I've never liked stories where the dog dies at the end. Even more so when it happens out of nowhere. It breaks my heart, then, to share the news that we had to say goodbye to Scout (aka #Procrastipup) on Friday. After a shockingly short, severe illness, he left us,...
Looking for spooky books for kids for Halloween? You've come to the right place. Not because I'm an expert in screechy, scary, scratchy reads – I'm notoriously wimpy when it comes to this stuff – but because I can call on author Allison Rushby, the third member of...
Narrative non-fiction for young readers is having a moment in the spotlight, combining facts, illustrations and storytelling in an irresistible short-form package. But, as anyone who's ever tried writing narrative non-fiction will tell you, getting the balance right...
I've been out and about talking about writing, teaching writing, writing about writing... what I haven't been doing is blogging about writing here, on my actual blog. So, to make up for it, here's a list of blog posts, full of writing tips and advice, you may have...
CBCA Book Week might officially last just one week, but the reality is that author life gets very busy for many weeks around the official dates (19-25 August this year). So today might be Official Day One, but for me Book Week kicked off last Monday with a series of...
One of the best – and most difficult – things to develop as a writer is your own 'voice'. That X factor that makes your writing inherently, well, yours. I'll be visiting schools up and down the coast over the next few weeks, giving talks and presentations, including...
My new book, The First Summer of Callie McGee, is out now in bookshops everywhere – and I'm at home in that strange netherworld that is post-launch day. Pre-publication day, the anticipation builds and builds, like those epic summer thunderstorms that press the very...
Building a writing habit is the key to getting a novel written. Showing up is half the battle. But making the time to write is not always easy – and sometimes a little bit of help goes a long way. With that in mind, I've created #Spark6000, a new Creative Challenge...
One of the many lovely things about Write With Allison Tait is the mix of writers who have joined my online writing group. We have children's authors, YA authors, authors writing for adults, not yet published, traditionally published, indie published, novelists and...
It is a truth universally acknowledged that writing a book is one thing – promoting that book is quite another.. But thinking outside the box about book publicity can give an author more avenues to promote their book, and is also very satisfying. All too often new...
In case you missed it, the End Of Financial Year (EOFY) is upon us, which means it's time to think not just about getting tax records and deductions in order. Many of us will choose to make a tax-deductible donation to a charity at this time of year as a way to...
My new middle-grade novel, THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE, is officially six weeks away today, so I thought it was a good time for an official introduction. I'm sitting here today, working on a plan to get the word out about this new book and, of course, the very...
Would you like $100AUD to spend on books? The team from Your Kid's Next Read is currently offering you the chance to win a $100AUD gift voucher to your local bookstore of choice or to your favourite online bookseller. (YKNR is an international community so we wanted...
Educators work hard! Creating units of work that meet the curriculum, engage students and produce great outcomes is not easy. But authors and illustrators are here to help. Australian author Charlotte Barkla has rounded up a list of resources created by authors and...
I love writing for children. I love teaching kids about writing. But I especially love talking about writing with other authors who write in the kids/YA space. One such author is international bestseller Amie Kaufman, who has hit the New York Times bestselling lists...
Last Friday night, at the end of a week that seemed to have lasted about 87 days, I wrote a post on Linked In that started out as notification of the fact that Your Kid's Next Read podcast had passed the 100-episode milestone... and then, as I wrote, morphed into...
When award-winning author Angela Slatter pops in, you know you're in for some straight-talking about writing. And so it was during the recent Industry Insider event in my Write With Allison Tait (WWAT) community, when we discussed everything from her writing process,...
Talk to kids about history and you can often watch their eyes glaze over in real time as they consider facts, figures and dates. But mention historical fiction? Then you get a very different response. You only need to scroll through the Your Kid's Next Read Facebook...
Choosing a classroom read-aloud novel is one of the most common dilemmas in the Your Kid's Next Read Facebook community. Finding the right book to hold the attention of 30 or more kids with different interests and abilities can be a challenge. And then there's the...
One thing I love about Your Kid's Next Read is the generous author contingent within the community. Today, I'm excited to welcome a member of that community, Razeena Omar Gutta, to share a wonderful booklist. Razeena and I 'met' when she sent me a copy of Hana's...
