Montevideo Maru

I'm very excited to hear that Channel Nine has raised awareness of the sinking of the Japanese vessel, the Montevideo Maru.
My grandfather was one of the 1056 Prisoners of War who died when the ship was sunk off the coast of the Philippines in 1942. The men were captured when the Japanese Imperial Army invaded Rabaul in January, 1942.
Even though this event is Australia's biggest maritime disaster, with more Australians dying than did during the Vietnam war, it remains shrouded in mystery and controversy.
Want to know more about this little known incident and its far reaching effects?
Read my new book, Finding Darcy, which is coming out this week.
I'm hoping it will also help to raise awareness of this important World War II incident.

Short

Short - an anthology published by black dog books, with Royalties being donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters

I'm very excited. My advance copies of the black dog books anthology, Short, edited by the fantastic Lili Wilkinson, arrived today.

The book not only looks great, but is a sensational read, filled with stories, cartoons and poems from your favourite authors, like Michael Gerard Bauer, Jeni Mawter, Karen Tayleur, Carole Wilkinson, Andy Griffiths and me. And there's one other author I really wanted to tell you about - Esther Crowley. Esther is just 12 years old and is an amazing talent. We write together every Tuesday afternoon, and she constantly blows me away with her skill. She's from a very talented (and simply fantastic) family - her mum and dad are gifted musicians and her aunt, Cath Crowley has written sensational books like Chasing Charlie Duskin and the Gracie Faltrain series. Grab a copy of Short and read Esther's story. It won't be the last story of Esther's you'll read, that's for sure.

Need another reason to buy it? Royalties go to the Big Brother, Big Sister charity. You can find out more about Short at http://www.bdb.com.au/ and about Big Brother Big Sister at http://www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org.au/

Enjoy Short!

Countdown to Finding Darcy

I am so excited. My copies of Finding Darcy arrived on Friday. I'm blown away by how fantastic they look and can't wait to see them on the bookshelves in May. The crew at Black Dog Book are seriously talented people and just fantastic to work with.
Finding Darcy has been a labour of love as Darcy's great-grand father's experiences are based on what happened to my grandfather. I'm very proud of the book and hope it helps to highlight what happened to the men of the 2/22nd Battalion during WWII.
Finding Darcy hits the bookshops in May, so keep an eye out for it. I know you'll love it.

Somerset Literature Festival

This is the gorgeous Meredith Costain, Jeni Mawter and Jacqueline Harvey, waiting at the Raddison Resort for the bus to the festival.

This year, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Somerset Celebration of Literature Festival in Queensland.
What a completely fantastic experience. The school, organisers and the students that attended were terrific. I ran three sessions, one each day, and participated in the student dinner, which was a hoot! Ten students and I had to come up with a short presentation on the topic - Family Matters. After much laughter and chocolate cake, we came up with a short play based on a family trip. My group were sensational!
If you haven't heard of The Somerset Celebration of Literature Festival, you can check out more information at http://www.somerset.qld.edu.au/cofl/
Queensland is one lucky state having this festival and Voices On The Coast. I often wonder why no Victorian school has tried to run a similar festival.