Category: Education

Readings staff members have selected Holden Sheppard’s Invisible Boys for the shortlist of this year’s Readings Young Adult Book Prize. Established in 2016, the prize recognises exciting emerging voices in Australian young adult literature.

Goldfields Girl by Elaine Forrestal is a historical novel for middle readers featuring real-life nineteenth-century teenager Clara Saunders. In this blog post, Elaine takes us into the exciting, dusty, fly-ridden world of a gold rush.

In 2015, I was well and truly sick of my book. The History of Mischief had been lingering with me since 2006, and progress was slow. It was often left for months, only for me to return to it, tinker a bit, and then abandon it for another lengthy period of time. I needed something to […]

I’m Elaine Forrestal and Goldfields Girl is my latest historical fiction for students, teachers and history buffs of any age. My fiction, in various genres, has been published since 1983. This is my third historical fiction novel. In this blog post I will share my top tips for using your local, state or national library […]

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of Australia’s first major military action, and is also a national day of remembrance that commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

Anzac Day marks the anniversary of Australia’s first major military action and is also a national day of remembrance that commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. Though we may only be able to celebrate the Dawn Service with a candle in our front yards, […]

Expand your knowledge with kids and grandkids by learning some fun facts about Australia’s native birds. 

Helen Milroy, and her friend Honey the brush tail possum, have a special message for everyone spending extra time at home this week. They say that the best way to enjoy your time is to read some books about native Australian animals.

Classes might be homeward bound, and book launches may be cancelled, but booksellers, publishers and writers will keep on keeping on. Here are eight happenings, or potential happenings, coming to a virtual world near you. If you know of any others you’d like us to share – please keep us informed!

Whether they are in the classroom, the virtual classroom or just hanging out at home, there are plenty of free and fun activities to keep the youngest members of our community engaged.

It’s Women’s History Month and we’re really excited to announce the publication of Goldfields Girl, a historical fiction novel about an extraordinary woman named Clara Saunders. Here, author Elaine Forrestal shares with us some of what she learned about this amazing pioneer of the Western Australian Goldfields.

The Lost Stone of SkyCity has been shortlisted in the 2019 Aurealis Awards for speculative fiction. The awards, which accept novels, novellas, anthologies, graphic novels and short stories, are given for works of outstanding literary merit and originality that make a significant contribution to the genre of speculative fiction.

Norman Jorgensen and Andy Griffiths have taken their places alongside Roald Dahl, Brian Jacques, Victor Kelleher, Paul Jennings, Duncan Ball and John Marsden in the West Australian Young Readers Book Awards (WAYRBA) Hall of Fame. Now in its fortieth year, the WAYRBA Hall of Fame is reserved for those authors who have won the award […]

Kelly Canby’s Rodney, Julia Lawrinson’s Maddie in the Middle and Holden Sheppard’s Invisible Boys have all been made Notable books in their respective categories in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards.

A huge congratulations to Helen Milroy, author of Wombat, Mudlark and Other Stories, for being among the six books shortlisted for the Readings Children’s Book Prize worth $3,000.

A peripatetic childhood gave What Colour is the Sea? illustrator and author Katie Stewart the chance to see the world from many perspectives. Katie’s new book, her first with a traditional publisher, is about a koala who asks her Aussie animal mates what the true colour of the sea is. The answers vary, so when […]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this blog post contains images and the name of a person who has died. Please take care.

If you ever needed an excuse to pet a koala, now you have one. Join Katie Stewart as she launches her picture book What Colour Is the Sea? alongside a (real!) koala. Hosted by the Shire of Northam Library Service, this free event takes place at 2 pm this Thursday 5 March.

Holden Sheppard won multiple awards for his manuscript Invisible Boys even before it was published, including the City of Fremantle Hungerford Award in 2018.

Geraldton-born Western Australian writer Holden Sheppard is one of three writers shortlisted for the Prize for Writing for Young Adults in the 2020 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. Holden is in the running to receive a $25,000 prize, as well as the overall Victorian Prize for Literature worth an additional $100,000, the single most valuable literary […]

The Society of Women Writers Victoria (SWWV) has awarded the biennial Nance Donkin Award to Albany-based Western Australian author Dianne Wolfer. Best known for her history-inspired picture books for older readers, Dianne has a diverse arts practice that includes novels for junior to young adult readers.

Events Marketing Assistant Tiffany Ko is fast approaching her one-year anniversary at Fremantle Press. Working just a couple of short days per week, she manages all our Great Big Book Club events, our Fogarty and Hungerford award ceremonies, our Champions of Literature soirées and all the workshops and events we run for the Four Centres […]

In the last edition of Classroom Express we shared some inspiration form the library team at Bunbury Catholic College on how to create a book display project worthy of entry into our Creative Classrooms competition.

It’s the last freebie frenzy of the year and we’ve got lots of amazing classroom resources and activities for you to get your hands on.