Suzy Zail & A New Kind of Beautiful

Suzy Zail & A New Kind of Beautiful (Walker Books Australia) “I want to be brave. But I just dropped the Wild Thing tag and I don’t need a new story: The Adventures of Brave Girl.” (A New Kind of Beautiful) Author Interview: Suzy Zail Suzy shares her thoughts about A New Kind of Beautiful […]

40 Years of Magpies Magazine: how children’s literature has changed by Joy Lawn

40 Years of Magpies Magazine: how children’s literature has changed by Joy Lawn Feature article (reproduced with permission) Magpies Magazine has always endeavoured to live up to its welcoming subtitle, ‘Talking About Books for Children’. It is now celebrating 40 years of professional, enthusiastic and faithful chronicling of Australian and other children’s literature with the […]

A Hat for Every Harriet by Jess Horn & Zoë Bennett

A Hat for Every Harriet by Jess Horn, ill. Zoë Bennett (Affirm Press, Simon & Schuster) A Hat for Every Harriet: Behind the Hats With great honesty and insight, Jess Horn writes about the genesis of her moving and wise, A Hat for Every Harriet, for Joy in Books at PaperbarkWords blog. And, as a […]

EIGHTY-NINE QUESTIONS FOR AFTER by Ashleigh Barton

EIGHTY-NINE QUESTIONS FOR AFTER by Ashleigh Barton Lothian Children’s Books Ashleigh Barton writes about her wise, compassionate middle-grade novel, Eighty-nine Questions for After for Joy in Books at Paperbark Words blog Eighty-nine Questions After – Unanswerable Questions Guest author post by Ashleigh Barton Eighty-nine Questions for After centres around Ester Star’s list of unanswerable questions. […]

Poppy Makes Pockets by Jemima Parker, ill. Karen Erasmus

Poppy Makes Pockets by Jemima Parker, ill. Karen Erasmus Publisher: EK Books Jemima Parker writes about her debut picture, Poppy Makes Pockets for Joy in Books at Paperbark Words blog Walking without pockets: The inspiration behind Jemima Parker’s debut picture book, Poppy Makes Pockets. When my niece was young, we loved to go walking. Long, […]

The Extraordinarily Wonderful Cassandra Golds

The Extraordinarily Wonderful Cassandra Golds: Life, Love and Books Cassandra shares her life, love and books with Joy in Books at Paperbark Words blog The story of my books is really the story of my life—or at least, the story of my inner life. And that’s why my books are about brave mice and romantic […]

Postscript: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters by the National Library of Australia

Postscript: Life, Love and Loss in Australian Letters by the National Library of Australia Publisher Lauren Scott writes about Postscript for Paperbark Words blog The National Library of Australia holds millions of letters in its collections. In them, you can trace the research of a historian or map the web of literary friendships between our […]

The Stolen Bairn by Katrina Macdonald Roe

The Stolen Bairn by Katrina Macdonald Roe Published by Riveted Press Guest author post by Katrina Macdonald Roe about The Stolen Bairn for Joy in Books at Paperbark Words blog Ancient faery tales grow like trees and fall from Skye Usually, my ideas for stories grow slowly, like trees. They start with a seed, which can take months or even years […]

Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge

Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge INSIDE THE CBCA 2026 SHORTLIST (Macmillan Australia) “Though she’d loved those stories, they weren’t the real reason she’d latched on to Savita – at least, not in in recent years. Something about Savita’s immortality made Kel feel safe in a way that nothing else could. No matter what […]

Somewhere You Can Dream by Janeen Brian & Hilary Jean Tapper

Somewhere You Can Dream by Janeen Brian & Hilary Jean Tapper (Published by Allen & Unwin) Guest author post by Janeen Brian about Somewhere You Can Dream for Joy in Books at Paperbark Words blog ‘Creativity needs space to breathe.’ This quote from Australian author-illustrator, Lisa Stewart, caused me to reflect on the space suggested. […]