Tristan Bancks and Detention

Detention (Penguin Random House) is a highly memorable insight into a complex, fraught situation. It balances the terrible quandary of refugees detained in or near Australia with kindness and help. Thank you for speaking to Paperbark blog, Tristan. Pleasure! Thanks for being such a great advocate for my books and a positive force in children’s […]

Tristan Bancks and Detention

Tristan Bancks’ Detention (Penguin Random House) gives a highly memorable insight into a complex, fraught situation. It balances the terrible quandary of refugees detained in or near Australia with kindness and help. Thank you for speaking to Paperbark blog, Tristan. Pleasure! Thanks for being such a great advocate for my books and a positive force […]

Jannali Jones and My Father’s Shadow

My Father’s Shadow (Magabala Books) is a riveting, unputdownable YA thriller. I rarely say this, but I simply couldn’t stop reading it. High praise, particularly since this is Jannali’s debut novel. Thank you for speaking to Paperbark blog, Jannali. Thanks, Joy. I’m so glad that you enjoyed the book. What is your background and where […]

Malla Nunn and When the Ground is Hard

Inside the CBCA Shortlist When the Ground is Hard (Allen & Unwin) is an original, ultimately empowering young adult novel. Thank you for speaking to Paperbark blog, Malla. Where are you based and why have you written a YA novel after a career writing crime fiction? I live in a weatherboard house in Sydney and […]

Remy Lai and Pie in the Sky

Thanks for speaking with Paperbark blog, Remy. Thank you for having me! I was impressed and touched while reading Pie in the Sky (Walker Books Australia), your debut novel illustrated with comics about Jingwen, his younger brother Yanghao and their mother who move to Australia. You have shared intense feelings and experiences while keeping the […]

Small Spaces by Sarah Epstein

Inside the CBCA Shortlist Small Spaces (Walker Books) is shortlisted in the Older Readers category of the CBCA 2019 awards. Something happened in Tash’s past that continues to affect her life. As a child, she saw Mallory Fisher taken from the carnival by an “imaginary monster”. She told the police. Now Tash doesn’t trust her […]

Pip Harry and The Little Wave

Interview with Pip Harry Inside the CBCA Shortlist The Little Wave (UQP) is a verse novel for older children that draws the reader in through its realistic characters and spare but warm language. Thank you for speaking to Paperbark blog, Pip. Thanks for having me! Why have you written a book for children after three […]