Booked Out Speakers Agency

2 May 2017
DARTA & Booked Out Present – Alcohol And Other Drugs: What Do Teachers and Others Who Work With Young People Need to Know?

Profiles:

Paul Dillon (DARTA)

Paul Dillon has delivered professional development seminars for teachers and other professionals for many years. This year he will be expanding his DARTA Seminar Days to include Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth along with Sydney and Melbourne.

The one-day information session aims to provide teachers with some basic information on current youth AOD trends in Australia, with a particular emphasis on school-based young people. Using the most up-to-date statistics and research, the workshop aims to empower attendees by providing the facts around some of the issues in this controversial area.

Specific topic areas to be covered for each of the sessions will be made closer to the date, but a particular emphasis will be given to a close examination of the latest Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey and what these results mean for those working with school-based young people?

Please note that if you have attended a DARTA Seminar Day in the past the content will not be the same as for previous sessions.

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To book your place or find out more, see the links below:

Adelaide Tuesday, 27 June

Sydney        Tuesday, 12 September
Perth             Thursday, 21 September
Brisbane       Friday, 6 October

Melbourne Monday, 4 December

2 May 2017
Paul Dillon Presents: Alcohol And Other Drugs: What Do Teachers and Others Who Work With Young People Need to Know?

Profiles:

Paul Dillon (DARTA)

A one-day information session delivered by Paul Dillon for teachers and other professionals who work with young people.

Paul Dillon has delivered professional development seminars for teachers and other professionals for many years. Since 2014 he has been presenting DARTA Seminar Days in both Sydney and Melbourne and has received an overwhelmingly positively response from delegates. This year Paul will also be delivering DARTA Seminar Days in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

The one-day information session aims to provide teachers with some basic information on current youth AOD trends in Australia, with a particular emphasis on school-based young people. Using the most up-to-date statistics and research, the workshop aims to empower attendees by providing the facts around some of the issues in this controversial area.

Although the workshop is not designed to provide teaching strategies or classroom activities, a list of quality web-based drug education resources will be provided to attendees, as well as information on other websites that are able to support professionals who work with young people.

Specific topic areas to be covered for each of the sessions will be made closer to the date, but a particular emphasis will be given to a close examination of the latest Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey and what these results mean for those working with school-based young people.

Please note that if you have attended a DARTA Seminar Day in the past the content will not be the same as for previous sessions. Click on your closest city to register!

Dates:
Adelaide	Tuesday, 27 June
Sydney	Tuesday, 12 September
Perth	Thursday, 21 September
Brisbane	Friday, 6 October
Melbourne	Monday, 4 December

24 April 2017
Congrats to the Fitzroy Children’s Literature Festival!

Profiles:

A massive congratulations to the Fitzroy Children’s Literature Festival on a successful Saturday of books and festivities. We were thrilled to take part in such a fantastic event. Our staff went along to join in the fun and were delighted to see so many familiar Booked Out faces. A huge thank-you to Alan Brough, Asphyxia, Davina Bell, Judy Horacek, Tony Wilson, Jacqueline Harvey and Oliver Phommavanh for their fabulous contributions to the day and of course, to all the wonderful organisers of the Fitzroy Children’s Literature Festival.

5 April 2017
We are moving!

Profiles:

A change is in the air…

We are moving offices today, Wednesday the 5th of April, and might be a little slower getting back to you.

If your enquiry is urgent, please call us on 03 9824 0177 and one of our dedicated agents will dive over boxes for you. We should be back up and running within the next couple of days.

Thanks for your patience!

4 April 2017
New Book Alert: The Boy and the Spy

Profiles:

Booked Out veteran, Felice Arena, has done it again and this time in a whole new genre…

As one of Australia’s most beloved children’s authors, Felice has enthralled young readers with scores of titles, including the Specky Magee and Farticus Maximus series, as well as the Boyz- Rule, Girlz-Rule and the Sporty Kids books. Topping best seller lists and garnering a multitude of awards, Felice wows us again, taking on a new direction in his latest novel, The Boy and the Spy.

Set in Sicily during the World War II, The Boy and the Spy follows the journey of Antonio, an orphan ‘Rota’ boy whose chance meeting with a fallen American soldier will change not only his life forever, but potentially the future of Sicily.

The Boy and the Spy is an engaging work of historical fiction teeming with adventure and themes of adversity, trust, war and belonging.

