Adult Program Story by Rebecca Sheraton Coral Tulloch is an illustrator who loves the challenge of researching. She also enjoys walking her dog with an Antarctic Scientist most days. Their deep conversations have led to Coral becoming fascinated by research. One interesting fact she learnt about was the magnetic poles in the world move around. This inspired the idea for her book The Journey, the amazing locations and puzzles the reader has to solve along the way. She also likes to see people draw everyday objects and create a story around them. Coral has been working with Mark Greenwood on a book and they both share a love of stones. Thank you Coral for sharing your stories about research and how this shows up in your illustration work.
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School Program Story by Yvonne Mes Karen started her session with an amazing story of mystery and suspense with the children following right behind her, until ... She stopped! She left the spell-bound Year 5 and 6 students waiting to see what would happen next. Karen cleverly used this cliff-hanger of an unopened door to introduce her books. But she remembered to check in with the students later to hear what worlds they had created of their own. Karen schedules daily daydreaming as part of her work as an author, using this time to let her mind wander and let the ideas flow in. To help her visualise her setting and build her worlds, Karen draws her own maps or uses historical maps. She says: ‘Good writers are explorers and always keep adding details to their worlds’. Children asked question after question, showing their interest in world building, writing and publishing and soaked up her experience of many years as an author. Adult Program Story by Maria Parenti-Baldy Steaming up SAFI's Saturday's Gala Dinner were the Victorian Era Sci-Fi cast from either The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Wild Wild West, H.G. Wells - War of the Worlds or Jules Verne - Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Ipswich's Metro Hotel guests were privy to the era's steampunk costumes. The passing parade of corsets, vests, bustle skirts, ruched skirts, twill riding pants, fingerless gloves, black leather boots — lace-ups, ankle, spats and gaiters raised a few eyebrows. What lay underneath were discreetly in place — camisoles, chemises, petticoats, bloomers, pantaloons, thigh-high striped nylons and even the odd gold-engraved single-barrel received reassurance. To top it off, the black coachman’s hat and top hat added the finishing touch to the layer of feathers, lace, bows buckles, clasps, lace and netting — with not a zip in sight. Onlookers were entertained when their favourite Stars stepped onto the red carpet. The centring of a cravat, slight touch of a choker, checking of a pocket watch or an adjustment of a utility belt may have hinted at the big night that lay ahead. Fans pointed, delighted at the aesthetic mechanical contraptions. The light sparkled off the brass, leather and cogged goggles atop, monocles, monoculars, folding brass binoculars, brass sextant keychain, short-handled brass theatre glasses, phial wristband and compass wrist bands. Cheers and applause - and a little disappointment, received the Inventors and Adventurers — Expeditionists, Scientists, Explorers, Alchemist, Horticulturalists, Bounty Hunters, Aeronauts, Overseers of the Museum of Mysteries and perhaps a Denizen of the Night — as they disappeared into the sanctuary of the Gala Dinner. Maria Parenti-Baldey, primary teacher, writer, amateur photographer and blogger. www.bigsisterblogs.com
School Program Story by Yvonne Mes Chris Collin is a full time author and publisher of whacky, rhyming, Australian children’s books such as Funky Chicken and Chooks in Space illustrated by Megan Kitchin. He is also an engaging presenter with a session that immerses children through story, music, and with the assistance of some amazing puppets. Throughout his session he cleverly weaves video snippets and songs. Children from prep to grade 2 went from utter concentration, when listening to the stories, to belly-laughing at a sleepy joke-telling possum and a funky chicken. Children got to dress up as the animal characters from the stories, sang songs, danced and acted. Dress-ups included giant spotty bottoms, astronauts, funky chickens and much more. Chris’ presentation was so infectious, even the grown-ups got up and danced! School Program Story by Yvonne Mes Megan Forward is an Australian illustrator and author with an extensive background in visual arts, specifically in print making. A Patch from Scratch was published in March 2016 (Penguin Random House) and Megan runs workshops for children around ideas about living sustainably in an urban setting. In November 2016 All I want for Christmas is Rain was, written by Cori Brooke and published (New Frontier), which was shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council Award 2017. During the school program Megan shared some of her childhood illustrations and