Steven Amsterdam gave two excellent presentations on his extremely pertinent novel, Things We Didn’t See Coming. The students were engaged during the lecture and feedback from them since has been most positive. Amsterdam gave the students ample opportunity to ask questions about the text which clarified areas which had puzzled them.

The Q and A also challenged Amsterdam as he was given some new perspectives of the text as seen from the students’ point of view. His presentation was relaxed, funny and generous. Amsterdam’s dry wit was not lost on the students nor the teachers.

–Suzanne Dowling, Gleneagles Secondary College

Brian Falkner, a popular science fiction author from New Zealand, has recently moved to Australia.

8-12 August & 29 Aug-2 Sep will see Brian available for bookings with Melbourne schools.

Brian’s stint on Inside A Dog has been pretty interesting so far. In the last few posts he has already covered issues regarding eReaders, and the ability of science fiction to predict (and arguably shape) the future.

Inside A Dog is a fantastic way to get to know authors, and what makes them tick. Another of our new authors, Daniel Ducrou, occupied the Inside A Dog residency before Brian took the reigns. Daniel covered some pretty interesting topics — questioning the role and worth of blogging as a writing form, and discussing his love of music and music video clips. (One of the staff at Booked Out was pretty excited to see a link to Paul Simon’s You Can Call Me Al … thanks Dan!).

You can browse the list of previous authors to have blogged for Inside A Dog here … and you will find a lot of authors represented by Booked Out. They include Randa Abdel-Fattah, Michael Gerard-Bauer, JC Burke, Nick Earls, Jane Godwin, Lia Hills, Simmone Howell, William Kostakis, Lili Wilkinson, Doug MacLeod (whose residency turned into a book!), John Marsden, Andrew McDonald, Meme McDonald, James Moloney, Kirsty Murray, Tim Pegler, Penni Russon, Michael Pryor, Richard Newsome, and Trudy White. Phew!

It’s also nice to note that Jack Heath blogged for Inside A Dog, and rumour has it he will be taking Melbourne bookings through Booked Out this year … check back soon for more info.

We were pretty stoked today to find a legitimate reason to scroll through the Cleo Bachelor of the Year profiles online. Writer, blogger and Booked Outer Andrew McDonald is 28, a Leo and among one of only 50 men to make the shortlist!

In his profile, Andrew answers Which fictional character doyou most resemble?:

Physically I’m Willy Wonka (colourful dresser), emotionally I’m Fantastic Mr. Fox (erratic and mischievous) and mentally I’m Matilda (I like to think I have super powers).

See Andrew’s full Bachelor Profile here.

DID YOU KNOW? James Phelan was a Cleo Bachelor of the Year finalist in 2006.

The Aurealis Awards, established in 1995 by Chimaera Publications, the publishers of Aurealis magazine, aim to recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers.

These awards are intended to expand the scope of other awards by recognising writers in varying categories of speculative fiction, rather than addressing the genre as a whole.

The shortlist for the 2010 awards was announced earlier this week, and the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Sydney in May 2011.

Booked Out congratulates all of the finalists and would like to recognise the Booked Outers who are finalists in the following categories…

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through words)
Grimsdon, Deborah Abela, Random House

CHILDREN’S FICTION (told primarily through pictures)
Night School, Isobelle Carmody (writer) & Anne Spudvilas (illustrator), Penguin Viking

YOUNG ADULT Novel
Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey, Allen & Unwin
The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher, Doug MacLeod, Penguin

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK/ GRAPHIC NOVEL
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Nicki Greenberg, Allen & Unwin

A new video is up on The Wheeler Centre website of Tony Wilson’s discussion of Peter Goldsworthy’s Maestro.

In the very first of our Texts in the City series based around the VCE English list, Stephanie Trigg and Tony Wilson discuss Peter Goldsworthy’s classic novel Maestro.

Tackling themes of talent and genius, failure and appeasement, Trigg and Wilson consider the relationships between Paul, Keller, Rosie and Paul’s parents from a breadth of perspectives aimed at enriching your appreciation of the story’s subtle themes.

Booked Out Author Meme McDonald has directed a new short film called Warrima.

Warrima – is about dance – warrima – and how ancient ways still move the feet of young indigenous men across Australia.

