Hello Brisbane!!
October 24, 2018 at 6:27 pm | Posted in Australian schools, Awards, Brisbane schools, Poetry Workshops for kids | Leave a commentTags: Churchie, Introduction to Poetry Workshop, Novella Distribution, Queensland Literary Awards 2018, St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School, Storm Whale, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Chester Choi
Photo credit https://blog.queensland.com/2017/10/26/jacarandas-south-east-queensland/
I’ve been in Brisbane this week for a wonderful 5 days to attend the awards ceremony for the Queensland Literary Awards, to visit some of my favourite Brisbane schools, and to visit my family! It’s jacaranda time in Brisbane, when the beautiful blue blooms on the jacaranda trees mean that students should be studying hard for their end-of-year exams!
On Tuesday morning, I visited my old friends at Churchie (Anglican Church Grammar School) in East Brisbane, where the fabulous Grade 3 boys identified haikus, unscrambled limericks and did some rapid rhyming exercises in my Introduction to Poetry Workshop! Many thanks to lovely primary teacher librarian Alison Findlay for expertly hosting me! We had a lot of fun!
On Tuesday evening, my lovely daughter Bea, my brother and sister-in-law accompanied me to the Awards Ceremony for the Queensland Literary Awards 2018! You’ll remember that Storm Whale, my beautiful book with artist Jane Tanner and published last year by Allen & Unwin, was one of the 5 children’s books short-listed for the Griffith University Children’s Book Award. Here it is, displayed at left on the screen above! The Elephant by Peter Carnavas won the award in our section. It was such an exciting event, and I got to meet some of my amazing fellow authors and judges afterwards! Below you’ll see Storm Whale sitting very happily on the sales table with other fabulous short-listed titles!
Today I dropped into two great Brisbane schools to say hello and to introduce them to my Chinese Calendar Tales. Below you’ll see me with some cuties at St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School, sitting astride their famous dragon mascot with a copy of The Tale of Chester Choi! See you all next year girls! Many thanks to their lovely primary principal Angela Drysdale and librarian Donna Jackson for the warm welcome!
Finally, I met the fab team at my new Australian distributors, Novella Distribution in Capalaba! Below, the lovely Rochelle Manners is standing with their wombat mascot, and a very special small wombat which appears to have learned how to climb trees! Thanks girls for a great meeting, and for my new baby wombat, which I’ve christened The Barefoot ‘Bat!
Storm Whale is short-listed for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards!
October 17, 2018 at 3:00 pm | Posted in Book Awards, Book reviews, Buying my books, Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2018, Shortlist Book Awards, Storm Whale | Leave a commentTags: poetry, Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2018, Storm Whale
I’m sooooo excited! Storm Whale, my beautiful children’s book illustrated by Jane Tanner and published by Allen and Unwin, has just been short-listed with five other books for the Children’s Literature category of the Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2018! I’m so grateful to Jane for her stunning paintings, and the work of Allen and Unwin’s children’s team, led by Erica Wagner, and to my agent Julie Watts, who all made the book possible! We find out who wins in each category some time in November! Cross your fingers for me! If you want to read the lovely comments made by the panel, just click here! If you’d like to see one of the pages in our lovely book, here it is below:
And if you’d like to buy a copy, you can purchase here!
Hooray! Storm Whale is short-listed for the Queensland Literary Awards 2018!
September 1, 2018 at 11:30 am | Posted in Awards, Book Awards, poetry, Queensland Literary Awards 2018 | Leave a commentTags: Griffith University Children's Book Awards 2018, Queensland Literary Awards 2018, Stories about whales, Storm Whale
I’m SO excited! Storm Whale has been short-listed, alongside four other wonderful Australian writers’ stories, for the Queensland Literary Awards in the Griffith University Children’s Book Award section! It’s such wonderful news for me, for illustrator Jane Tanner and our publisher Allen and Unwin! I can’t wait for the announcement of the winners in early October! Here’s what the judges had to say:
Judges’ Comments
During their seaside stay, three sisters work tirelessly to save a whale that has become stranded on the shore. Nostalgic and lyrical, Sarah Brennan’s sustained and perfectly nuanced verses ebb and flow seamlessly in this timeless narrative, while Jane Tanner’s combination of monochromatic and multi-coloured pencil and pastel illustrations reflect the text’s mood, pace and burgeoning sense of hope.
If you haven’t bought your copy of Storm Whale yet, you can buy it here!
Monday: A fabulous morning at Fahan School!
May 30, 2018 at 11:01 am | Posted in Australian schools, Fahan School, Story Readings | Leave a commentTags: Storm Whale, the importance of book reading
And finally, on Monday, I spent the morning with my friends at Fahan School! We had two story readings of Storm Whale for Upper Primary, and some great time for Q and A about whales, how I write, and why reading books is so important to a successful future! Here I am above right with my wonderful host, Junior School Teacher Librarian Megan Denman, and at right with some of the gorgeous Grade 5 to 6 girls! Thank you so much for having me again!
Sunday: Event at Petrarch’s Bookshop, Launceston!
