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Tony Birch (pictured)

Tony captivated the audience with his open and candid talk on what influences his writing. Tony arrived in plenty of time for his talk. He was a professional and highly engaging speaker with considerable knowledge to share with his audience.

-T. Sindel, Yarra Libraries

Alice Pung

Alice enthralled us all with her stories and anecdotes. In a delightful, humorous and engaging manner she maintained the attention of the girls for over an hour. Alice shifted her focus to ‘Identity and Belonging’ especially for us, which was perfect for the girls; they left the auditorium full of dreams, hopes and ideas.

–P. Catrice, Avila College

David Miller is one of a number of authors & illustrators visiting Tasmania this year for The National Year of Reading, organised through Catherine Woodberry and Marist Regional College in Burnie. The others traveling there are Catherine Bateson, Marc McBride, James Moloney, Archie Fusillo, Catherine Jinks and David Metzenthen. Many of these speakers are touring further around Tasmania whilst they are there.

On May 14th ABC Local Radio Northern Tasmania interviewed David Miller, and the short interview provides a great outline of David’s sessions. He also discusses the way he tackles complex themes in ways children can relate to. You can listen to it online here.

The first thing I discovered when I opened my computer yesterday was that Maurice Sendak had passed away at 83. He was immediately and deeply mourned by readers, writers and members of the literary community, and also by every child (even grown up ones) who ever imagined themselves as Max, who ever let loose with a wild rumpus of their own, or who gathered all the sheets that they could to build the most extraordinary fort known to man (or mum).

Yesterday my facebook was awash with posts, tributes and links by people who had experienced that magic of Maurice Sendak’s books. People everywhere shared articles and quotes or pictures of themselves hosting celebratory readings of Where the Wild Things Are Felice Arena drew his own wild thing (left). Leanne Hall wrote the beautiful Maurice Sendak: a bookseller’s tribute here.

One of my favourite quotes, now rapidly making the rounds was this, in an interview with Terry Gross, host of National Public Radio‘s “Fresh Air”. When asked what his favourite piece of fan mail had been Maurice replied

“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters, sometimes very hastily, but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, ‘Dear Jim: I loved your card.’ Then I got a letter back from his mother, and she said, ‘Jim loved your card so much he ate it.’ That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”

Finally, and so fittingly, many farewelled Maurice by echoing his own wild things. “Oh please don’t go. We’ll eat you up. We love you so!”

You might imagine that Maurice had this in mind when he spoke of his own feelings about death and loss. “I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can’t stop them. They leave me and I love them more.” – Maurice Sendak. Let the wild rumpus begin!

Lauren Burns (pictured)

Lauren Burns was the keynote speaker for the annual Casey Student Leaders Reception. This event brings together school captains from primary and secondary schools across the City of Casey, to congratulate them on their appointment and explore the idea of leadership. Lauren spoke well to the audience which had a broad age range, and her message was right on target. Her talk certainly inspired the idea that with vision, hard work and determination, you can achieve great things. Lauren had everyone feeling energised as she had them on their feet going through some Taekwondo moves. The board break and use of video were very engaging and added another element to her presentation. Lauren was very friendly, as well as being quite patient and generous with her time when it came to having photos and signing autographs after the official speeches concluded. We also couldn’t believe how willing she was to share her medal and have it passed around the theatre, creating much excitement for the students!

-K. Wilmot, Youth Events Officer, City of Casey Library

Mark Dobson

Mark received incredibly positive feedback from our students. Mark had the undivided attention of the students and staff for the whole hour and a half session. He was thoroughly enetertaining and had the whole audience captivated with his tales of life, his experiences and his observations of young people, which had the audience in fits of laughter. Yet underlying this was the constant message of being true to yourself and being the best you can be. It was such a valuable experience for our students and his message is still rememebered by them. We immediately booked him for next years Year 12 Conference!

—S. Fryer, Ruyton Girls School

Daniel Ducrou

The students were appreciative of Daniel’s visit, expressing their interest in his writing and thanks for his openness and honesty. He was approachable, entertaining and sensitive to their interests and needs, giving useful tips to improve their writing. We would highly recommend him to others.

-R. Varela, Alstonville High School

Oliver Phommavanh

They loved it! The kids were still talking about it the week after!

—M. Hoult, Norfolk High School

Next week we take the What’s Happening to Our Girls/Boys show on the road to Queensland.

In the lead up to the event, ABC Local Radio Qld will be running a series of interviews over the next few nights. Dr Michael Carr-Gregg leads the charge tomorrow night (Tuesday 17th) at 8pm, followed by Steve Biddulph at 7.30pm on Wednesday 18th and finally Maggie Hamilton at 7.30pm on Thursday 19th.

Tune in! And don’t forget to book in via our events page.

Update: You can listen to the audio files of Michael’s interview here and Steve’s interview here.

Archie Fusillo

Archie recently spoke at the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition (WIDPSC) held at Moreton Bay Boys' College.

