Book Week is coming, and all over Australia children’s authors are preparing for several intensive weeks of school visits. I’ll be visiting Sydney schools in the week starting Monday, August 12, and Melbourne schools the following week, starting Monday, August 19.

And of course, children are sorting out their costumes. I had an email last week from someone wanting to know what colour Flax’s shorts were. (They knew her shirt was green, from the cover of Spellhound.) To be honest, I’ve never thought about this question before, but when I did, the answer was obvious. Flax lives in the Floating Forest, so she’s going to want to blend in, which means either dark green or brown shorts. I also mentioned that she would be very alert and watchful, like a meerkat (except meerkats don’t usually carry swords).

Last year, I received some great photos of kids dressed as the Spellhound pup. This one was my favourite (posted with permission).

Brisbane visit

I’ve just come back from Brisbane, where I spent three days at the Mt Coot-tha Young Writers Workshop with an amazing group of Grade 6 kids. The workshop is held annually at Rainworth State School and draws keen writers from surrounding state schools to work with a visiting author (this time, me!). Later this year, their stories will be published in an anthology, which I’m really looking forward to reading.

This is such a great program for kids with big imaginations and a love of writing. I would have adored it when I was in grade 6, and I’d very much like to see it happening in every major city, especially in Tasmania.

While I was in Brisbane Jonathan Bentley and I launched our new picture book, When the Lights Went Out, at Where the Wild Things Are Bookshop. It was a very small launch, but it was fun. I learnt to draw an owl, I met Lara Cain Gray (author of The Grown-Ups’ Guide to Picture Books coming in September), who did a champion job as MC. And I met Jonathan B for the very first time!

It was a great relief, to me at least, to discover that Jonathan and I liked each other as much in person as we did online. We went out for dinner afterwards, and when we came to pay I couldn’t find my debit card, which should have been in my pocket. I was searching and searching, and at the same time trying to explain that I absolutely hadn’t done this on purpose—

‘Oh, it’s in my hand!’ Cue much laughter. I occasionally do this with my glasses, which usually turn out to be on my face.

I also visited a stack of bookshops while I was in Brisbane, which is always a delight. The people who work in them are always so passionate about books and reading.

What am I reading?

For kids, Catch Me If I Fall by Gary Jonsberg. I hadn’t read anything by this Australian author before, but loved his futuristic book about twins Ashley and Aidan who have been sheltered from the increasingly dangerous world around them, only to find it starting to intrude when they meet some homeless kids in a park. When Aidan, who has always been his sister’s protector, has a serious accident and comes home from hospital totally different, they are both forced to face unexpected secrets.

For adults, Judi Dench’s Shakespeare, the Man Who Pays the Rent, which is a series of interviews about the various Shakespearean roles she has played, the ones she loved, the ones she hated (Portia in A Merchant of Venice), mishaps, disasters and jokes. She’s so funny and interesting that I’m loving it.

‘Taking a curtain call with a live snake in her wig; cavorting naked through the countryside painted green; acting opposite a child with a pumpkin on his head… these are just a few things Dame Judi Dench has done in the name of Shakespeare.’

Five writers five minutes

We’ve been four writers five minutes for the last few weeks, as Tristan takes a break, and in future weeks we’re going to be inviting other Australian children’s authors to fill in for him. Our first guest is Sue Whiting.

Meanwhile, we’ve been looking at creating character through dialogue, a deep dive into Sarah Armstrong’s Magic Awry, addressing the whole question of comparing ourselves with other writers, and avoiding the dreaded info dump.

You can find us at https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/5-writers-5-minutes/id1700577887 or wherever else you get your podcasts!