Book Week With the Students from Higaturu Oil Palm International School

August 26, 2021September 7, 2021 | June

*Work from the students of the Higaturu Oil Palm International School which became a class anthology, Escape to Wonder*

A recent week of Book Week workshops via zoom, at the Higaturu Oil Palm International School, was wondrous.

Students were willing to imagine and open their eyes to a sense of wonder, to explore other worlds within worlds, from nature, to rivers to the moon and outerspace.

We began with learning about cheeky Cassowaries hungry and looking for food after a cyclone, and imagining what they might say or think, and advanced to humourous dialogues within the river and exploring a sense of wonder, through sensory adventure poems.

Students learnt about the power of working in pairs and in groups and how many voices combined can create, extend and then joyously and confidently perform their creations.

Creativity is joyful! Students in action creating.

Throughout I used my own illustrated poetry book, Magic Fish Dreaming, as the main mentor text with a storytelling session also of Michelle Worthington’s Book, Possum Games.

Both had kindly been posted and provided to the school by Tina from CYA. This meant we could read together, and as I have dialogue poems and question and answer structures this was fantastic to have each student have the book on the other side of the zoom.

I was impressed by how the students worked with each other on some in the river dialogues and their humour and inventiveness throughout the week began to shine through.

*Work from Stone and Seaweed Anthology, by Students of Higaturu Oil Palm International School*

I am delighted the school community (families and staff) gave permission for me to share their work.

More important than products though, is the process of creativity that the children undertook within their classroom. By reflecting on that stories can come from that which you know through your senses and take you to places you might only imagine.

I hope these children, will create many more poems or stories and strengthen and contribute to building a publishing community within Papua New Guinea, beginning from anthologies within their school and moving beyond the anthologies for their communities. Building perhaps collectives for theirs and future generations.

With many thanks to the school, students , staff of the Higaturu Oil Palm International School, and Tina of CYA.

Photographs courtesy of the Higaturu Oil Palm International School, shared with their permission

Upcoming Publications!

August 12, 2019August 14, 2019 | June

Dear Friends, Fans, Fellow Writers and poets,

Listed above are titles of works accepted to two wonderful new anthologies for children aged 6-12 years.

Both are due for release in October 2019.

Amongst these selections are two poems, a meditation and two short stories.

My first comissioned short story for a magazine will be out in September too, but more details on that when it’s released!

Last year Share Your Story accepted my first ever published short story for children to It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas and I had a short story for middle grade short listed by Scribbles. What a wonderful encouragement, and it turns out a sign of things to come, those two breakthroughs were. Thank you to Michelle Worthington, of Share Your Story, and Jen Storer of Scribbles for all the work you do mentoring other writers.

I am delighted to have been developing my short story writing craft and finding homes for my work outside of my own independent publishing press.

And in other news the first draft of my first novel will be completed this week. I have been working in a Share Your Story mentorship for the last 6 months to fulfil this long cherished goal!

I am currently working on a poetry chapbook, Illuminations, for release in November this year. This ones for teenagers and grown ups and two wonderfully talented sisters, Ruha and Minaira Fifita, are creating art to be included with the poems and one story. I am working with the same designer as for Magic Fish Dreaming, Heidi Den Ronden. Many of my writing friends from Write Links as well as Baha’i poets have beta read Illuminations and I am so grateful for their invaluable feedback.

My dear friend Helene Magisson, illustrator of Magic Fish Dreaming, has a number of wonderful new children’s books out and I will update you on those soon in a post.

We still meet regularlly for catch ups, and will forever remain friends. She is truly like a sister, and an especially creative person whose friendship I treasure.

One day we would dearly love to do a follow up book to Magic Fish Dreaming if we get the opportunity.

I’ll share details of any launches here and on my social media sites.

Best wishes to all, better get back to writing!

June

If you want to find out more about Share Your Story and Scribbles here are the links!

I highly reccomend both.

Share your Story

Scribbles

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Launch

December 3, 2018December 5, 2018 | June

(Not quite everyone could make the launch but we were thinking of them!)

It was a joyful, festive atmosphere in which we celebrated the official launch of It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas at the Grandview Hotel, Cleveland.

And such a delight to hear people read their work. Contributions varied from gentle poems and stories, to hilarious stories. There really is something to suit everyone in this collection as well as a delicious and sometimes very humid taste of celebrating christmas in Australia.

John Duke’s work was particularly loved by the children gathered and would I think make a brilliant picture book in its own right. With so many infectious giggles rippling through the room it was definitely a big hit!

All the other readers did a wonderful job, many presenting fragments so that families were just itching to read the rest of the story. OCD elves, toys longing to be reunited with their children . . . you’ll just have to read more.

Maria Parenti-Baldey, the final reader, gave a dynamic and energetic performance to keep all enthralled.

A particular congratulations to people who were published for the first time and possibly doing their first ever public readings!

The children were so brilliantly behaved and engaged (well done all readers and parents and grandparents) and especially excited when Santa and Mrs Clause turned up!

Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators and producers as well as all those who helped in anyway on launch day.

Thank you to the team, especially Share your Story, Michelle Worthington, Julieann Wallace and to all the illustrators, especially Di Spediacci for the vibrant cover!

This special collection seeks to raise money for bicycles for teachers in Tanzania.

To ensure that a trainee teacher has every chance of punctuality, attendance and success, proceeds from the sale of the Share Your Story Anthology – ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’ will be put towards purchasing a bicycle for the trainee teachers to ride to the Teachers’ Training College in Tanzania.

Here are the details on how to purchase your copy!

And don’t forget to leave a review on Good Reads or Amazon.