A Feather on a Wing by Maria Speyer

A Feather on a Wing by Maria Speyer Danish artist, illustrator and author Maria Speyer’s debut picture book in English is A Feather on a Wing. It has an ethereal feel yet is grounded in a sister’s love, nurturing nature and access to a world constructed with care and warmth that is growing and inclusive. […]

Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2022

Words on the Waves Writers Festival 2022 The second Words on the Waves Writers Festival was held on Darkinjung Country on the NSW Central Coast during the first weekend in June 2022. The festival expanded over two venues, Ocean Beach Surf Life Saving Club and Umina SLSC (both at Umina Beach) and was marked by […]

If You’re Happy by Fiona Robertson

Fiona Robertson joins us at PaperbarkWords to talk about her debut short story collection, If You’re Happy (published by UQP). She has aptly titled this piece, ‘If You’re Happy to Travel‘ A few early readers of If You’re Happy have remarked on the number of countries depicted in the book. When I checked the contents […]

The Verse Novels of Kathryn Apel

The Verse Novels of Kathryn Apel Author Interview “Why can’t we all just be friends?” (Too Many Friends) Australia is a leader in verse novels for young readers and Kathryn Apel is one of our major writers in the field. Kathryn’s engaging and affirming verse novels, Bully on the Bus (2014), On Track (2015), Too […]

My Brother Ben by Peter Carnavas

Author Interview My Brother Ben by Peter Carnavas “I thought we had this connection, the bird and me. Like we were both lost and out of place.” (My Brother Ben) Peter Carnavas first delighted readers with his picture books, which include The Children Who Loved Books, Jessica’s Box and Sarah’s Heavy Heart. Then he wrote […]

Devils in Danger by Samantha Wheeler

Devils in Danger by Samantha Wheeler Writing Devils in Danger, published by UQP, 2021 I was in Tasmania a few years ago on a fund raising walk for the Wilderness Society. We were spending 7 days in the Tarkine, an area of pristine wilderness where I hoped to see plenty of Tassie wildlife. We saw […]

Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee

Inside the 2022 CBCA Shortlist Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee (published by A&U) Author Interview “If you find a dragon you need a friend.” (Dragon Skin) Every new book from Karen Foxlee comes to us with great anticipation. She brings magic into the world in both her realist and fantasy stories. Her books resonate with […]

The Edge of Thirteen by Nova Weetman

I have closely followed Nova Weetman’s writing for children and young adults since her 2014 YA debut The Haunting of Lily Frost and was on the Aurealis judging panel when it was shortlisted. I reviewed Nova’s second YA novel Frankie and Joely for the Weekend Australian, as well as Everything Is Changed and her first […]

Footprints on the Moon by Lorraine Marwood

Lorraine Marwood is an acclaimed verse novelist for children. She won the inaugural Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Children’s Fiction with Star Jumps and was joint winner of the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards with Leave Taking. Lorraine writes with great eloquence about her important new verse novel, […]

Fozia and the Quest of Prince Zal by Rosanne Hawke

The Genesis of Fozia and the Quest of Prince Zal by Rosanne Hawke The wonderful Rosanne Hawke has written about her new book Fozia and the Quest of Prince Zal and how it fits into her flood series. Set in Pakistan, these books are of great appeal and interest for mid to upper primary and […]