Well done, Felice – we can’t wait to read it!

4 April 2017
New Book Alert: The Beast of Hushing Wood

Profiles:

We are thrilled to announce the release of The Beast of Hushing Wood, a new adventure story by Booked Out’s award-winning author and illustrator, Gabrielle Wang.

Deep in the forests of of Dell Hollow roams eleven year-old Ziggy Truegood, a true child of nature drawn to the strange and hidden beauty of the woods. Over time, Ziggy begins to sense that something is hunting her, a premonition that she will drown on her twelfth birthday.
Then Raffi and his grandfather arrive in town and Ziggy finds herself strangely drawn to them. But are they her rescuers or her hunters?

The Beast of Hushing Wood is a fable of courage, bound in mysticism and detailing the triumph of a young girl in the face of adversity and change. A blend of adventure and imaginative realism, Gabrielle’s latest book is both engaging and thought-provoking.

An honor to be working with such an inspiring talent.

Congratulations, Gabrielle – we can’t wait to read it!

28 March 2017
Congratulations to our Wonderful Authors and Illustrators!

Profiles:

Congratulations to all those who made it onto the short list for The Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year 2017! A special shout out to our speakers Zana Fraillon, Cath Crowley and Claire Zorn, all champions in the Older Readers category, and to Trace Balla, Wendy Orr, Kate Temple and Bruce Pascoe in the Younger Readers’ division. And finally to Kylie Dunstan for her early childhood sensation ‘Nannie Loves.’

We also want to mention our incredible illustrator, Lance Balchin, who made the shortlist for both Picture Book of the Year 2017 and the Crichton Award 2017, and the wonderful Maree Coote and Neridah McMullin for the Information Books category.

Well done everyone!

27 March 2017
Deakin Research Finds Morris Gleitzman still a Favourite for Young Readers

Profiles:

As part of the Teen Reading in the Digital Era project, researchers from the University of Deakin have found that Morris Gleitzman has maintained his popularity amongst the nation’s younger readers.
Interestingly, the study also found that printed texts are still the preferred medium for reading, despite the rise of digital-based materials like e-books and e-readers.

In terms of local authors, the results found that Morris Gleitzman, author of the ‘Once’ series, was still a national favourite among teen readers. Andy Griffith, author of ‘Treehouse’ series came second and our national treasure and ’Tomorrow’-series author, John Marsden, came in third.

Topping the international category, ‘Harry Potter’ creator J K Rowling continues to dominate, while Suzanne Collins, author of ‘The Hunger Games’ series came in second. Jeff Kinney, author of ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’ claimed third place.
The study, aimed at generating insights into the reading habits and preferences of Australian teenagers, was sourced from a survey of 500 Australian teens on their favourite books and series. Although small, its findings give hope for the future of traditional printed literature in the digital era.

For more information and progress of the Deakin study click here:

For a full list of favorites, go to the Books & Publishing website:

7 March 2017
Voss Literary Prize Winner… Leah Kaminsky!

Profiles:

Voss Literary Prize Winner… Leah Kaminsky!

Leah Kaminsky spent years writing her fictional debut, The Waiting Room. The story follows a doctor, Dina, plagued by the painful memories of growing up as the daughter of Holocaust survivors in Melbourne who finds herself in Israel hoping to build a new life. Grappling with the impossible demands of patients, beginning a family, a marriage that seems to be falling apart, through haunting memories the story reaches back into the deep past.

The Waiting Room is a powerful tale that took out the Voss Literary Prize for 2016 and we are excited to share some of the Author’s story. Leah Kaminsky is a doctor who has worked as a family physician for over three decades; her work covers themes of health, illness, trauma and war, and the power of story is something she is deeply passionate about.

Leah is now available for more bookings and is able to run sessions and workshops on a wide range of topics – her medical background coupled with creative writing make her speaking especially interesting.

Congratulations Leah!

1 March 2017
Night of Notables: The CBCA Notables list is announced!

Profiles:

Last night we were thrilled to get along to the Night of Notables, a bubbling evening which included the announcement of the Notable list for the CBCA Book of the Year awards. We heard from Susan LaMarca about the rigorous evaluation and heartache experienced by Book of the Year judges, and Shaun Tan reflecting on the process from the creatives’ perspective.

To capture just a snippet of the wonderful books and the creatives behind them, here is the list of notables for the Older Readers category for 2017:

The Book of the Year: Older Readers