Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog

Hello Ashgrove State School!

A big hello to all you fabulous writers and readers of Ashgrove State School in Brisbane! I’ve been having a great week this week with the gifted and talented writers of Grades 4 to 7! We’ve been learning how to publish illustrated story books; how to write riveting stories; and how to construct a story plan and write a first draft! And of course I’ve been telling them some of my Chinese Calendar Tales! Just one year left tomorrow – the gorgeous Grade 3s! See you soon!

Here I am with the fantastic Grade 5s today:

Famous Olympics athlete in Brisbane!!

Well here he is…Run Run Rat, posing in front of his very own story….!

And he’s starting to sniff out that steamed bun…

And he’s off!!!

To find a nice comfy spot on his mum’s shoulder with a ratty friend!

Thanks to my lovely niece Rachel Brennan (mum); Plum (Run Run Rat) and Peach (Run Run’s friend) for posing for my blog story!!!

Goodbye Byron Bay!

Well that was a fabulous long weekend at the Byron Bay Literary Festival last weekend! Here I am with Kayne and Amberley from ABC3 before my session with the kids! They were VERY funny!

And having fun with Singapore author Shamini Flint:

And here I am with Pin Yin Panda, Chester Choi and the famous Byron Bay Lighthouse – isn’t it beautiful?

Meet the authors at Byron Bay!

What a fabulous time I’m having here at the Byron Bay Writers Festival! Byron Bay is a very beautiful part of Australia – it’s the easternmost point, with snowy white beaches, lush green countryside, a famous lighthouse, and best of all a famous writers’ festival, with fascinating authors galore! Here I am with famous Australian children’s author Morris Gleitzman – I’m holding his latest book, and he’s holding mine! Below is the incomparable Andy Griffith, king of goofy stories, and to the right, you’ll see me and my books at Mary Ryan’s Bookshop in Fletcher Street. This place is a treat!

Three days till I’m in Australia – hip hip hooray!

There are just three days to go before I arrive in my wonderful home country Australia for the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival and ten days of visits to four fabulous schools! 

On Saturday 4th August from 1.30pm to 2.30pm, fellow Hong Kong author Xu Xi and I will be talking with renowned literary entrepreneur Jane Camens in a panel discussion on Reaching Across Worlds about our experiences as writers in English on the Asian literary scene.  Then on Sunday 5th August at 9.30am I’ll be kicking off a fabulous day of literary fun for kids of all ages with an introduction to my Chinese Calendar Tales and a reading from my latest book The Tale of Pin Yin Panda! See the Festival website at www.byronbaywritersfestival.com.au for all the details! Here’s an article in the Byron Shire News all about it! 

 Finally from 6th to 14th August I’ll be visiting four wonderful Brisbane and Gold Coast schools – Ashgrove State Primary School at The Gap; Churchie at East Brisbane; St Ignatius Primary School at Toowong and  A B Paterson College at Arundel on the Gold Coast! I can’t wait to meet everyone!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!….and a fabulous Summer Writing Competition!

School’s out for summer – hip hip hooray! I wish you all a wonderful holiday with your families and friends wherever you may be! In July I’ll be heading off to France with my family – and I’ll be taking along someone rather special! I’ll tell you all about it when I get back! Then in August I’ve been invited to appear at the Byron Bay Writers Festival in Australia – I’m so excited to be introducing my books to my fellow Aussies!

Now what better way to start the summer than with a brand new Wicked Word that’s all about Summer – see my Wicked Word page to learn all about it! And in the meantime, if anyone is looking for a writing challenge to while away those lovely long holiday afternoons, go to my Clever Competitions page right away for all the details of my new Trouble In Paradise Story Competition! It’s all about sea, sand and sun…and a whole lot of trouble! Have fun!

Top Writing Tip Number 3 is ready and waiting!

If you’ve ever been stuck for inspiration for a great new story to write, your troubles are now over! Go to my Top Ten Writing Tips for Kids page right away for a sure-fire way to fire your imagination with a host of fabulous ideas for stories, any day of the week! And with holidays just about to start, there’s never been a better time to start writing!

Pin Yin Panda is good enough to EAT!

A big thank you to Canadian International School mum Teresa Fox who wrote to me today to send me this wonderful photo of Pin Yin Panda as a CAKE! Teresa told me that she and her kids Jessamina, Liliana and Emerson (above) made the cake for the Books2Eat contest at CDNIS this year. Isn’t it fabulous?!

THE RESULTS ARE OUT!

CONGRATULATIONS to the 31 terrific writers who entered my Jade Dragon Mystery Competition! It’s been a real privilege to read such well-written, exciting stories! I’ve just finished the judging now, and it was a very hard job indeed! Extra-special congratulations to FIRST PRIZE winners Arunav Maheshwari, 7 years old, Primary 3, French International School, Hong Kong in the Grade One to Three Category and Silin Chen, 12 years old, Grade 5, Shanghai United International School, Shanghai in the Grade 4 to 6 Category! Go to my Clever Competitions page right away to read all the winning stories in each category as well as some Honourable and Special Mentions. Well done all of you!

The final entries are in and the judging has commenced!

Well done to all of you who got your entries into my Clever Competition in the nick of time before the closing date yesterday! I’ll be busy judging your entries over the next few days and will announce the results by the end of the weekend! Keep those fingers crossed!!