open expanse and then the singling to a room or shed or corner.

I have to have walk or visited the setting first- Ratwhiskers was set on the old gold mines of my child hood- I knew the bush, the area. But this is part of the research first to pick the setting like a camp iste for its best features, most conducive to the flow of the story. It's not hard it just takes time for me.

Was it hard to get into the head of the main character? How did you do that?

Ruby had a voice of her own as the youngest in the family she was allowed to be naive but still light that flare of hope that steadily burns through the whole book. While not directly modelled on one of my daughters she had some traits and actually grew of her own accord, even to claiming some of the things I tried to do as a child when I first saw the effects of drought on out little farm. Ruby is one of my most fully rounded and independent characters. I wish she could speak for me at my upcoming book launch.

What's next for you?

Writing more poems, another verse novel- I need to research that- I've found a topic I'm passionate about and that is the starter point for me- passion. And strangely enough the passion for the topic might overflow into another genre I've always wanted to do: historical fiction with a smidgeon of romance and definitely a rip roaring adventure. This might silence those comments, ‘…but have you written a novel???...’ A poem is often a rare and concentrated novel in a few stanzas.

There are more details about Star Jumps here

Penguins and things

We went to the Melboune Aquarium on Sunday to see the new penguin exhibition. They have two species of penguin, the Gentoo and the King. Both seemed quite at home in the new exhibit where there was both snow and water. The thing that surprised me most was the shape of their feet/toes, much plumper than I'd imagined. They looked like fat fingers in black latex webbed gloves. Amazing to watch their antics both in water and on land.


Of course we visited all the other exhibits as well. One thing that struck me was the faces. I could see where designers of fantasy movies get inspiration for their characters. There are some seriously odd looking creatures in the underwater world.


My book, Ebi's Boat was in the bookshop. An unexpected but pleasant surprise. Not so pleasant the reaction to my offer to sign the copies. Sigh.


We caught a bus to the base of the new Southern Star ferris wheel thingo. Up close, it is quite tall! And it never stops moving, not for getting on or off. They do slow it down a bit more for those who need it, but mostly people entered the moving capsule easily enough. We will take a ride one day, but didn't on Sunday.




The waterfront was abuzz. There was a market and childrens activities and these sand sculptures. Amazing detail.


And how is any of this related to writing for children? Who knows? I wouldn't begin to try to predict what may or may not inform future projects. But I do know that writers never clock off.

Happy New Year!

Two weeks into the new year and the publishing world is returning from holidays. I've had conversations about changes to an accepted manuscript and submitted some supplementary material for another book due out next year.

And I've had my first rejection for the year. And it hurts. I was sure this manuscript was a good fit for the publisher and my agent agreed. Conventional wisdom suggests not spending a night in the same house with a rejected manuscript, but this one will be sleeping here at least tonight.

I am heartened by a conversation with a writer friend who has just placed a manuscript. She reports that the story began in another form and underwent several metamorphoses before this sale.

Where there are words, there is hope.

Last Friday was the Spring meeting of the Victorian SCBWI group. We had two member speakers (both illustrators) Marjory Gardner and Andrew Plant - and a guest speaker, Kaye Keck who is the Director of Dromkeen. Usually we hold these meetings on Saturday afternoon and this was our trial of a Friday night alternative.

Marjory and Andrew inspired us with their passion and their experience and then once more with the examples of their work. It's fantastic to hear how others work, how they started, how they continue. It's also interesting to learn of the myriad pathways into our industry, Marjory through Graphic Design, Andrew through Zoology.

We build in a long break in the middle to facilitate that wonderful beast 'networking'. Call it what you will, there's a chance to catch up with familar faces, match faces to known names, and to meet new people. At this meeting we had visitors from NSW and New Zealand and a medical illustrator in addition to mostly familiar faces. And sometimes, as occured this time, attendees happen upon people they've known in a 'previous life'.

