School visits, virtual visits, contact details, teachers’ notes and other resources

1. School visits:

I’m currently offering the following two workshops and one talk. (With reasonable notice I can also tailor a talk or workshop to your requirements.)

Whispers in the Dark: how to build your own fantasy world
How do you create an interesting fantasy world? Where do you even start? Elves – yes or no? My fantasy worlds take months to work out, but this workshop gives children a good starting point, which they can flesh out later. It involves imagination exercises, map drawing, a discussion of conflict, and the beginning of a story. It is particularly suitable for children interested in fantasy and/or children interested in writing, but also works well for a general class.
Suitable for Year 4 – Year 12, preferred maximum 30 students.
Preferred length, 90 minutes, but can go longer with older classes.

The Imagination Olympics
Ladies and gentlemen, take your places for a fast moving and wildly entertaining workshop, where teams compete against each other to build a story. Through brainstorming, deep listening, group discussion and mapping, each team will come up with a hero/heroine with a problem, a powerful villain, a setting, and the high points of a plot. The workshop is particularly suitable for a general class of mixed abilities.
Suitable for Year 4 – Year 12, preferred maximum 35 students.
Preferred length, 90 minutes, but can go longer with older classes.

How I write
I love verbal storytelling as well as written, and this talk is enormous fun for me AND for my audience. It includes the gripping story of how I was cheated out of money by a Spanish conman, and how my friends and I were dynamited while scuba diving. It also introduces (with plenty of audience participation) the importance of conflict in stories, the idea of ‘show, don’t tell’, and the crucial skill of daydreaming.
Suitable for Year 4 and upwards, preferred maximum 250 students.
Talk length, 50 minutes plus question time.

Feedback on workshops/talks:

It was wonderful to see a class so engaged, especially after lunch (notoriously difficult). The boys all clamoured to borrow your back catalogue as well as the current series, once the session was over. The whole year level was buzzing after the visit, with many students coming to me at lunch the next day with more plot twists.
Sue Osborne, Head of Library Services, Haileybury College, Victoria

You truly inspired all the students in your writing workshop. The process you took them through was wonderful and what you shared about your own process as a writer, your tips and advice, were so informative and affirming. Nothing but positive feedback from students and staff.
Nadine Frick, The Friends’ School, Hobart

2. Virtual visits:

I’ve never actually done a virtual visit, but am happy to give it a try. And given that I live in Tasmania, it’s a good solution to the distance problem.

3. Contact details:

For mainland Australian teachers/schools wanting to enquire about an in-the-flesh school visit, please contact:

The Children’s Bookshop Speakers’ Agency
Phone: 0407 414 261 or 02 9481 8811
Email: staff@thechildrensbookshop.com.au

For all other matters, including virtual visits, you can contact me through my literary agent, Margaret Connolly:
Phone: (02) 9449 6342
Email: mconnollyagency@gmail.com

Or through my Australian publisher, Allen & Unwin:
83 Alexander Street, Crows Nest, NSW, Australia 2065
Email: publicity@allenandunwin.com

Or message me via my author facebook page.

Or leave a message on my blog. It won’t appear until I’ve approved it, so if you don’t want it made public, just say so.

4. Teachers’ notes and reviews

Accidental_Heroes_teachers’ notes (The Rogues #1).

Teachers’ reviews _Ice Breaker (The Hidden series #1).

Teachers’ reviews_Museum of Thieves(The Keepers trilogy #1).

5. Other resources

For all other resources, including games, free bookplates, and extras from the Keepers trilogy, see Free stuff.