Author
M. J. Gibbs has an innate curiosity about people and places when finding ideas for the stories and poems she writes. From ‘Booknook Blue’ in Maryborough and Kenmore, Brisbane to the Bookloft in Mapleton, Marg has reached out to children in local communities to bring a love of reading and story telling. The book clubs enabled her own four children and their friends a golden opportunity to connect, be creative and enjoy a bookish program involving craft, games and outings.
Marg has published poetry in magazines and anthologies, ‘The Magic Fairy Wish’ and ‘Musical Christmas Tree’, ‘Alone in a Dark Room’, ‘Phantom Moon’, ‘The Hope Tree’ and ‘Art Room’ in the NSW School magazine. Her stories about the Brisbane flood have been enjoyed by many.
Her recent picture book called ‘Arriving Home’, about Maggie the Magpie Goose and Eric Echidna was well received in the community especially with the help of 9 local artists who illustrated it. Its message is clear – friendship, belonging and community.
‘Jasper’s Jumbled up Words’ is a sensitive and gentle picture book about a young boy who wants to be understood, which deals with the difficulties surrounding language development. Illustrated by Emma Stuart, this book was published in July 2020.
When not wrestling wild BUNYIP’s in the Australian bush, Matt B spends his time writing and illustrating children’s books.
Matt B’s debut picture book ‘Monsters in My Garden’, was written for his daughter to allay her fears and demonstrate that the unknown can be fun and exciting. Quickly followed by a picture book for his son ‘Dun Dun did it’ which tells the story of his imaginary friend Dun Dun a dinosaur that gets blamed for all the naughty behaviour. Both books have become instant favourites with schools, libraries, parents and kids.
Following on from the success of these two books Matt B left his Public Servant job of 18 years to write and illustrate books fulltime. Matt B was signed by Ortega Publishing in August 2017 illustrating 5 picture books in 12 months.
“You have to be true to yourself, you have to have 100% commitment. If you’re going to do it, you’ve just got to do it. You can’t half hit the mark.”~ Matt B Lewis.
Matt B is passionate about encouraging kids to become lifelong readers. Introducing children to the magic, joy and wonderment of books through visual narrative, engaging characters and his unique writing style. A welcomed keynote speaker and guest at schools and kids lit events, Matt B supercharges children’s creativity through storytelling and his foundational approach to the illustration process.
Matt B has been featured in Pencil Kings, Newspapers, Magazines, Podcasts and the ABC radio as well as delivering numerous workshops on Kids Lit and Illustration for adults and kids alike.
Matt B lives, breathes and creates in Queensland, Australia with his wife and two amazingly creative kids.
Contact Matt B at mattb@mattblewis.com
https://asastylefile.com/illustrator/matt-b-lewis/
https://www.facebook.com/MattB.Illustrations
https://www.instagram.com/matt.b.illustrations/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrmattblewis/
Maura is an author and playwright who enjoys writing fiction for children and young adults. The Trouble in Tune Town is her first children’s picture book, published in August 2017, and has just been awarded Joint Winner for Best Children’s Illustrated E-Book in the 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY).
Maura was also named winner of the CBCA Aspiring Writers Mentorship 2017, and recipient of the Charlotte Waring Barton Award, for her young adult manuscript, Freefalling. Her short plays have been performed in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, with one winning an international monologue competition in 2016 and another being redeveloped as a full-length play as part of a KSP Fellowship.
In addition to her creative writing achievements, Maura has worked as an ethicist, medical video writer/producer, small business owner, freelance journalist and editor of Australian Medicine. She has a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate, each in philosophy.
Maura is currently completing a young adult novel, which she hopes will be published in 2019. She is also working on a full-length play and a monologue project on the theme of mental health.
Maura lives in Canberra with her husband, Kieran and three children – a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the Bronx, where she grew up.
Renee Price is a children’s author, song-writer and performer from Newcastle, New South Wales. She has 15 years collective experience in early childhood education, writing and entertainment.
She is the author of Digby’s Moon Mission (2014) and Digby and the Yodelayhee Who? (2017) – illustrated by Anil Tortop, and published through Create It Kids. Digby and the Yodelayhee Who? is listed on the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge Booklist (K-2). Reviews of Renee’s books feature here – www.createitkids.com.au/reviews
Renee performs dramatisations of her picture books to young audiences within early childhood services, primary schools, and at public events. Her feature clip can be viewed here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSlCUp3gfqA&t=18s
Renee is a current member of Australian Society of Authors, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, NSW Writers Centre and Children’s Book Council of Australia (NSW). She is the Publicity and Events Officer for CBCA Newcastle Sub-branch.
