Michael Wagner is the best-selling author of 90 books for children including the Maxx Rumble series, Why I Love Footy and the CBCA Honour Book Dirt by Sea.
He’s been speaking to, and working with, primary school children of all ages for twenty years.
As one of Victoria’s most popular school speakers, Michael can tailor his sessions to any sized groups, from single classrooms to whole school assemblies.
His humorous but informative talks include a story time session for Foundations to Grade 3s and talks about where ideas come from and how to work with them for middle and upper primary students.
His workshops for upper primary students range from a step-by-step guide to making picture books, to the keys to writing great description, to Michael’s popular Instant Plot Machine session (for Grades 5 and 6) which explains how to quickly plot a story from any starting point (including a NAPLAN prompt) to a satisfying conclusion. Prior to becoming a children’s author, Michael worked as a radio broadcaster with the ABC for ten years, wrote and produced animation for television, wrote comedy for ABC Radio National, grew up in a housing commission flat, and played in a band that almost became famous. He’s the father of two adult children and is married to fellow children’s author Jane Godwin.
2024CBCABook of the Year Awards Shortlisted Author
Jane Godwin is a highly acclaimed author of over forty books for children and young people. Jane’s picture books include Go Go and the Silver Shoes, Tilly, Don’t Forget and Sing Me the Summer. Her upper middle-grade novels include Look Me in the Eye, Falling from Grace, As Happy as Here, When Rain Turns to Snow and A Walk in the Dark. Jane’s work is published internationally and she has received many commendations, including shortlistings for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards, the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the Australian Book Industry Awards and the YABBA awards.
Thankyou so much for organising Jane Godwin to visit our school and speak to the Year Prep – Two students. She was professional, extremely well organised, and a highly engaging presenter and both the students and teachers enjoyed listening to her read, her stories behind the books and the way that she engaged with students and encouraged them to be writers. I would highly recommend her for other Junior Primary classes. Susan Bannister | Teacher Librarian Calthorpe Resource Centre Marymede Catholic College
Jess Black is an award-winning author of over fifty children’s books.
Jess has a new series being released in July, 2024. The Mackenzie Arnold football series contains four exciting adventures about Matildas star goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold as a kid. Follow her football and friendship adventures
Time Out! is the first book in a new series, Who Dunnit, Eddie Woo? Eddie Woo Super Sleuth is ready for action and mystery. With a mind for maths and a nose for adventure, he is about to skateboard into … danger.
The Colourful World of Poppy Starr Olsen is a funny and fresh novel for young readers inspired by the life of Australian Olympic skateboarder and creative soul Poppy Starr Olsen.
Jess is the author of the following series – Mackenzie Arnold, Pepper Creek Ponies,TheTales of Mr Walker, Kitty is Not a Cat, Little Paws and the Keeper of the Crystals series; and is co-author of the hugely successful Bindi Wildlife Adventure series, the Kaboom Kid series and the Animal Tales series.
Awards: The Tales of Mr Walker Australian Book Industry Awards LONGLISTED • 2019 • BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN CBCA Book of the Year Awards Mr Walker and the Dessert Delight: CBCA Book of the Year Awards NOTABLE BOOK • 2020 • YOUNGER READERS The Tales of Mr Walker CBCA Book of the Year Awards NOTABLE BOOK • 2019 • YOUNGER READERS
Charlotte Barkla is a Brisbane-based author and teacher. Her books include Let’s Try Again Another Day, the 11 Ruby Road historical fiction series, All Bodies are Good Bodies, the Edie’s Experiments series and From My Head to My Toes, I Say What Goes. She has a further four children’s books due to be published in 2025.
Charlotte’s books have been translated in multiple languages and short-listed for awards, including the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards and the Wilderness Society’s Environment Award for Children’s Literature. As well as writing for children, Charlotte has also written feature articles for publications including AEU News, Create Digital, Beanz Magazine and Double Helix. She regularly visits schools, libraries and festivals for creative writing workshops, sharing her passion for creativity and stories with children of all ages.
“This week guest author Charlotte Barkla inspired and nurtured the creative minds of our Year 5 and 6 students and encouraged our budding writers. Through the sharing of her own writing process she ignited a spark in each participant, motivating them to explore their own creativity and dive headfirst into the world of writing. Charlotte helped the students set their scenes, develop their characters, and showed them how to craft an absorbing story. I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone seeking guidance and inspiration in the world of storytelling.” Mrs Marie Miegel, Head of Library K–12, The Glennie Schoo
“Last Friday, we welcomed author Charlotte Barkla to our school to talk to the students about her books and what it means to be an author. It was a wonderful presentation for the children – they were very engaged and Charlotte did a great job of sharing her experiences and knowledge. We would recommend Charlotte to any schools who want an engaging and interactive experience for their students.” Judy Sorbello, St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School, Alexandra Hills
Sara Acton is an award-winning author and illustrator. Sara grew up in the Cotswolds in England and always loved drawing, especially people and other strange creatures. She studied BA Hons Fine Art and trained as an Art Teacher in London. After teaching and practicing art in England and New Zealand Sara moved with her family to Australia.
