Workshops
Chrissie Davies is a child behaviour expert, trauma informed educator, consultant, writer, guest speaker, loving mama of two, and passionate advocate for understanding neurodivergent children. She is committed to empowering and supporting families to live their life with radical acceptance, curiosity, playfulness and a bucket load of love. She lives with her husband and young family on the Surf Coast of Victoria.
Chrissie’s first picture book is Love Your Brain, followed by her recent release, Love My, Love My ADHD.
Chrissie can be found at her website: https://www.chaostocalmconsultancy.com/ and on social media at Facebook & Instagram
Published by Chaos to Calm Consultancy.
Debra’s debut picture book, When I See Grandma, illustrated by Leigh Hedstrom and published by Wombat Books, has been met with critical acclaim, shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Book of the Year awards in 2014 and awarded the CALEB prize for children’s picture book the same year. Debra’s other writing, both flash fiction and narrative non-fiction, has been highly commended and published in various industry magazines and journals. Debra has a Bachelor degree in Social Work and an MA in Children Literature. She reviews books for Reading Time and Creative Kids Tales, blogs for Just Write For Kids and is on the committee of her local CBCA sub-branch in Sydney. Debra is a dynamic and energetic speaker and is available for author talks and story-time sessions for schools, libraries, playgroups and festivals.
F/B: www.facebook.com/debratidballpage
Twitter: www.twitter.com/debratidball
Elizabeth Mary Cummings is a British author and poet based in Sydney, Australia. She is a member of the American Psychology Association and studied psychology and business studies at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland before training to be a Primary School teacher (with a Masters of Education) and travelling around the world with her family. Her work has taken her to many schools across the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
Elizabeth’s stories often take a child’s perspective to explain the world and reflect on important life experiences. Her picture books and junior fiction titles include themes on resilience, grief, empowerment, anti-bullying, and she writes, advocates and speaks on storytelling and health matters for families and youth.
The topics within Elizabeth’s books are of both local and global significance. She travels globally to talk about family and mental health matters as well as creative writing.
Her first book ‘The Disappearing Sister’ has gained attention for its simple explanation of eating disorders aimed at siblings and families of sufferers. Elizabeth also enjoys writing poetry and won the HARP Writers’ Prize in 2015 for a poem about gender and identity.
Janeen Brian has had an incredible career working with children, literature and the arts since the age of eighteen when she taught her first class of year five students. While raising a family, she began a four-year career with a professional children’s theatre company, both acting and writing. She has also been involved in over 100 television and radio commercials as well as dozens of voiceovers for radio and video Janeen began dabbling in writing in her thirties, and since then she has written over 100 books both in trade and education, and in genres ranging from picture books to poetry, short fiction, nonfiction and novels. Janeen is an award-winning author and poet and many of her books have been translated and published overseas.
Some of Janeen’s books include, Eloise and the Bucket of Stars, I’m a Dirty Dinosaur (series), Meet… Nellie Melba, Mrs Dog, This is Home: Essential Australian Poems for Children, Where Does Thursday Go?, Yong; the Journey of an Unworthy Son (adapted to stage), Look, Baby! and her latest release, The Fix-it Princess.
Janeen Brian is on Facebook at @JaneenBrianAuthor and Instagram at @janeen.brian.
June was born in PNG to an Australian Dad and Bush Mekeo mother. Her early years were spent in Tasmania and after some nomadic university years lived mostly in Queensland. She now lives in Brisbane with her three older children (university and senior school), dear science genius hubby, two guinea pigs, a pet bird and several pet fish, as well as several guitars, a drum, two digeridoos and keyboard.
Books
June is the editor and contributor to two books, Under One Sky (2010) the anthology of the Licuala Writer’s Group and After Yasi, Finding the Smile Within (2013), a compilation of photographs and stories about using the creative arts to recover from cyclone Yasi. She had a collection of her photographs and poems for family included in an online book by the late Nell Arnold, called Discovering (2011).
In 2016 June successfully crowd funded $10,000 to publish Magic Fish Dreaming as well as winning as ASA emerging writers mentorship for picture book writing.
June’s latest book is Magic Fish Dreaming, a collection of poems written for five to eleven year olds. It takes readers on a poetry quest through Far North Queensland and encourages them to write their own poetry based on their environment and imagination.
Education
June has a PhD from the University of Sydney in writing empowerments and extensive experience as a ‘writer in community’ workshopping, dramaturging and performing. When she isn’t writing she is tutoring creative writers at QUT in the keystones program at the Oodgeroo unit, working on creative collaborations, walking in nature or reading. She maintains blogs on writing and life in Queensland.