From the train lines and graffiti walls of urban Melbourne, Koori Youth Will Shake Spears travel to the rainforest of Far North Queensland to dance alongside their ‘cousins’ Mayi Wunba.

Warrima is about culture and it’s about survival. It’s about young people staying strong. It’s about contemporary ‘songlines’ and it’s about knowing who you are.

Warrima has been developed as a companion to the newly released book Shake A Leg by acclaimed author Boori Pryor and illustrator Jan Ormerod and is directed by writer/director Meme McDonald.

Warrima will get you dancing.

Check out the preview below and visit Youthworx Productions for more information and to purchase the video.

Meme is available for talks with secondary school classes focusing on writing and directing skills relating to social issues, and engaging homeless youth in media projects.

Bec Kavanagh is a talented lady. Writer, reviewer and director of A Thousand Words literature festival for young people, Bec is our young adult literature specialist here at Booked Out. She’s recently written teachers’ notes on No Safe Place by Deborah Ellis for Allen & Unwin, as well as articles on how to encourage young people to read for the Penguin website.

Teachers’ notes on No Safe Place here.

Penguin articles on kids and reading here.

More information on A Thousand Words festival here.

The title of this post is inspired by the latest profile to be added to the Booked Out website, author of Addition and Fall Girl, Toni Jordan.

Booked Outers Bec Kavanagh and Esther Kennedy went along to the Writers at the Convent event in Abbotsford, Melbourne last month to see Toni speaking on a panel with Angela Savage and Meg Mundell. It was a brilliant session. All writers are engaging speakers and hearing about their different approaches to novel writing provoked great discussion about the highs and lows of perfecting a piece of writing, how that manuscript is refined with an editor and then finally ending up with the finished product, a published novel. Angela’s books are crime with an Asian twist. Toni’s romances are funny, charming and feature strong female leads. Meg’s debut Black Glass is speculative fiction with a very human feel.

In the past few weeks we have also added:

Benjamin Law. Brisbane-based frankie contributor and author of hilarious autobiography The Family Law.

Lola Berry. Young and bubbly nutritionist, author of healthy cook bookInspiring Ingredients.

Hanifa Deen. Author of creative non-fiction, often focussing on Australian Muslims, refugees and human rights.

Steph Bowe. Teenage author of Girls Saves Boy and the blog Hey! Teenager of the Year.

Jane Clifton. Author of crime novels Half Past Dead, and A Hand In The Bush. Also renowned for her role in Prisoner, and various other theatrical and musical roles.

Many more new faces and fresh voices to come!

Congratulations to Jon Bauer for winning the Indie award for Best Debut Fiction, as voted by Australian independent booksellers.

Other winners were:

Best Fiction, Bereft By Chris Womersley (Scribe)

Book of the Year and Best Non-Fiction, The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do (Allen & Unwin)

Best Children’s Book, Mirror by Jeannie Baker (Walker Books)

As the Australian Independent Bookseller website reports,‘independent booksellers have a well-earned reputation for being the ones to spot the next-big-thing and The Indie Awards is one to watch. Previous Indie Book of the Year winners are Breath by Tim Winton and Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey, which both went on to national and international acclaim.’

Booked Out also has a previous winner in our ranks, Toni Jordan who won Best Debut Fiction in 2008 for Addition.

A little piece of feedback for the talented Mr. Greenberg!

Dear Booked Out,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the work that Robert has done at St Columba’s College. He has presented to our Yr 7 students for the past few years and they have found it very entertaining and informative.

Our Rich Task unit on self-discovery and identity through the presentation of digital stories has been a challenging yet rewarding experience for our students. We found that Robert was able to talk to the students about the art of script writing and how to effectively express their ideas and transfer them into film.

Robert presents his ideas in a clear and entertaining way. He is a gifted storyteller and works well with the audience. It was wonderful to see him engage the students and involve them in a role-play, along with showing them footage of scenes that have been shown on TV. The work he has produced for this age group clearly sparked interest in the students and they were eager to ask him questions about his career and also seek his advice.

He has been invaluable in assisting our students with their studies and understanding of digital storytelling. Every time we reflect on his presentations in class, there have only been words of praise. Please pass on our thanks to Robert. We will certainly continue to use his services and strongly recommend him to anyone who has an interest in film, scriptwriting and digital media.

Yours Sincerely,

Stephen Karabatsos Rich Task Coordinator St Columba’s College, Essendon