Kaye Keck spoke about Dromkeen, wonderful house and gallery in Riddell's Creek, just out of Melbourne, and their collection of children's picture book art. The collection includes more than 7000 items and includes sketches, roughs, dummy books, storyboards as well as finished artwork. Kaye brought some amazing miniatures (detailed dummy books, sometimes in colour) that stand as art pieces in their own right. Dromkeen is well worth a visit, with sculptures scattered around the grounds and galleries inside. Kaye also mentioned they are establishing links with 'Seven Stories' in Newcastle UK and the Eric Carle Musuem in the US.

...and the point of the pic above? None really. I just like it.

Spring Cleaning

Anyone who knows me well will attest that my name and 'spring cleaning' are seldom linked in a sentence, unless it's by something like 'anathema' or 'what's that?'. But in fact I have been spring cleaning this week.

My computer threw a hissy fit early in the week and refused to start. First aid measures failed and I high-tailed it to the computer shop, where some of the first aid was pronounced to have made things potentially worse. Computer man did some tests and pronounced the computer comatose rather than dead and sent me home with advice on how to avoid similar unwellnesses. Days later, computer data backed up and almost everything reloaded, I decided it was time to clean out the email. No one's email folder should be THAT big.

Slowly and not quite surely, I'm culling the inbox folders. Some stuff has to stay but quite alot of it doesn't. Already it's leaner and quicker and it encourages me to continue. Next stop, some of those old ideas that just never developed...

And as for the other sort of spring cleaning, yes the house does need it, especially given the impending 21st happening here in less than a week. So what am I doing here? Doing what writers seem to be so good at. Procrastinating, of course.

Canberra

I've just returned from Canberra after a week in our capital. It's a long time since I've been there and the first time I wasn't just a tourist. I had Author talks in several schools. Most were primary school, but I also did one session with Year 12's...a new experience for me.

I had a great time. Rachael, from the ACT CBCA had everything organised, from the jug of water, the transport from school to school, and even food. The children were great, full of questions, curious and bright. The CBCA also included me (and other visiting authors and illustrators) in a Lu Rees Archives event, a panel session with Margaret Wild and Ann James, and a Children's Seminar which was a bit like a literary version of speed-dating.

It was great to spend time with other creators too. The only down-side is that we don't get to hear each other present. I'd love to have sat in on some of the other speaker's sessions. Not sure how that could happen, but I reckon it would be great. Great to hear what they're doing and how they do it, but also as a way of improving my own skills in presentation.

Canberra is reputed to be a cold place, but for the most part the weather during the day was great, with the nights and early mornings quite cool. But staying in hotels, being transported by car and working in heated schools, we were mostly immune to the weather. Except for that one morning I decided to have a pre-breakfast stroll wearing my long-sleeved tshirt...on the coldest winter morning for some years (-6C). Then I really knew I was alive. And man did I walk fast!

Home again

We've just returned from Queensland from a week's holiday on the Gold Coast. I decided not to take my lap top and to have a break. I did have a review book to read. 'Finding Darcy' by Victorian author Sue Lawson was a great read. I read it straight through (one of the luxuries of holidays) sitting on the balcony of our apartment.

I also needed to work on my words for my friend Lorraine's new book 'Ratwhiskers and Me' which she'd asked me to launch. I had a drafted speech but of course it needed work. Hmm. What to do? I bought a A4 notebook and wrote it all out again long hand then tweaked and practised it. Finding things to say about this wonderful verse novel was not hard, but it's a while since I'd worked longhand. Good thing to do. The launch was on Sunday in Bendigo and went well. I was hoping to have some pics to post but my camera was full. Perhaps I'll get to see some of Lorraine's pics and can post some.

Now, it's back to work. I'm working on some very short readers based on traditional tales. Great to read the stories from countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, interesting challenge reducing them to language appropriate for 5-7 yo readers.

CBCA Conference Melbourne

This past weekend, Melbourne hosted the CBCA Conference. Biennial, this gathering of writers, illustrators, publishers, editors, teachers, librarians and others involved in, or interested in the world of children's literature moves around the states. This year was Melbourne's turn.

