Last night I had the pleasure in joining Australian Children’s Laureates Jackie French (current) and Alison Lester (2012-2013) in the beautiful Harper Collins offices in Sydney, as they discussed what it means to be the Australian Children’s Laureate. To Alison, The Laureate is about reaching out to communities that have been left behind. She believesContinue reading “In Conversation, The Australian Children’s Laureates”
Author Archives: Shelly Unwin
Pitch Perfect
It’s been a busy couple of weeks – months actually. Last weekend I attended a course on pitch writing with Claire Craig from Pan McMillan. The take away message: The simpler the better. Using the best words in the best order. Deconstruct, delayer and get to the core of the story, then write a pitchContinue reading “Pitch Perfect”
When I’m a famous author….. (I live in hope)
…. I want to be like Markus Zusak! I don’t mean I want to be as successful as Markus – although obviously that would be nice! I mean I want to remain grounded, generous and honest. I’ll elaborate…. Last night Catherine and I were lucky enough to attend the ‘In Conversation with Markus Zusak’ EveningContinue reading “When I’m a famous author….. (I live in hope)”
Year of the Horse
I have finally waved my little Princess off for her first week at big school, an emotional week for me. I’m trying to think of it as a start to a new era rather then the end of one, but we’ve had so much fun hanging out together for the last 4 and 3/4 years,Continue reading “Year of the Horse”
Showing my age at the ARIA awards night
My husband Sean and I were lucky enough to get invited to this years ARIA awards night in Sydney. For those of you overseas the ARIA’s is the night of nights in the Australian Music Calendar, and always has a long list of celebrities strutting their stuff on the red carpet. I must confess, I’mContinue reading “Showing my age at the ARIA awards night”
Writers Unleashed
On Saturday I attended the Writers Unleashed Festival in Sutherland Shire. It was a fantastic festival, providing the opportunity to hear from some very talented writers, including the hilarious James Roy, Suzanne Gervay, Emma Quay and Libby Gleeson. We also heard from a panel of publishers on what’s hot and what’s not right now inContinue reading “Writers Unleashed”
My Writing Jacket
Well it’s the middle of November and I’m sat at my desk in my writing jacket!! (A big fat purple wooly cardi) I refuse to put the heating on, although I have yielded and turned the lights on, it’s 2pm, dark and tippling it down. I’m going to need a cup of tea to warmContinue reading “My Writing Jacket”
Let the festivities begin
Last night was the CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) Christmas party, marking the beginning of the festive season. I am still in denial that this year is drawing to a close, there was so much I wanted to achieve and whilst I have come so close, I’ve not quite nailed it – yet,Continue reading “Let the festivities begin”
PiBoIdMo Begins
This year I have decided to participate in the PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) challenge. It starts tomorrow, and the challenge is to create 30 picture book ideas in 30 days. The ideas need only be very basic ideas, but will hopefully provide a bank of ideas to work from over the next 12Continue reading “PiBoIdMo Begins”
Monsters Under the Bed
I had the pleasure of attending the Talking Writing event at the NSW Writers’ Centre last night, where Kate Forsyth, Nyssa Harkness and Matt Finch discussed monsters and villains in kid’s and YA fiction. One of the most interesting parts of the discussion, for me anyway, was what makes monsters and villains suitable for children’sContinue reading “Monsters Under the Bed”
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