stories. One of her childhood stories was even illustrated as a lift-the-flap. And later, during French classes she would add pictures to the French words making it easier to remember them. ‘All I Want for Christmas is Rain’ takes place during a drought. Megan had to find a way to create mud to paint with for the book. During the session she asked the children to help create a mud effect using some magical art materials in the form of condis crystals which turn from a vibrant purple to a muddy brown when dried. After listening to story, the children joined in a rain dance, and were able to see Megan’s original artwork for the story, her illustration process and sketches. Adult Program Story by Rebecca Sheraton This interesting session gave us a chance to meet three people working in publishing in Queensland from Wombat Books, Rhiza Press, Yellow Brick Books and Word Wings. Rochelle Manners is the owner and editor of Wombat Books (children’s) and Rhiza Press (young adult). Rochelle loves to publish books for school aged children and she describes the purpose of the books on her list is that they provide entertainment of small issues and have a takeaway message. She doesn’t publish board books or counting books. Ann-Marie Finn is both an illustrator and publisher with Yellow Brick Books. She loves picture books because they are visually appealing. Ann-Marie likes quirky, fun and humorous stories. Next year she will publish 5 books and they are open to submissions. JR Poulter has established her business called Word Wings. She explained how she likes to hire and collaborate with illustrators for her books that she has written. Thank you to these ladies for sharing your knowledge with the conference attendees. Adult Program Story by Dimity Powell The panel consisting of Lisa Berryman, Kristina Schulz and Heather Curdie was moderated by Dimity Powell. By sharing some of the tough day-to-day decisions they have to make, each of these well-known publishers increased our understanding and appreciation of what it takes to get a book across the publishing line. It was enriching to discover that publishers are people with heart who invest themselves in our stories and wellbeing without reserve. Lisa Berryman views her long-standing role as Children’s Publisher with HarperCollins Publishers as one to ‘recognise potential, polish the nuggets and go on journeys with people’. Some of the hardest publishing decisions she regularly makes involve pulling out of auctions for titles she’d really like but for one reason or another, usually financial, is not able to take on. Kristina Schulz, the Children’s Publisher of one of Australian’s longest operating and most respected independent publishing houses, University of Queensland Press, still finds it difficult advising authors that whilst their work may be brilliant, it is not the right fit for UQP’s lists. Heather Curdie, the Commissioning Editor for Penguin Young Readers agrees, stating it is important that burgeoning authors appreciate the role of a publisher and the business of publishing which is a unique and complex enterprise: ‘part manufacturing, part risk assessment, part creative and part business’. The stories they receive must exhibit integrity but unless they have strong saleability, they will not make it across the line. Sometimes it is simply a question of timing, too. Each of these publishers gave the audience fascinating glimpses of their daily, weekly and monthly workloads, all accomplished without the aid of an assistant. Lisa stated that it was rare for her not to get a book accepted as by then, she has already made many of the hard decisions and is ready and able to hard sell the book to the rest of the publishing team. Considering this team includes the CEO, the bean counters, sales and marketing and design personnel, this is no mean feat. We went on to discuss submission no-nos and what some of the deal breakers were for each of them. Kristina proclaimed that whilst they are fine with multiple submissions, it is appreciated and expected that this is made apparent at the submission stage. As Heather stated, author honesty and transparency goes a long way. One of Lisa’s pet peeves was fairy dust (glitter), NOT to be included in any submission, please! Each of them had slightly varying views on the importance of having a strong author brand and social media presence. Lisa preferred submissions of new work come without marketing plans, declaring that she is capable of checking an author’s profile and CV herself and if found wanting, is able to offer social medial ‘training’ in house. Conversely, Heather finds it useful to receive information from the author about the publishing potential of their story and where they think it might fit into the market. Whilst all three conceded that sadly there is no longer a place for B-List authors owing to the ever-increasing demands on the publishing industry and costs involved, they still place considerable significance on attending conferences and festivals like this one as a positive