We are totally thrilled to share some exciting news from Maree Coote – The Hello! from Australia Exhibition at the Bologna Book Fair has selected an illustration from her book Alphabet City Zoo to feature on the front cover of their catalogue!

Alphabet City Zoo is filled with fun illustrations of iconic Australian animals using the letters of their names.

The Bologna Children’s Book Fair  begins on Monday March 30th and runs through to Thursday April 2nd in the beautiful city of Bologna, Italy.

Eltham Book Shop and Eltham High School are welcoming one and all to the launch of Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean on Sunday the 22nd of February.

This new collection of sci-fi, fantasy writing and six graphic stories showcases twenty stellar  writers and artists from India and Australia: including Isobelle Carmody, Penni Russon, Justine Larbalestier, Margo Lanagan, Lily Mae Martin, Manjula Padmanabhan, Kate Constable, Priya Kurian, Mandy Ord, Kirsty Murray and Nicki Greenberg.

The launch will be happening from 4 – 6pm at Eltham High School, Withers Way, Eltham.

Bookings are essential and tickets ($20) include a signed copy of the book or a $15 gift voucher.

To book in for this fantastic opportunity to meet the authors call 9439 8700 or email elthambookshop@bigpond.com

We here at Booked Out are devoted fans of the community radio stations in our little ol’ Melbourne town. The Booked Out HQ spends most of our days listening to the variety of musical programs on PBS 106.7 FM, and then turning the dial over RRR 102.7 FM for our arts & culture news.

We now have more reason to start our days with RRR, as our good old buddy Declan Fay will be one of the three hosts of RRR’s Breakfasters. Starting February 9th, Declan will host the popular morning radio show along with Alicia Sometimes and Steve Wilde.

Tune your radio or head to the station’s website to listen online.

Declan is one our very popular inspirational speakers for secondary students, having visited over six hundred schools in his time with Booked Out. He also takes small groups for comedy writing workshops.

Hello! As of today we are back in the office and in full booked-out swing!

This year we are looking forward to welcoming more new faces to our agency and continuing to offer engaging and inspiring speakers for your school, workplace, event or festival. In the next few weeks we will also have an exciting announcement to make – stay tuned!

As per usual Book Week is already looking busy for many speakers, so if you have been thinking about someone in particular, make sure you don’t miss out! We also have some exciting speakers on tour this year – take a look at our Tours page.

If you have any questions, or are looking for inspiration and recommendations, don’t hesitate to give us a call in the office on 03 9824 0177 or shoot us an email to start a conversation about the perfect speaker for your next event.

Best wishes for a happy start to 2015,

The team at Booked Out.

Yes! That is right! From the 19th of December to the 19th of January we will be on holidays!

That doesn’t mean that you can’t start making plans for your 2015 speakers though. Please take a look at who we have on tour, our new speakers and don’t forget these key 2015 dates:

Sunday March 8 – International Women’s Day
Saturday April 25 – 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli
Sunday 14 to Saturday 20 June – Refugee Week
Saturday 22 to Friday 28 August – Book Week

Please don’t hesitate to send us an email and we will be delighted to start planning your next speaker when we are back in the office on the 19th of January 2015.

Happy holidays!

In 2012, Griffith REVIEW 38: The Novella Project played a major role in enabling Australian and New Zealand authors to gain a foothold in the English language revival of the novella.

The Novella Project is now back for its third round and you are invited to submit your work to have a chance at claiming a share in the $25,000 prize pool. Submissions close on the 29th of May 2015 and are limited to Australian and New Zealand authors.

Entries must be original works of fiction that fall between the length of a typical short story and novel. While there is no firm word length requirement, writers are advised that works between 10,000 and 25,000 words are preferable.

For more information and full terms and conditions, please click here.

We are very happy to announce that Isobelle Carmody will be coming to Melbourne in May 2015. With the exception of Thursday the 20th, places are still available in the week of May 17 – 21. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of this exciting opportunity to have one of Australia’s best-loved fantasy authors to visit your school!

Isobelle Carmody is one of Australia’s most highly regarded and prominent authors of fantasy for young adult readers. A consummate and much-loved storyteller, Isobelle has a host of award-winning novels to her credit, including The Obernewton Chronicles and The Legend of Little Fur series. Her latest books are The Red Wind and a collaborative collection of short stories based on fairy tales, with Nan Mc Nab, The Wilful Eye.

To nab a spot in this limited tour, please email the team at Booked Out, or call on 03 9824 0177.

Artist, illustrator, writer and inspirational speaker Gaye Chapman recently visited Auburn West Public School in NSW.

In a newly devised workshop, Gaye drew 100 students around a digital campfire as she introduced them to their new roles as hunters, gatherers, fishers and makers…

Gaye Chapman’s new session encompassing writing, storytelling, art and acting, The Cave, is an interactive and creative workshop suitable for students of all levels of primary and secondary school. In the session Gaye introduces the students to the importance of telling stories through pictures, dance and words.
The students leave the session buzzing with stories and new ideas for tales to come!

The Monthly has recently released Alice Pung’s presentation on bigotry in Australia, as filmed at the Melbourne Writers Festival in August 2014. There is a Q and A session at the end of the video in which Alice appears alongside author Maxine Beneba Clarke and The Monthly editor Nick Feik.

In her talk Alice discusses the policy and subsequent meaning of the then-proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act in Australia.

To view the video, click HERE

The Monthly is available online and in print, and offers a mix of investigative reportage, critical essays and thoughtful reviews.

Reading Matters is Australia’s leading youth literature conference for professionals and YA enthusiasts and it will be coming to Melbourne on Friday 29 and Saturday 30 May 2015.

The 11th biennial Reading Matters conference brings together national and international authors including Sally Gardner, Laurie Halse Anderson and Sara Farizan to discuss big issues, YA trends, and celebrate new and established young adult writers. You can view the full line-up on the Reading Matters website.

Early bird conference registrations are now available until 31 January 2015. Reading Matters is presented by the Centre for Youth Literature and the State Library of Victoria.