Byron Writers Festival begins in a few days’ time. It’s one of finest and funnest (?) events in the country for children’s and teen literature. This year I’m doing panel sessions with authors John Marsden (Tomorrow When the War Began), Jesse Blackadder (Dexter, Paruku), Anna Fienberg (Tashi) and literacy expert Catherine Kennan (Sydney Story Factory) as well as Sunday’s Kids Big Day Out (a few tickets for KBDO still available, I think.). My events times are below. I’d love to see you there!
In the leadup to the festival I have been visiting schools all over Northern NSW as part of Byron Writers Fest’s new StoryBoard program, taking authors into schools and bringing reading, creativity and literacy to life for thousands of kids throughout the region.
StoryBoard has just been granted $50,000 in funding by the state government to buy a StoryBoard bus so we’ll be travelling to schools everywhere, keeping it weird and inspiring kids to use their imaginations and their own lives to tell stories and make their own myths.
My Session Times at Byron Writers Festival 2016
Saturday 6 August
Kids and Creative Writing
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Banksia Room
4:00pm – 5:00pm
With: Jesse Blackadder, John Marsden, Catherine Kennan, me.
Sunday 7 August
702 Statewide broadcast- Kids Rool
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Banksia Room
11:00am – 11:30am
With: Simon Marnie, Anna Fienberg (Tashi) John Marsden
Kids Big Day Out: Meet Tristan Bancks
Sunday, August 7, 2016
12:10pm – 12:40pm
(I’m dreaming up some fun stuff involving exploding chickens.) (Probably not real ones.)
Books to Screen
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Banksia Room
3:00pm-4:00pm
Pitching the film adaptation of my book Two Wolves to screen producers, broadcasters and filming funding bodies. Two other author / screenwriter teams will also pitch their films and the judges from Porchlight Films, Screen NSW, Foxtel and eOne Entertainment will choose the winning pitch!
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| ‘Keep it weird.’ – Dave Eggers |
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| Encouraging kids to write from the inside out, tell their own stories, make their own myths. |
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| And have fun. |
BIG thanks to Coralie Tapper for the images and to Coralie, Jesse Blackadder and Edwina Johnson for getting me involved in StoryBoard.
