September 3, 2019
Are there authors you believe you should read simply because they’re considered one of the literary greats, or have appeared on best seller lists? For many years, Isabel Allende was that author for me. At uni, I’d studied the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez in 100 Years of Solitude, but never quite managed to […]
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August 20, 2019
Creative Prompts #5
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You may be aware that I continue to update my list of Competitions for Young Writers, as old competitions inch past their closing date and new ones come to my attention. The following creative prompts draw on some of the themes identifiied in the competitions open at the time of publishing this post. Regardless of […]
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August 3, 2019
Six Degrees of Separation is a literary meme hosted by Kate from booksaremyfavouriteandbest. Each month, Kate provides a starting book title, and then participants link that to six other books in whatever random way the mind decides to make connections. My links are usually in the form of either reading recommendations or books on my […]
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July 23, 2019
When author Judith Kerr passed away on 22 May 2019, there was an outpouring of accolades, obituaries and memories in print, online and across social media. I confess that while her picture book, The Tiger Who Came to Tea and her semi-autobiographical novel, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, were vaguely familiar to me, I’d never […]
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June 11, 2019
I’ve recently been running a series of workshops on writing memoir and family history at the City of Vincent Library and Local History Centre. In our first session, I led participants through a series of activities to help them stare down the blank page and start writing. It was fabulous to see just how many […]
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May 21, 2019
Numerous tributes flowing in for Bob Hawke have recalled his response to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. As Prime Minister, he allowed Chinese students to stay in Australia, rather than force them back to suffer the consequences of a Chinese government crackdown. I wonder how many lives Hawke’s decision saved, how many young men and […]
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May 4, 2019
Welcome back to Six Degrees of Separation. In case you’d like to play along, participants start with the same book, as nominated by Kate from booksaremyfavouriteandbest. Link it to six other titles in any random way your brain decides to make connections. I try to link it to books I’ve either read and would recommend, […]
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April 18, 2019
Imagine you’re the new girl in town on your first day of high school. After travelling around Australia for a year, you’re feeling positive about settling in one place and making friends. Imagine your delight when the first girl you meet invites you to sit with her friends at recess. Imagine that by lunchtime, your […]
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