May 30, 2018 at 10:49 am | Posted in Being an Author, Bookshop event, Launceston | Leave a commentTags: Petrarch's Bookshop, Storm Whale, The Chinese Calendar Tales
On Sunday I jumped in my car and drove for two and half hours up to Launceston, Tasmania’s northern “capital”. It was the most glorious drive, and brought back so many memories of childhood drives with my parents and siblings so many years ago! In Launceston, I spent a wonderful afternoon at the famous Petrarch’s Bookshop, doing readings of Storm Whale and signing books! Above is the lovely Murphy family, who bought a whole stack of my Chinese Calendar Tales and who fell in love with Storm Whale! Below you can see me (top left) with friendly and helpful staff Kristine Hudson and Holly Cooper to my right and left, and me with Ros Sydes, a Launceston writer to the right! Thank you Marcus and Karen, owners of Petrarch’s, for inviting me!
Friday: Hutchins School Visit!
May 30, 2018 at 9:33 am | Posted in Australian schools, Hobart, The Hutchins School, Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: Books about whales, Chinese history, National Simultaneous Story Time, Storm Whale, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Desmond Dog
My Hobart visit kicked off with a fabulous morning with the boys at The Hutchins Junior School! It just happened to be National Simultaneous Story Time that very morning, so we started off with a fabulous story from the Headmaster, Dr Rob McEwen! He was a spectacular story-reader! Then the Grade 1 to 3 boys listened to me reading Storm Whale and simply didn’t stop asking questions and making some great observations about whales afterwards! Before my second session, the Grade 4 to 6 boys and I listened to the Deputy Principal Alan Jones (wearing a very interesting hat!) reading yet another story to the kids, after which I introduced them to the evil pirate queen Ching Shih and some fabulous Chinese history with The Tale of Desmond Dog! Many thanks to my dear friend, and head librarian, Kate Read, for inviting me again! More photos to come!
Hooray! Storm Whale is Runner Up in the UK’s Teach Primary Awards 2018!
May 9, 2018 at 8:20 am | Posted in Book Awards, Teach Primary Book Awards | Leave a commentTags: Jane Tanner, Old Barn Books, Storm Whale, Teach Primary Book Awards 2018
HOORAY! Storm Whale is Runner Up in the KS1 Category of the UK’s prestigious Teach Primary Book Awards 2018! Jane Tanner and I are SO thrilled!
This is such a huge honour and we’re very grateful to the judges for choosing our beautiful book! Find out more about the 2018 awards HERE!
And if you want to purchase your own copy, contact your favourite bookshop or online supplier, or click here.
Wow! Storm Whale short-listed for the 2018 Teach Primary Book Awards UK!
March 7, 2018 at 9:32 am | Posted in Awards, Best sellers, Shortlist Book Awards, UK publications | Leave a commentTags: Books about whales, Old Barn Books, Storm Whale, Teach Primary Book Awards 2018
I’m so excited! The UK’s Teach Primary Book Awards UK has just published its shortlist and Storm Whale (published in the UK by Old Barn Books) is one of just 6 titles on the Key Stage One Shortlist! Here’s an extract from their newsletter:
“The Teach Primary Book Awards are unique in recognising and rewarding books that children genuinely love to read, but that also support learning – for example, by opening up topics for discussion; encouraging language play; and making innovative use of illustration. All 21 shortlisted titles can be confidently recommended to pupils by teachers, and lend themselves brilliantly to classroom activities, too.
The next stage of the competition involves a panel of judges assessing the selected books according to a set of criteria that includes ‘breadth of appeal’ and ‘learning opportunities’; the final results will be announced in Teach Reading & Writing magazine, Teach Primary magazine, and First News, in May. Find out more at teachwire.net/bookawards
KEY STAGE 1
Museum Mystery Squad and the Case of the Hidden Hieroglyphics (Mike Nicholson, Young Kelpies)
Pigsticks and Harold in the Incredible Journey to… the Ends of the Earth! (Alex Milway, Walker)
The Incredible Dadventure (Dave Lowe, Piccadilly Press)
After the Fall (Dan Santat, Andersen Press)
The Big Red Rock (Jess Stockham, Child’s Play)
Storm Whale (Sarah Brennan/Jane Tanner, Old Barn Books)
Hooray! Storm Whale is a CBCA Notable!
February 28, 2018 at 10:00 pm | Posted in Book Awards, Buying my books | Leave a commentTags: Books about whales, CBCA Awards, CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018, Storm Whale
Illustrator Jane Tanner and I were so excited yesterday to find out that Storm Whale has been listed on the Children’s Book Council of Australia Notables List for Best Picture Book 2018! We’ll find out in March if our beautiful book makes the Short List of the CBCA Awards, as well as the Short List of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in the UK!
If you haven’t bought your copy yet, you can purchase it here !
Hooray – Storm Whale has reached the Long List for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018!
February 15, 2018 at 8:34 pm | Posted in Book Awards, Storm Whale | Leave a commentTags: Allen & Unwin, CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018, Jane Tanner, Long List, Old Barn Books, Storm Whale
I’m so excited! Storm Whale is one of 20 illustrated children’s books in the UK which has reached the Long List for the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for 2018 see here! This medal is awarded for excellence in illustration, and Jane Tanner, the wonderful artist who illustrated my story Storm Whale, well and truly deserves this recognition, as I’m sure you’ll agree! It is such an honour for me to be associated with such exceptional work and such a famous award. Thank you Jane, and everyone at Allen and Unwin in Australia (primary publisher) and Old Barn Books (UK publisher) for your faith in this book! Now we just have to wait until 15 March to find out if Storm Whale reaches the Short List – cross your fingers!
And if you don’t have a copy of Storm Whale yet, remember you can purchase it exclusively in Hong Kong on this sales site!
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