Sara now lives in a small seaside village on the Central Coast of NSW, where she enjoys writing and illustrating for children in her studio, whilst drinking tea and eating far too many biscuits. When not in her studio she can be found out and about sketching and visiting schools, libraries and bookshops to deliver presentations and workshops.
Her first picture book Ben and Duck won the 2012 Children’s Book Council of Australia Crichton Award for new illustrators.
Adam Wallace is the New York Times, USA Today and Amazon Bestselling author of the How to Catch series! Adam’s other series include the Jackson Payne Adventures, Fartboy, Fart Club, 18,000 Holes in the Universe and A Very Dinosaur Birthday and Christmas.
Adam brings excitement, energy, humour and joy to children through his books and school presentations. He spends his non-writing time thinking about writing and playing mini-golf. Adam’s interactive and fun talks are best suited to primary schools, where even the most reluctant students will easily create story ideas, as well as their own cartoon characters, using Adam’s How to Draw series.
Jacqueline Harvey has had a passion for storytelling since she was a child. These days, having written more than 50 books she is one of Australia’s most popular authors for children. Best known for her various award winning series fiction including Alice-Miranda, Kensy and Max and Clementine Rose her sales number over 2 million copies. In 2022 she released a picture book called That Cat, which is illustrated by one of her former students, Kate Isobel Scott, and aimed at a young audience. The Daring Tale of Gloria the Great, about a wayward chicken is the duo’s second offering released in September 2023 and they have a new series about Kevin the Sheep coming in early 2024. Jacqueline has recently released a new junior fiction series called Willa and Woof – perfect for readers making the transition to longer chapter books. Her Alice-Miranda books have been made into two animated feature films available on STAN and Nine Now. A highly experienced Deputy Head, teacher and presenter, Jacqueline has delivered thousands of talks and workshops for children and adults at schools and festivals around the world.
With a reputation for creating books that are filled with adventure, mystery, humour and heart Jacqueline is currently working on several exciting new projects. She has narrated over a dozen audio books as well.
George Ivanoff has written over 100 books for kids and teens. He is best known for the interactive You Choose books and the non-fiction Survival Guides. His latest book is the middle-grade novel Monster Island. He’s also written the Gamers trilogy, the RFDS Adventures, the OTHER WORLDS series and the picture book Meet… The Flying Doctors; as well as a ton of school readers and educational books.
George’s books and stories have been shortlisted for numerous awards and he’s even managed to win a few of them —most notably two YABBA awards for his You Choose books.
George drinks too much coffee, eats too much chocolate and watches too much Doctor Who. He has one wife, two kids and an uncontrollable imagination.
Belinda Murrell worked as a travel writer and journalist before becoming the award-winning author of more than 35 books, ranging from junior fiction to adult non-fiction. Her presentations and writing workshops are energetic and dynamic, inspiring students from kindergarten to year 12. Belinda’s books include Meet Zoe and Zac, popular series The Sun Sword, Lulu Bell and Pippa’s Island, historical novels The Ivory Rose, The Forgotten Pearl and The Lost Sapphire, and fantasy timeslips The Golden Tower and The Silver Sea. Accolades include Honour Book KOALAS, shortlisted eleven times for YABBA (Young Australians Best Book Award), CBCA Notable 2012 and 2017 and highly commended in the PM’s Literary Awards. Belinda was the 2023 winner of the Society of Women Writers Di Yerbury Award, a three month residency in the UK. Her latest junior fiction series is TheDaredevil Princess.
Deborah trained as a teacher before becoming writer/producer of a national children’s TV show at Network TEN. She then went to Africa where she was harassed by monkeys, got caught in a desert sandstorm and thrown in jail twice. Since then, she’s become an internationally published and awarded author of 28 books including her climate change trilogy, Grimsdon, New City and Final Storm. TheStupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee and The Most Marvellous Spelling Bee Mystery were inspired by her grade 4 teacher. Her latest books are the CBCA Notable books, Bear in Space, and The Book of Wondrous Possibilities, her love letter to books, booksellers and librarians and how they save us when we feel lost. Her latest books are The Kindness Project and a picture book called No More Room in the Bed (Aug 2024). Deb’s won awards for her work but mostly hopes to be as brave as her characters.
