Category: Writing for kids and teens

Sue Whiting is a successful Australian author writing for children and young adults. She also now teaches at the Australian Writers’ Centre, so we cornered her at the water cooler and threw some questions her way. Hi Sue. Your background is in primary school teaching. Was there a spark or

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) have just announced their shortlist for the 2016 Book of the Year and we were so excited to see AWC Writing Picture Books presenter Danny Parker among the list of amazing authors. Danny’s acclaimed picture book Perfect, with illustrations by Freya Blackwood, has been shortlisted

Ideas for books can come at any moment, and for author Karyn Sepulveda, hers happened in one of the most common places. But more on that in a moment. We’re talking about the newly released Young Adult fantasy novel, Choosing Xaverique and we’re talking with Karyn. Hi Karyn, so what’s

Katrina Nannestad is the author of children’s fiction book Olive of Groves – shortlisted for the 2016 Indie Awards. We contacted her to find out more, and Katrina was only too happy to answer a few questions. So, Katrina, for those who haven’t read Olive of Groves yet, can you

Back in 1987, Guns N’ Roses wrote “Take me down to the Paradise City, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.” Nearly 30 years later, author CJ Duggan writes of another Paradise City – in coastal Australia – where the grass may not be quite so green,

Every successful author had a first novel – the one that started it all and paved the way for what followed. Fortunes may shift up and down, but you are a first-time novelist just once. And like many other “first times”, there’s often a story to be told. Jackie French

In a recent episode of our top-rating podcast So you want to be a writer, Allison Tait chatted with popular Young Adult (YA) writer Ellie Marney. (And when we say popular, we’re talking about her novel, Every Breath, being one of only two Australian novels on the 2015 list of most

In late 2015, Allison Tait caught up with picture book author Danny Parker for a chat as part of our So you want to be a writer podcast. Danny and his family have been in Australia since 2004 – arriving from the UK on something of an adventure and never

Nicole Hayes is an author, speaker and writing teacher based in Melbourne. She has an MA in Creative Writing and runs writing workshops at different locations in and around Melbourne. Nicole’s first novel, The Whole of My World, was shortlisted in the 2014 Young Australian Best Book Awards (YABBA) and

Andy Griffiths is one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors, best known for the Treehouse series, the JUST! books, and the delightfully titled The Day My Bum Went Psycho. The 65-Storey Treehouse hit shelves in August 2015, to the great excitement of children everywhere. And amid this furious launching frenzy,

In a recent episode of our weekly writing inspiration and information podcast, So you want to be a writer, Allison Tait spoke with Suzanne O’Sullivan – associate publisher of children’s books at Hachette Australia. With the book world exploding with children’s and young adult fiction over the past decade, Suzanne

Gabrielle Tozer is a journalist, author, editor and former 18-year-old, among other things. Her second book, Faking It, came out in January, and we thought now was the perfect time to bombard her with a stack of questions and see how she holds up. Oh, shhh, here she comes now.