Upcoming events
Thursday 16 April, 2pm: The Raven’s Eye Rebellion at Te Matapihi
I’m thrilled to be doing a school holiday event in our beautiful new library. Come along to hear the first chapter of the book, get your copy signed and stamped, and pick up a temporary tattoo! Details online here.
Sunday 19 April, 2pm: BOOK LAUNCH at The Children’s Bookshop
Come and celebrate the launch of The Raven’s Eye Rebellion with a party! We’ll have party food, party balloons, party readings from awesome kids, and party temporary tattoos.
Featherston Booktown, 8–10 May
I’m doing a bunch of cool events at the brilliant Featherston Booktownincluding nature walks where we find creative inspiration outside…
Auckland Writers Festival, 12–17 May
I’m also thrilled to be going to one of my all-time favourite festivals, the Auckland Writers Festival. I’m very excited to be in the epic schools programme, and doing some beastly magic in Pukapuka Adventures, and am part of the fun new Plot Twist programme, too.
Events
I absolutely love talking about reading and writing and can take World Building workshops, Close Reading workshops, and Book Reviewing workshops for young people. I aim to impart a passion for stories, reading and exploring our imaginations.
If you’re a teacher or librarian contact me via email here (you can also go via the amazing ReadNZ Writers in Schools programme).
Workshops
The Raven’s Eye Runaways is a book about … books (as well as a fair whack of activism and the magic in nature) There are lots of ideas in there about the value of reading, writing and having the freedom to explore and understand how different stories make us feel, even influence how we behave. Some ideas for activities to go with The Raven’s Eye Runaways world:
Bookbinding! Bookbinding is a key activity in the book and is a super fun thing to do with kids at home and at school. Kids can be encouraged to make their own little books by simply folding paper and stitching them (carefully) together…
Illuminating! Continuing with the bookbinding theme, kids can also have fun decorating their books by illuminating the pages. This means creating beautiful borders with colour and illustration – you can show them amazing Medieval books like The Book of Kells to inspire them.
Tree inspiration! Trees play a big part in The Raven’s Eye Runaways. I heard from one amazing teacher that they are taking their kids out on tree walks, asking the kids to notice their textures, sounds and imagining what the tree might be able to tell them about where they live and what they’ve seen. What a great way to inspire a story!
I LOVE teaching creative writing and talking about the marvels of reading - If you’re a teacher or librarian and you’d like me to come and visit, contact me via email here (Or you can also go via the amazing ReadNZ Writers in Schools programme).