Wednesday September 9th saw a stellar line up of young adult writers, teachers, librarians, publishers gather at the 100 Story Factory in Redfern to launch the Stella in Schools program in New South Wales.

It was an enthusiastic audience who heard from authors Randa Abdel-Fattah, JC Burke, Emily Maguire and Erin Gough on a panel moderated by Bec Kavanagh and introduced by Aviva Tuffield.

The Stella in Schools program is designed for girls and boys years 7 – 12 and includes school visits by notable Australian writers, educators and publishers, writing workshops, teaching notes on all Stella Prize shortlisted books (years 10 – 12), resources for all secondary levels and PD opportunities for teachers and librarians.

There was a spirit of great camaraderie amongst the writers and their supporters with everyone sharing the desire to raise the profile of women writers… not just on the curriculum in each state but in the community and press. It was a festive event to launch Stella into NSW schools.

Pictured from left to right: Randa Abdel-Fattah, JC Burke, Erin Gough, Emily Maguire and Bec Kavanagh. Photograph by Connor Tomas O’Brien