Title of event: The Curse of the Vampire Wombats...and Vikings, phaeries, aliens, and characters from history too.

Or we could have one session just on wombats, as The Secret World of Wombats is due out then...The Secret World of Wombats: get all the low down dirt on Jackie's favourite marsupial, including how wombats communicate with wombat droppings, why wombats bite each other's bums and why wombats are lousy engineers. (any age group)

Plus:How to grow Absolutely Anything (from chocolate to spaceships to the best apples in the universe)(any age group)

And: Dinosaurs, Dragons, Pirates and Vampire Chickens..and other whacky families (for primary)

And: Why History Sometimes Lies (for high school)

or a combination of any!

Would you also like a session from Bryan Sullivan? We co wrote To the Moon aand back, CBC shortlist this year...he could answer questions about space, space tracking etc and the book.

Resources:

most of my books have teaching notes available from Harper Collins; other material on my web site jackiefrench.com. There will also be a Fair Dinkum Histories web site with Scholastic Books.

Website:

Jackie French's writing career spans sixteen years, 38 wombats, 120 books, about fifty awards in Australia and overseas, translations into nineteen languages, six possibly insane lyrebirds, assorted 'Burke's Backyard' segments, radio shows, newspaper and magazine columns, theories of pest and weed ecology and 27 shredded back doormats. The doormats are the victims of the wombats who demand carrots, rolled oats and wombat nuts, which is one of the reasons for her prolific output: it pays the carrot bills.

Jackie's most recent books include Diary of a Wombat with Bruce Whately, which keeps gathering more awards as it gallops across the planet, They Came on Viking Ships, The Wacky Families and Phaery named Phredde series, the Outlands trilogy for teenagers, and the latest, 'The Secret World of Wombats' out this month. The first book in the Fair Dinkum History series (an eight volume history of Australia) will come out next month.

Our past is full of adventures and curious, larger-than-life characters. It is a vibrant and rich vein of material for writers. Find out how to discover the truth behind our legends, and separate fact from fiction.

Resources:

Website: http://www.artbeatpublishers.com

Mark is an author and musician. His children¹s books, Magic Boomerang, Outback Adventure and Our Big Island, were prompted an interest in multicultural literature and the unique way illustrated books can assist children to develop an understanding of other cultures and perspectives.

The Legend of Moondyne Joe and The Legend of Lasseter¹s Reef aim to encourage an appreciation of Australia¹s unique myths and legends. The Legend of Moondyne Joe, won the 2003 West Australian Premier¹s Award for children¹s books. The Legend of Lasseter's Reef was the recipient of the 2004 WA Premier¹s Award.

Mark enjoys working with students of all ages, inspiring and developing their natural curiosity about books and writing. He often incorporates music and rhythm into literature based workshops to stimulate student¹s imaginations and creativity.

As a musician, Mark spent many years recording and performing with the world¹s foremost record producers and musicians. His interests include combining music and children's books with new media technology.

Mark lists as a career highlight camping in a swag in remote Central Australia while researching his new book and being selected as a Sydney Olympic Games Torchbearer in recognition of his work in remote Aboriginal schools.

We'll look at idea gathering, how your own experiences can become a basis for your writing and how to develop these ideas into a story. There will be plenty of chances for studnets to ask questions.

Resources:

www.suelawson.com.au

Ferret Boy:

http://www.curriculum.edu.au/rel/collection3/ferretboy_over.htm

http://education.qld.gov.au/information/service/libraries/resource/currtopics/bestbooks/bullying-up.html

Lawson, Sue 2003, Ferret boy, Lothian, South Melbourne, Vic.

From the time Bucks the ferret attaches herself to Josh's nose, after Josh has tried to show her some affection, the reader is in stitches. When school bully Looney Mooney mocks Josh, a fight ensues and Mooney's ferret is pitted against Josh's in the Hartley Ferret Derby. OZ

Tessa:

http://education.qld.gov.au/information/service/libraries/resource/currtopics/bestbooks/bullying-up.html

Lawson, Sue 2003, Tessa, Lothian, South Melbourne, Vic.

Tessa is devastated when, instead of a dog, she is given a chook. When the school bully and neighbourhood thug learns about 'chook', Tessa becomes his target. When tragedy strikes at home, Tessa summons her courage to finally face her fears. This would be a useful resource for discussions about bullying, self-esteem, solving conflict, friendships and responsible pet ownership. OZ

My Gran's Different

http://www.lothian.com.au/

www.lothian.com.au/teachersnotes/mygransdifferent.pdf -

follow prompts to teacher's notes. It's in backlist, picture books.