May I say on behalf of us all how much we enjoyed Archie’s visit yesterday. Our Year 7 and 8 boys are still talking about him today — no mean feat for that age group! His speech at the opening ceremony of the World Debating was very special. Some of the student delegates even gave him a standing ovation.

—M. Forbes, Teacher Librarian, Moreton Bay Boys' College

Archie was fabulous — once again! Thank you for your help with all the arrangements. It was great to work with you and Archie. I just wanted to thank Archie for his amazing speech yesterday which was an inspiring, though-provoking and exemplary way to open the WIDPSC.

—L. Cadzow-Andres, WIDPSC Committee

Let’s face it, we’re all pretty happy to be heading into the easter long weekend. Don’t even bother trying to deny it, because we all know it’s true.

But some of our speakers are especially happy because they’re hopping off with more than just chocolate! An astounding number of our speakers have been shortlisted for this years CBCA Book of the year. You can read the full list here, but in the meantime a huge shout out to the following Booked Out speakers.

Our booking agents will be hard at work throughout the holidays so get your requests in if you would like to make a booking with any of these talented writers.

Older Readers

Michael Gerard Bauer – Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel

Scot Gardner – The Dead I Know

Robert Newton – When We Were Two

Younger Readers

Kate Constable – Crow Country

Jackie French – Nanberry: Black Brother White

Early Childhood

Ill. Lucia Masciullo – Come Down, Cat!

Elizabeth Honey – That’s Not a Daffodil!

Picture Book

Text. Glenda Millard – For All Creatures

Text. Jackie French – Flood

But wait! They’re not the only talents who have been in the awards lists lately. The lovely Meg Mundell and Max Barry appeared in the list of finalists for the recent Aurealis Awards. The winners will be announced later this year.

So congratulations to all of these talented writers and what a great list of books to choose from for Easter reading. We look forward to reading them all, and toasting the winners later this year!

Kate Holden (pictured)

Kate was generous and engaging and she drew a crowd that usually don’t attend our events (and possibly not Public Libraries). Audience feedback was extremely positive and I think that they really appreciated her candour, and found what she had to say about her writing very interesting. I would not hesitate in booking her again and look forward to her reading her next book (whatever form it takes).

—K. Dobby, Adult Services Librarian, City of Boroondara, Kew Library

Declan Fay

After recess the students welcomed comedian Mr Declan Fay to Loyola College who shared a simple life message with them. In a laughter-filled presentation he encouraged our Year 9 students not to “wonder what if…”. Having developed for himself a career as a comedy writer for Rove and The Chaser as well as a host and radio presenter on Triple R, Triple J and most recently Triple M, Declan Fay provided the students with real life illustrations of taking full advantage of opportunities on offer. He noted that no matter how well you may plan there are times where all may go wrong. However what is critical is developing the resilience to never give up and always learn from one’s mistakes. He also spoke of the importance of following one’s passions in life as there was no value in doing anything in life if it didn’t bring us enjoyment. He noted that as a student he had a real passion for writing and that he has utilised this talent in his comedy writing that has seen him do very well in the very competitive field of comedy. Through the laughter our students had heard some important life lessons which they could employ.

—T. Chirico, Loyola College

Last week, we held our first 2 day event looking at girls and boys issues separately. The Sydney event was a shining success and we’re looking forward to running the days next in Brisbane (26/27 April) and Melbourne (21/22 June). Take a look at some of the brilliant feedback we’ve received so far.

Best two days of professional development in a long time!!!

It was fantastic. I spoke about it all weekend. The best inservice I have been to in years! Each speaker was relevant and interesting and I felt like I learnt so much.

I felt that I left with so much knoweldge and I have already started using with as I an a Year Coordinator.

My head is flooded with ideas and avenues for further research. I learned facts but more than that I learned some principles and themes.

Crucial to the education of our children – sobering and thought provoking. I found myself moved both as a teacher and a parent.

It is rare to get such a high calibre of guest speakers in one event. THANK YOU!

Honestly I have been to heaps of workshops seminars etc, but that one was by far the best I have been to. Quality speakers who make sense, do not speak in jargon and offer solutions.

Fiona Harris (pictured)

Thank you for sharing your story with our Year Nine girls. They loved the chat you had with them and said you were very down to earth, which I think is a great compliment coming from our bunch! Your story was both insightful and the continued breaks you made during the speech to relate it back to their world was a fantastic idea. A great discussion of ‘a woman’s world’ continued in class! Well done!

—M. Pannunzio, Catholic Regional College, St Albans

Andy Griffiths

We had a wonderful event with Andy, and I’m sure it will be long-remembered by those who attended. Andy was the most gracious of authors, signing and chatting for over an hour after his talk. Over 200 people attended, and many lined up for autographs, book signings and photos (we also had a visit from the local press to take a quick photo before he started). Thanks again for helping us offer this memorable event and raise the profile of our library and the National Year of Reading in the community.

—R. Burns, Whitehorse Manningham Libraries