This was my fourth CBCA Conference and I enjoy each one more than the last. That's partly I think because I know more about how they work but also because I know more people.

What I enjoy most is the chance to talk to people who also work in this wonderful, frustrating, challenging industry of children's books. Each conference there are presentations on the challenges faced by the book in a changing world. Some are upbeat, others downright gloomy. But there are other speakers who inspire by sharing their own creative experience. Shaun Tan talked about his journey, showing examples of his work including a drawing from his first day of school and another from when he was around 8 years old. His ability was apparent even then. Neil Gaiman interspersed his address with long narrative poems. I had a 'zing' moment when he spoke about going back to favourite childhood books and how they sometimes have lost the magic they once had. He says that a reader brings their experience to their interpretation of a story and that as our experience changes so does how we view the words and bring the story alive. I'm sure I've not said that as well as he did, but it made a lot of sense. Certainly I've been really disappointed when rereading some of my favourite childhood books. However, I loved rereading 'To Kill a Mockingbird' recently. It's many years since I first read it, but it had lost nothing of its power, perhaps because I brought different experiences to it as an older reader.

Wendy Cooling, involved with a UK program aimed at getting books to the very young, and Jan Ormerod, writer and illustrator were both inspiring speakers. I also attended a number of panel sessions including 'Real Girls or Dream Girls', 'What Version of History do we give our Children?', 'Toddlers or Teens: Who are Picture Books For?' and a session moderated by a publisher discussing the relationship between editor and writer. So many conversations and ideas to absorb. Poor old brain!

It's always fascinating to watch others as they check out displays and meet-and-greet. I'm not ever very comfortable pitching spontaneously but even if I was, for me conferences are the wrong time and place. I did have some conversations with various people about opportunities but they're always very general. I like watching publishers, editors and publicity people working. I eavesdrop on conversations, and often the questions I've not been able to formulate are answered.

Its great to have the chance to sit and just chat with interstate colleagues and friends. It took me most of the conference to get around all the trade displays as each time I'd begin or continue, I'd be sidetracked by friends, colleagues, launches and more. Wonderful stuff.

I've come home with lots of books, many business cards and a number of opportunities to follow up. I don't measure the success of the conference by the quality or variety of the program. It's much less tangible than that. Poetry describes it well when it says that the power of poetry is as much in the white spaces as in the words. Conferences are wonderful, not just for the program, but for all the 'stuff', planned and unplanned, that fits in between.

Roll on Brisbane 2010!

Two heads

Earlier this week, I met a friend and colleague half-way between our homes which are two hours apart. We went to the town library and opened laptops and folders. We'd both brought manuscripts that weren't working. Time flew by as we read each other's work and shared reactions and potential solutions.

It worked a treat. It's amazing what another pair of eyes can make obvious. I've come home with new energy for the three manuscripts I was completely stuck on. I'm completely rewriting two picture book texts and feeling really good about their direction. I've also regained some confidence in another longer story and can't wait to get back to it. Which I must do. Now.

Fantastico!

Sydney SCBWI conference

I spent the past weekend in Sydney at the Hughenden Hotel for the 2nd SCBWI Conference. Organised by Susanne Gervay and Chris Cheng, this conference for writers and illustrators was a blast! It featured appraisals, publishers, editors, case studies, fine food and wine, trend-spotting, trend-setting, 2 min pitches, new voices, experienced voices, sunshine and laughter.

The program was designed to facilitate plenty of chat time. It also allowed delegates to absorb the content of each presentation without feeling like heads might explode. I met several people I'd previously only 'known' via email. It's always good to match the faces with the names. Interesting too, who is like their on-line self, and who surprises.

What is the best thing about a conference? The chance to be with people who share your passion, to learn how to improve your craft, to take a break from the solitude that is so necessary for creating, to see new books. They reinvigorate, re-enthuse, recharge and totally exhaust you. They are fantastic.