Desert Tracks By Marly and Linda Wells

Desert Tracks by Marly & Linda Wells (Magabala Books) Desert Tracks is co-written by mother-daughter duo Linda and Marly Wells. It won the Daisy Utemorrah Award in 2024. The Authors Marly Wells is a proud Warlpiri woman who grew up between Alice Springs and Melbourne. She has worked in social services and the creative art sectors, […]

The Foal in the Wire by Robbie Coburn

The Foal in the Wire by Robbie Coburn Hachette, Australia Finding a Wounded Foal by Robbie Coburn I have often read that the first novel an author writes is largely autobiographical; in our lives, we have arrived at a point where we can explore our history through the lens of our characters. I have been […]

We Live in a Bus by Dave Petzold

We Live in a Bus by Dave Petzold Thames & Hudson “We live in a bus and we stop whenever we like.” (We Live in a Bus) We Live in a Bus by Dave Petzold is a 2025 CBCA shortlisted Picture Book of the Year. Congratulations on your warm, joyous book and its CBCA shortlisting, […]

Hey Zazou! by Tony Thompson

Hey Zazou! by Tony Thompson Published by Ford St Guest author post by Tony Thompson for Paperbark Words Hey, Zazou! is my new novel. It is set in Paris during the Second World War. To introduce it, I thought I would answer some questions that I’ve been asked over the years at schools, libraries, and […]

Emily Rodda Interview: Landovel & other books

Emily Rodda Interview: Landovel & other books Landovel is published by Allen & Unwin 2025 CBCA Notable Books “There’s more than one way to be a hero”. (Landovel: The Truth Teller) Congratulations on Landovel, your three-book fantasy masterwork, being announced as a 2025 CBCA Notable and thank you for speaking with me, Emily. I’ve read […]

A Farm by the Sea by Jillian Packer

A Farm by the Sea by Jillian Packer Published by Berbay Books Jillian Packer writes about her tender, timeless picture book, A Farm by the Sea, to describe how childhood, and the place where you live, grows you into the person you become. Many of her illustrations artfully pay homage to ‘millefleur’ – design style […]

Saturation by William Lane

Saturation by William Lane Saturation by William Lane (Transit Lounge) is a gripping, easy-to-read dystopia for adults that explores issues of climate and other anxieties. On writing Saturation by William Lane It seems every second person wrote a novel during the Covid lockdowns. Saturation is one of these novels. The Covid crisis, along with the […]

Odder by Katherine Applegate, ill. Charles Santoso

Odder: An Otter’s Story by Katherine Applegate & Charles Santoso Long months pass, and it is finally time, Odder knows, for the pup to move on. From her rooftop perch, she watches the cage open, hears the leap into sweet waves, feels the joy of a loved one set free.’ (Odder, words by Katherine Applegate, […]

Our Dance by Jacinta Daniher and Taylor Hampton, ill. Janelle Burger

Our Dance by Jacinta Daniher and Taylor Hampton, ill. Janelle Burger Lothian Books, Hachette Australia Finding Our Rhythm: The Journey of Writing ‘Our Dance’ Jacinta Daniher and Taylor Hampton write about creating their exuberant interactive picture book, Our Dance with Janelle Burger for PaperbarkWords blog: Taylor Hampton is a proud Ngiyampaa/Wiradjuri man and Jacinta Daniher is an early […]

How to Survive 1985 by Tegan Bennett Daylight

How to Survive 1985 by Tegan Bennett Daylight (Simon & Schuster) “ ‘There’s a lot more buildings in 2025,’ I said to Julia as we walked along the Quay to the bottom of George Street. It was such a weird feeling, like the twenty-first century was a kind of hologram hanging over the 1980s.” (How […]