Woo hoo!

Just back from Geraldton, where I’ve had a terrific week with gorgeous authors and illustrators Sally Murphy, Kevin Burgemeestre and Den Scheer (who has also done a great write-up of this event).

Together, we did meet-the-author school shows and writing and illustration workshops across three days and seven schools, and it was FANTASTIC.

I trialed heaps of new jokes, met lots of great people, and had stacks of fun. Yee ha! (And thanks for laughing at my jokes :-))

Thanks to the Children’s Charity Network for supporting the event, to artist Patrick Lee for his amazing talent and generosity, and to Marg Maxwell and her team (including Ken and the cat) for their brilliant hospitality. Hugs to you all (even the cat)!

Young Australian Art and Writing Awards

While I’m on the subject of the Children’s Charity Network, they run some exciting award programs for young authors and artists.

I was (am?) addicted to entering competitions of this kind, and even won a couple when I was still at school (the old Canon Young Writers of the Year was a highlight…my first trip to Sydney! Yee ha!).

We all know how hard it is to be a writer, how much you need to believe in yourself if you’re even going to put words on a page, and awards like this can give young artists a real boost, right when they need it most. It sure helped me!

So, if you know a young writer or talented artist (or if you suspect you might possibly be one…), check out the awards, and the OzKids in Print magazine.

I’ll leave you with more images from the NAIDOC Sports Festival…it rocked!

And a special bonus for reading down this far? Check out A MONSTER HOUSE by Zac R from Room 13.