I recently had the honour of attending Newington College Litfest 2023 at the invitation of Ann Jagger and her unrivalled team of librarians and teachers. Over the course of three exciting days, I delivered eleven talks and workshops for hundreds …
In April I had the pleasure of attending the Newington College Festival of Literature for 2021. It was my first festival appearance since the easing of Covid restrictions in Sydney and a glorious way to celebrate the return of something …
Newington College Festival of Literature for 2021 Read more »
The following speech was delivered online in English and Korean on the 5th of December 2020. The event was entitled: ‘Building Up Cross-Cultural Understanding Through Children’s Literature Between Australia and Korea: 2020’, convened by Dr Hyung-joo Judy Park. Dr Park …
The Book of Beasts: Animal & Human Nature in Children’s Literature Read more »
Originally published by The Community Writer in 2019. Interview by Oliver Phisher. What are three books that have greatly influenced your life? 1) The Gospel of John: My father was an Anglican chaplain, a fierce intellect, a compassionate heart, and a man of …
On the 28th of August 2019 I was invited to address the whole school assembly at Patrician Brothers’ College in Fairfield. It was an honour to visit this tremendous school and meet so many students and teachers. There was a …
This week I had the honour of meeting over 500 Year 7 and Year 8 students at Oakhill College in Castle Hill at the invitation of librarian Lynn Revai. The theme of the Oakhill Book Week for 2019 was “Banquet …
Oakhill College Banquet of Books: Book Week 2019 Read more »
Australian Children’s Laureate Morris Gleitzman recently told a packed audience in Sydney that everywhere he travels in Australia he hears young people express bewilderment that adults keep electing to high office men and women whose behaviour, should they – the …
Our Chosen Stories: Reflections on Four Years of Empire of the Waves Read more »
As reported in a previous blogpost, I recently had the pleasure of spending three packed days at the Newington College Festival of Literature for 2019. To my delight, two young Newington writers have since penned their thoughts about two of my …
Words seem cheap nowadays. They roll beneath our fingertips on social media feeds, via text messages, and on the news-sites and blogs we browse on trains and buses. First thing in the morning and last thing before sleep, we read. …