Phillip Gwynne & The Lords of Melody

Thank you for speaking to PaperbarkWords, Phillip. You are very well known for your YA novel Deadly, Unna? Why do you think this struck such a chord? It certainly has been a popular novel, 250,00 copies sold and still going strong. And now it is being translated into Mandarin. So next year some kid in […]

A.J. Betts and Rogue

Rogue (Pan Macmillan Australia) continues Hayley’s dystopian story – in a surprising, and very different setting – which began in Hive. Thank you for speaking to PaperbarkWords, A.J. Why have you written a duology? It is unusual to have two books rather than one stand-alone, a trilogy or a longer series. There’s no real reason, […]

Children’s & YA Literature Panel at the SLQ

I was fortunate to be part of the children’s and YA literature panel at the inaugural ‘Share the Vision: Teachers and Librarians Symposium 2019’ at the State Library of Queensland this week. The program and presenters are on the website. The wonderful @RhiannaPatrick from ABC Radio chaired our panel. Here are Rhianna’s questions and some […]

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 […]

Between Us by Clare Atkins

Inside the CBCA Shortlist Why and how is the novel a powerful forum to alert people to the plight of refugees and those in detention centres? Clare Atkins tackles significant social and political issues in her books. Her second novel, Between Us (Black Inc) is set in the Northern Territory between a Darwin school and […]

Waves: for those who came across the sea

Inside the CBCA Shortlist Waves: for those who came across the sea by Donna Rawlins, illustrated Mark Jackson & Heather Potter Waves (Walker Books Australia) is narrative non-fiction structured chronologically to show ‘waves’ of refugee movement to Australia. It is told in a factual style to show both current and historical reality and uses first […]

The Mediterranean by Armin Greder

Inside the CBCA Shortlist The Mediterranean (Allen & Unwin) is a picture book for mature readers. It is not for reading pleasure. It is deliberately confronting, aiming to shock the reader with the terrible issue of dead refugees. The quote at the end of the book tells us that the story is based on the […]