For more information, please visit:
Website: www.reneeprice.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReneePriceWriterPerformer
Digby Fixit website: www.digbyfixit.com
Digby Fixit Facebook page: www.facebook.com/DigbyFixit
Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/renee-price
Robyn Osborne is a teacher and author based in Queensland. As a child she was always surrounded by pets and quickly turned into an animal fanatic.
As an adult, she has worked in the public service with the Commonwealth Employment Service. While the dream of becoming a writer still burnt, the office routine dried up her creative juices. During 18 long uncreative years in the public service, Robyn completed an Arts degree, Graduate Diploma in Women’s Studies, got married and had a child. A career change saw her complete a Dip Ed in Early Childhood, and she began teaching and rediscovered her love of writing. Not surprisingly, her interests are writing and dogs!
Robyn has seven books published, including picture books Bruno the Boisterous Blue Dog from the Bush, Going Fishing, Going Camping and My Dog Socks; a 2018 CBCA Notable Book and shortlisted in the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year. Robyn has won a number of writing awards and been published in national journals, newspapers, anthologies and magazines.
Sharon Giltrow is an Authorcator; an Author Educator. She has been a teacher of children who are hearing impaired and Deaf-Blind. She now teaches young children with Developmental Language Disorder. Sharon is an enthusiastic and inspirational speaker with a passion for developing children’s oral, visual, written, creativity and literacy. She has experience presenting to children from zero- to ten-year-olds. Through Sharon’s author talks students, inspired by a real-life author, will discover the joy of literacy and unlock their hidden creativity.
Sharon’s hilariously acclaimed debut picture book ‘Bedtime, Daddy!’ was released in May 2020. Her follow up picture books ‘Get Ready, Mama’ and ‘Let’s Go Shopping, Grandma!‘ will be released in 2022. Also, in 2022 Sharon’s early middle grade book ‘Samara Rubin and the Utility Belt’ will be released.
Teena Raffa-Mulligan is a West Australian author who knows an unusual remedy for wrinkles, the secret fuel to put a grandpa into orbit and a drastic solution to the dilemma of a cranky dad. Teena writes quirky, whimsical books for children, with publications in magazines and anthologies, and a diverse range of picture books, junior fiction and MG novels. Her first published picture book was a stranger danger tale that was endorsed by the WA police and education departments of the day and used widely in schools around the country.
Some of her other books include ‘When the Moon is a Smile’, ‘Who Dresses God?’, ‘Friends’, ‘The Apostrophe Posse’, ‘Catnapped’, ‘The Fifty Per Cent Princess and Other Goodnight Reads’, ‘The Seven Day Dragon’, and ‘Parramatta Rosie ‘. ‘Monelli & Me’ is Teena’s first novel for YA readers. Teena’s step-by-step guide to story writing, ‘You Can Be A Writer’, is her latest picture book, released in 2021.
Teena’s writing life has also included a career as a journalist and editor. She is passionate about books and writing and presents talks and workshops to encourage children and adults to write their own stories. For younger children Teena dresses up as a characters from one of her books to show them writers can do anything, be anyone and go anywhere in their imagination while writing their stories.
Visit her website at www.teenaraffamulligan.com or find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TeenaRaffaMulligan
Toni Brisland (nee Antonette Diorio) writes poetry and fiction for adults and children. Toni has always had a passion for literature and has won a number of competitions for unpublished children’s writers. She is inspired by the people in her life, animals, her extensive travels and the Australian way of doing things. Her poems have been published in Anthologies by Poetica Christi Press since 2013 and in The Heroines Anthology by Neo-Perennial Press, 2018 and 2019. In July 2019 one of her poems won an Award in the Adelaide Plains Festival of Words Poetry Competition. In July 2020 one of her poems won the Poetica Christi Press Annual Competition and will be published in their anthology “Joy in the Morning” in September 2020.
Toni is a Role Model for “Books in Homes” and was a long-standing judge of the Warringah Library Services Young Writers’ Competition. Toni’s published children’s books include the novel DemiChat series (included on the NSW and South Australian Premier’s Reading Challenge Lists for Years 5 – 6 and selected readers in Years 7 – 9, 2012 – 2013). Her Picture Books were published by Little Steps Publishing: What Now Baby Bears? (2013), about animals and humans living in harmony; and, The Tree House (2014) about a little disabled girl and her older sister who together dream big dreams.
Her non-fiction book, Patrick White; Australia’s only Nobel Laureate for Literature, was published by Little Steps Publishing and released on the 1st of August, 2020.