Awards
June was honoured to receive an Australia Day Award in 2011 for five years of service to writing and youth empowerment in the Cassowary Coast, including mentoring young and community writers from all walks of life in writing their own poetry. She’s received a number of RADF and Australian council grants to facilitate a diverse range of writing projects.
Themes
The main themes of June’s picture books and YA novels in development are; discovery, migration, respect for nature, people and diversity, dreaming, creativity, compassion, and poetry.
Upcoming
June is booked on a panel at the Sandcliffe Festival in April 2017, sharing her ‘unique story’ and is currently designing library workshop, events and festival submissions to further the cause of poetry for children and children’s poets.
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/
Ellie Royce was born in Adelaide, South Australia and she’s been telling stories ever since.
Although she spent over ten years crafting nonfiction articles for magazines, she finally realised her real love was writing the stories for young people that blossom in her imagination. Ellie is the author of six books, five of which are for children.
Two middle grade novels “the Letterbooks” were published in 2008 with ABC Books. Her first picture book “Lucas and Jack” was published in 2014. “Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero” Ellie’s second picture book came out in April 2020. “Frizzle and Me” is Ellie’s newest picture book, out in June 2021.
Ellie truly believes in the magic and power of stories to change the world for the better, so she writes and reads them all the time (quite often when she should be doing other things!). Recently she’s also added podcasting and indie publishing under the imprint We Are All Made of Stories to her life, because they’re such a great medium for sharing even more stories.
Ellie lives on Gumbanynggir Country in Northern New South Wales Australia and plans to keep writing, sharing and publishing visionary stories for kids and young adults forever.
Ellie released her first junior fiction chapter book in the Avery’s Hat-Tastic Adventures series; How Does a Hat Save the Day? in 2022.
Michelle Worthington is an international award-winning author and screen play writer. Two-time winner of the International Book Award and finalist in the USA Best Book Awards, Michelle also received a Gellett Burgess Award and a Silver Moonbeam Award for her contribution to celebrating diversity in literature. Michelle was the recipient of the 2018 AusMumpreneur Gold Award for Business Excellence and the winner of the 2018 Redlands BaR award for Best Start Up Business.
Michelle thrives as a coach to aspiring authors and illustrators all over the world, helping them to achieve their dreams of publication.
Michelle addresses mental health through literacy with her picture books, some of which include Super Nicholas, Noah Chases the Wind, My Brother Tom, Hootie the Cutie, Dino Love, and Each the Same, just to name a few. The first two titles in The Willing Kids Program series include The Wind and the Mouse, and The Mouse and the Egg, which are available both as animated videos and picture books. She is dedicated to encouraging a strong love of reading and writing in young children and conducts author visits at primary and special schools, libraries and bookstore storytelling and publishing workshops for adults.
She especially enjoys meeting people through her speaking engagements for women’s groups and charities.
Michelle is available for speaking engagements, book signings and school visits. Please contact at mworthington.author@gmail.com.
Cinnamon Stevens – Crime Buster, released in December 2015, is Pauline Hosking’s first novel. It is illustrated by Kat Chadwick and has been favourably reviewed online and in Magpies magazine.
Previously Pauline wrote a number of plays for adults and children. Her primary school plays have appeared in the NSW School Magazine. My Bed is a Crocodile, about a boy with schizophrenia, won VicHealth’s award for Innovation in Health Promotion and was seen by over 1,000 people. Snakes and Ladders and The Gallery Gamble are published by Bushfire Press. Better Than This, concerning three teenagers at risk in a country town, was commissioned by Grampians Psychiatric Services. It toured extensively through country Victoria and was published by W.W.I.T. Press.
The Entrepreneurs has been performed throughout Australia, most recently by a school in Queensland. Many of these plays are held at the Australian Script Centre: http://australianplays.org/playwright/ASC-472
To pay the bills Pauline has worked as a teacher, teacher-librarian, journalist, theatre publicist, radio producer, TV script assistant and lecturer in the Diploma of Arts (Professional Writing and Editing). She has run creative writing workshops as part of Arts Victoria’s Artist in Schools program and tutored in the G.A.T.E.WAYS programs for talented and gifted children.
Pauline is available for school/community writing workshops and author talks.
Website- www.paulinehosking.com
LinkedIn- https://au.linkedin.com/in/pauline-hosking-81bb63b9
Facebook- Pauline.hosking.520@facebook.com