Cartoons, life writing and science inspired fantasy: these videos and events will warm the cockles of your classes’ creative hearts
Our authors are still out there running workshops and talking to classrooms online. Read on to find out what’s available in the coming weeks.
Video recordings
Using science to inspire creative writing with Cristy Burne at #LitFest2444
#LitFest2444 is an online festival for children and teens that encourages and inspires young minds to pursue their creativity and to explore conventional and revolutionary ways to tell their story.
Cristy Burne is the author of books for younger readers Off the Track and To the Lighthouse. Her talk is all about science and writing, and how the two can go hand in hand to create something spectacular – it’s sure to be inspiring for kids who want to give creative writing a go!
Watch it here.
Tell It Like It Is: Writing From Real Life with Holden Sheppard at #LitFest2444
Learn how to write stories drawn from real-life experiences with 2018 City of Fremantle Hungerford Award winner Holden Sheppard. His debut novel, Invisible Boys, won a slew of awards and now he’s bringing his best tips and tricks to you. Learn to experiment with a range of possible events from a timeline and craft a short piece either depicting a true tale or adapting a grain of truth into a fictionalised account. This workshop will be live streamed from Facebook.
For more information, visit the #LitFest2444 website.
Cartooning workshops, character development and a Q&As with James Foley
James Foley’s recent workshop with the City of Gosnells libraries is now available for you to watch. James does a drawing demo, answers questions about character development and speaks about his many, many books. If you’re interested in making your own graphic novel or you’re just a lover of all things James Foley, check out the video here.
Online events
Australian Red Cross
Yuot A. Alaak will be talking about his experience as a child soldier as part of the Australian Red Cross online movie night discussion on Saturday 25 July at 5.30 pm. This event will be held on Zoom with more information to come, but for now, mark it in your calendar!
Podcasts
Looking for a new podcast to listen to? Check out Love to Read Local Radio with authors Helen Milroy and Brenton E. McKenna talking to Madelaine Dickie about the importance of stories.
There’s a lot of work that goes into the creation of children’s picture books – just ask Kelly Canby, Tracey Gibbs and Katie Stewart, all three of whom are author/illustrators who have books out this year. For fascinating insights into how a book goes from the first idea to a published work, have a listen to this podcast.
HM Waugh’s book, The Lost Stone of SkyCity, has been shortlisted for an Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Fiction, but did you know she wrote it as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) while also juggling her very busy life as a mum? Heather spoke to Rebecca Higgie about the experience in this episode of the Fremantle Press Podcast.