‘Inside Story’ at Fullers Bookshop in Hobart (October 30th) kicked off with a dramatic double de-wigging. Heather Rose and Danielle Wood, the two halves of author Angelica Banks, impersonated their character Serendipity Smith and peeled off glamorous disguises to reveal hardworking mothers underneath. Next, Captain Blueberry – sometimes mistaken for author/illustrator Rachel Tribout – took us on a voyage of discovery with the Monsters of Tasmania. I talked about an African campfire where you can always go to meet a little Girl in Sudan. And everyone felt renewed hope as Coral Tulloch produced the 30-year-old dummy that became her recent book, The Journey. That's a book dummy, not the other sort!
Lindsey Little was expected to say a few words about her first novel James Munkers: Super Freak, but instead two eerily similar Guardians from another dimension materialized to tell the caustic truth about James. Anne Morgan told us how to fight climate change by listening to chickens and marrying the princess with the Smallest Carbon Footprint in the Land. And as if all that wasn’t enough, we were graced by North Island of Australia escapee Alison Lester. Alison revealed where she got the idea for Kissed by the Moon, leaving the audience in no doubt that inspiration can be found in the humblest of places. The happy crowd ate food inspired by the books, won lucky door prizes and bought books, and so did we. The authors and illustrators had a love-in and we all went home wrapped in the glow that is SCBWI. Many thanks to Fullers Bookshop for hosting Inside Story in Hobart – we can’t wait for next time!
Gay McKinnon