Website:

Sue Lawson grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Hamilton, Victoria. She tried her hand at a variety of jobs, including primary teacher, ticket seller at the MCG and announcer with ABC Radio and commercial radio stations, before deciding to develop her passion for writing.

She now lives in Colac, Western Victoria, with her husband Bruce and daughter, Courtney. When Sue’s not writing, she loves leading writing workshops for children and adults.

Title of event:  Question and Answer Session

Description of event:   Your students simply meet and greet the author.

Resources:  

Basic preparation only needed – ie: students develop a selection of questions that they would like to ask the author. Suggestions:

• to chat about the writing and creative process
• the life of the author as a writer

Upon request during registration, we can ask for the author to collaboratively develop a story with your students – ie: a writing workshop

Website:

Title of event: The art of being silly and creating things that hopefully make people laugh.

A form/chat about creating characters and pushing characters into uncharted territory to make them more interesting and funnier for the reader.

Or what about:

A forum/chat about Comedy & Heart: how to talk about the hard stuff in life while making everybody laugh out loud.

Resources:

You can find out more about Nick at http://www.kazillionwish.com  or at http://www.mediagiants.com.au/Pages/Nickplace.html   The books, obviously:

"The Kazillion Wish"

& "Thanks A Kazillion"

plus:

www.kazillionwish.com

And Allen & Unwin's website has some info, class notes and games ...

http://www.allenandunwin.com/Teaching/activities.asp

Website:

Nick Place has been a professional writer since he was 17 years old, often as a sportswriter or film reviewer for newspapers and magazines or as a TV comedy writer. He runs a media company lives in Melbourne with his wife and two boys, as well as Fly Dog The Magnificent and Choo Choo the cat. He has written two comedy-novels for 7-12 year-olds, "The Kazillion Wish" and "Thanks A Kazillion". He has also written a stage comedy/musical, a short film "The Cook" which has been shown at international film festivals, among other adventures in creativity. He is currently working on several books for kids and adults, one of which involves a bunch of really hopeless super heroes.

Title of event: Researching a historical novel? OR Dragons and their behaviour? 

Resources:

check out the Random House website ( www.randomhouse.com.au  ) for info about

Website: http://home.iprimus.com.au/carolew/

Carole Wilkinson likes history. It's an exciting place full of amazing events, remarkable people and great outfits. Writing historical books, fact and fiction, allows her to imagine what it was like in those interesting times while still enjoying hot showers, television and food that you don't have to bludgeon yourself.

Title of event:  Question and Answer Session

Description of event:   Your students simply meet and greet the author.

Resources:  

Basic preparation only needed – ie: students develop a selection of questions that they would like to ask the author. Suggestions:

• to chat about the writing and creative process
• the life of the author as a writer

Upon request during registration, we can ask for the author to collaboratively develop a story with your students – ie: a writing workshopWebsite:

Title of event:   Different Places, Different Faces

My interest in illustrating and writing about people from all over the world from Africa to Asia and back again. How do you paint a country you’ve never been to and write about another that your readers may have never visited?

OR:

"Creating a character – Millie."

- Working with John Marsden to create this cheeky but lovable character from conception to publication.

Resources:

Website:

Sally Rippin was born in Darwin but grew up mainly in South-East Asia. As an adult she spent three years in China studying traditional Chinese painting before moving to France with her family for three years. Now Sally lives in Melbourne where she writes and illustrates full time as well as running workshops for both children and adults.

The Fang Fang books Sally wrote and illustrated are influenced by her experience of having grown up in Asia as well as having taught ESL to students of all different nationalities. This brush and ink style of illustration she uses, evolved from her studies of traditional Chinese painting, reappears in a book written by John Marsden called Millie, as well as the series of books by Stacey McLeary; When It Is Time and What Makes Me Me.

Other books Sally has illustrated include Valanga Khoza’s Gezani and The Tricky Baboon and Margaret Wild’s Too Many Monkeys. Most recently she illustrated American author Whitney Stewart’s picture book on the life of Siddhartha, called Becoming Buddha.

Sally is also the author of two Young Adult novels. Chenxi and The Foreigner is a cross-cultural love story set in the Art Academy of Shanghai and Leopard Skin tells the story of Ellie and her embarrassing mother.

Whether writing or illustrating, Sally is particularly drawn to stories that explore cultural differences and acceptance and enjoys discussing these themes with students of all ages during her regular speaking engagements at schools.

Booking Agency: Booked Out Speakers Agency

Literary Agency: Curtis Brown and Associates