We have just entered literary festival season. Writers, usually quiet pyjama encrusted and tea toting creatures, suddenly start popping up all over the place. Books begin to grow on trees. Festivals bloom in cities like pubs (ie. one on every corner). It’s an exciting time of year.
So far I’m having a ball – I’ve met so many wonderful writers, teachers, librarians and little reading rabbits. These festivals are put together by an amazing group of people who love books and the kids who attend are wonderfully enthusiastic. On the flip side, sleep is suddenly hard to find and I’m living out of a suitcase, but that’s kind of an adventure in itself.
If you want to catch me over the next few months, I’ll be doing talks and workshops and readings at the following places:
- Aug 8th: Voices on the Range, Toowoomba based youth literary festival
- Aug 20th-24th: Book Week, at various school around Brisbane and Toowoomba
- Sept 5th-9th: Brisbane Writers Festival, both WordPlay and the adult program
- Sept 11th-13th: Write Around Qld, an amazing program organised by the BWF that tours children’s authors around regional Qld
- Sept 14th-16th: Cairns Tropical Writers Festival, kid’s and adult program
- Sept 29th: Brisbane launch of Brave Squish Rabbit, at Black Cat Books
- Oct (date TBC): Melbourne launch of Brave Squish Rabbit
- Oct 28th: Making Picture Books Workshop (for adults) through the QWC
- Dec 27th-31st: Woodford Folk Festival, kid’s program
Here’s a photo diary of the festivals and such that I’ve been involved in this year that have already slipped by:
May: Darwin Writers Festival (WordStorm) where I did a number of school visits and adult writing workshops and didn’t get eaten by crocodiles
June: Out of the Box Festival, which celebrates children’s books in big circus tents by the Brisbane river
July: CYA Conference, for adult writers of children’s and YA lit. I’m posing with the delightful Penny Whitehouse in front of Craig Smith’s playful illo
July: Setting up for the Brisbane Square Library ‘Journey of a Book’ Exhibition
July: Squish Rabbit glass cabinet display at the Brisbane Square Library
July: Whitsunday Voices, Mackay youth literature festival. Dave Hackett did awesome caricatures for all the presenters (which were very accurate – I think he had secret intelligence on us all…)
July: Whitsunday Voices – life sized bird-monster I drew with the help of some creative kids in an illustration workshop
July: David and I with Peter Carnavas at the launch of his latest picture book, the delightful ‘The Children Who Loved Books’
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But I wont be able to convince you it’s all just work. Here’s some evidence that relaxing happened too…
Beach and sunset in Darwin. There may also have been wine…
Post festival breakfast on my parent’s back deck in Mackay
the Well Read Rabbit || Katherine Battersby 