way to locate and cultivate new talent. Face-to-face manuscript appraisals allowed publishers, to keep in touch with the real face of the writing community and make genuine connections. Finally, all agreed that securing an author they can work with and foster an ongoing relationship with is ultimately more important than hanging onto someone purely for the content they offer. Dimity Powell is the author of “The Fix it Man” and other books. www.dimitypowell.com School Program Story by Maria Parenti-Baldey Picture Book author, Kim Toft, a former Prep teacher, had some 120 preps to year 2 following her every move. She uses silk painting to illustrate the preservation of our oceans and coastal habitats. Toft performed her cautionary tale ‘One Less Fish’ in song and dance. Her clever use of alliteration and counting had students call out the number of fish left unprotected. Students learned the jump, jiggle, be jolly and jostle dance where they acted out the ocean’s underwater world. Many hands flew up when she asked what letter the words started with, which represented an ocean creature often affected by plastic bags. Toft treated her students to a silk painting demonstration on an Angel fish Gold Gutta outline. She showed how the orange and yellow dyes didn’t run past the outline because the Resist acted as a barrier. Her books’ silk paintings illustrations can take up to 2 years, but her time-lapse video of one painting had students mesmerised as it sped up the process. Her ‘Coral Sea Dreaming’ is an educational resource for the whole of primary, with a picture book at the beginning, followed by an information text on Coral Reefs’ rich ecosystems which provide shelter and food for its marine life. Needless to say teachers and parents headed for the bookshop after her presentation. Toft left the students with this advice, ‘If you practise, practise, practise, one day you’ll be able to paint pictures and write stories too.’ www.kimtoft.com.au Maria Parenti-Baldey, primary teacher, writer, amateur photographer and blogger. www.bigsisterblogs.com School Program, Family Program and Adult Program Story by Megan Daley The opening night of the Narelle Oliver exhibition and the Story Arts Festival, on the 2nd of September, was a night to be remembered. It was an honour to have so many members of Narelle Oliver’s family in attendance, including her husband Greg, children Jesse and Liam and her father, who travelled from Toowoomba to be there and celebrate Narelle’s work. A packed room of adults and children enjoyed music, drinks, snacks and art…so much beautiful art. Narelle’s artwork stole the show and it was a privelage to be able to see the orignials from ‘I Want to Be in a Book’ and so many more of her works. The studio space was poignant, but gives a beautiful insight into how Narelle worked and the space in which she worked. Cecil AKA Lee Fullarton was in fine form and helped the Mayor of Ipswich to present students from Blair State School and Bethany Lutheran College with certificates of thanks for the artwork they produced in conjuction with the exhibition. The student artwork was beamed onto buildings in D’Arcy Doyle Place and there was much excited screaming as students saw their artwork brought to life through animation and then being beamed, large scale, across the Ipswich CBD. The Narelle Oliver Exhibition will be on display until 30th September. School Program Story by Maria Parenti-Baldey When Brisbane author Yvonne Mes introduced herself, she had some 100 year 3, 4 and 5 students putting their hands up wanting the glamorous life of a Picture Book author — a three story mansion with giant playground, red Ferrari and private jet. One young man was so convinced, he wanted to meet her bodyguard. As Mes let them down gently, she explained to create her glamorous story, she had to use her ‘imagination’. She had nurtured her ‘imagination’ through story telling and reading lots of books. She would read about 80 picture books a week. She loved being transported somewhere else through stories. When writing a story, the students learned to always ask the ‘What if? question. ‘What if you fell over or your underwear fell down? What happens next? And then what would happen… and then what would happen next… and then?’ The students learned that Mes’s Sidney Nolan is part of an Australian picture book series. During her research, she tried to find a connection between Sidney Nolan - painter, and Ned Kelly - bushranger. She showed students how the illustrator left little clue ideas in the illustrations after studying Nolan’s paintings. Some of the symbolic clues showed the three stripes on Nolan’s forehead as war paint, his paint pallet represented a shield — making him a warrior artist. Mes’s book is also on Virgin’s airlines’ inflight audio and I anticipate will become an Australian favourite in the classroom. www.yvonnemes.com
Maria Parenti-Baldey, primary teacher, writer, amateur photographer and blogger. www.bigsisterblogs.com |
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