Brightest Wild by Tania Crampton-Larking

Brightest Wild by Tania Crampton-Larking Published by Lothian Children’s Books, Hachette Australia “It’s so quiet here. Even though Art has a large yard, it feels better to be here in the bushland. Yellow, brown and green shades glow mysteriously. My heart skips a beat or three with overwhelming awe and wonder. This place is deeply […]

Tim Winton & Juice

Tim Winton & Juice Legendary Australian novelist Tim Winton was introduced as a ‘prophetic voice’ before his brilliantly composed, erudite and literary-rich Richard Johnson lecture, ‘Exiles at Home: what our contempt for nature is costing us’ hosted by cpx in Sydney. Winton acknowledged First Nations Peoples such as Dr Miriam Rose Ungunmerr Baumann as our original Australian prophets, as well […]

We the Sea Turtles by Michelle Kadarusman

We the Sea Turtles: A Collection of Island Stories by Michelle Kadarusman Published by Pajama Press Book review by Joy Lawn (Joy in Books) at PaperbarkWords blog “Lately, our songs are filled with more sorrow than joy. Human pollution is choking our oceans. Garbage and fishing nets are strangling us. Human activity is causing natural disasters that […]

Fix-It Ninget by Sarah Dabro and Luca French

Fix-It Ninget co-written by Sarah Dabro, co-written and illustrated by Luca French (published by Five Mile) Author interview with Sarah Dabro and Luca French ‘There was a Space Ninget who loved building things, She made gadgets and robots and rockets with wings.’ (Fix-It Ninget by Sarah Dabro and Luca French) Luca French’s Ninget Universe animation […]

How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five by Carla Fitzgerald

How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five by Carla Fitzgerald An exciting and entertaining new voice, children’s author Carla Fitzgerald writes about her timely, funny and thoughtful debut novel How to be Prime Minister and Survive Grade Five (University of Queensland Press) for ‘Joy in Books’ at PaperbarkWords: How to be Prime Minister […]

How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood

How to Spell Catastrophe by Fiona Wood “Our word of the week is participation. More like ‘exclusion’ for me, not that anyone seems to care.” (How to Spell Catastrophe) Fiona Wood is one of Australia’s best contemporary writers of YA literature, evinced by the many awards her books have won. In fact, her three most […]

Banjo Tully by Justin D’Ath

Author Interview Justin D’Ath writes about Banjo Tully, his new novel for middle readers for PaperbarkWords: Banjo Tully is my lockdown novel. I wrote it in 2020 when I needed a project to put some structure into my days. It isn’t about the pandemic, but that’s what gave me the idea. Remember how everything […]

If Not Us by Mark Smith

“Social licence … It’s what enables a company to operate with the acceptance of the community. A local campaign can undermine the social licence if the town starts to question whether it really wants … any … company – here.” (If Not Us) It is a pleasure to speak to Mark Smith on the blog. […]

Carole Wilkinson, Earth Matters and Matthew Flinders

Inside the CBCA Shortlist Matthew Flinders: Adventures on leaky ships “It’s not too late. Together we can save our climate … The state of our planet matters. You can help make it a safe and healthy place for us.” (Earth Matters) Carole Wilkinson is one of Australia’s most popular and enduring writers for young people. […]