From bookseller to book creator – Paul and Beth MacDonald

Paul Macdonald owns the award-winning The Children’s Bookshop, in Beecroft NSW, which has been a Sydney literary institution since 1971 (it’s the oldest specialist children’s bookshop in NSW).  Paul has been running the bookshop: selling books, supplying schools, running workshops, book clubs, literary events and a speaker’s agency, for the past 14 years. Beth MacDonald […]

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Jo Sandhu’s Mammoth Success: Part Three

In Part One of this interview with Jo Sandhu, we looked at how she started out writing and how she got her foot in the door of the publishing house at Penguin. In Part Two,  we drilled down into the details of publication, editing and bringing out a series, with some great writing and research tips thrown in. […]

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Jo Sandhu’s Mammoth Success: Part Two

In Part One of this interview with Jo Sandhu, we looked at how she started out writing and how she got her foot in the door of the publishing house at Penguin. In Part Two,  we drill down into the details of publication, editing and bringing out a series, and more. Jo has woven some great […]

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Jo Sandhu’s Mammoth Success: Part One

Jo Sandhu’s mid grade historical fiction/adventure, Tarin of the Mammoths trilogy has burst onto the scene with a bang. Book one: The Exile, won the 2018 Readings Children’s book prize, was an Aurealis finalist and a CBCA notable book. The three books were released over 2017 and 2018. I first noticed Jo on Twitter and then kept […]

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Amelia McInerney – Bursting onto the Scene -Part Two

I’m so excited to be posting part two of this interview with children’s picture book author, Amelia McInerney on the day of the OFFICIAL RELEASE of the first of her FIVE picture books, The Book Chook. I was fortunate to have had a sneak peek at this funny chook last weekend at the SCBWI conference, […]

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Amelia McInerney – Bursting onto the Scene – Part One

I am so excited to introduce you to a new picture book author about to burst onto the scene. This is her first author interview, so it’s very special! Amelia McInerney’s debut The Book Chook,  illustrated by Connah Brecon and published by Scholastic is released on the first of March. Not only that, but Amelia […]

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Penny Reeve – Breaking Boundaries Part 3

This is the third and final part of my interview with Kids and YA author Penny Reeve (Penny Jaye for YA). In Part One, Penny spoke about the process of writing and publishing her YA novel, Out of the Cages, a powerful and important story about human trafficking.  In Part Two, we congratulated Penny on […]

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Meet the Agent: Interview with Justine Barker

It is with great pleasure to introduce Justine Barker, literary agent at the up and coming Mayfair Literary Agency. Justine has a keen passion for travel, children’s writing and reading, and this all emanates from her company’s dedication to cultivating bestselling, long term client careers with a focus on exceptional children’s and young adult’s fiction. […]

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Penny Reeve – Breaking boundaries Part 2

As the second part of this interview goes live, I’m so excited to be able to congratulate Penny Reeve on her recent win with the Caleb Prize for her junior fiction, Camp Max – the third book in her Tania Abbey junior fiction series. It’s illustrated by Leigh Hedstrom and published by Wombat Books (the […]

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Pitch It! Competition Shortlist

Coming to a consensus between different judges with differing opinions isn’t always an easy feat. But there are certain aspects of quality storytelling that are undeniable. Yes, writing a pitch is like writing a story. It needs to be engaging, evoke an emotion, and concise with each word carefully put into place. You have limited […]

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