All professional book authors who have had a book published (including epublishing and self-publishing) are invited to fill out an online survey which is open now until the end of February 2015. The survey is conducted by Prof. David Throsby and his team at Macquarie University, funded by the Australian Research Council and the university.
The questionnaire includes questions about authors’ experiences of promotion, epublishing, self-publishing, income, piracy and their responses to changing expectations on the part of readers and publishers.
SCBWI encourages eligible members to participate in order to assist their peers and help improve our profession. The findings will be a valuable resource for SCBWI in representing authors’ interests within the industry and in raising our professional standing.
As an additional incentive and to thank authors for their time, two randomly selected authors who complete the survey will be awarded a prize of $1,000 each.
For details, click here and here.
Authors & Illustrators wanted for Kids' Lit Quiz
Kids' Lit Quiz is an International Literature Quiz for children aged 10 to 14 years that has been going for over 20 years. The children work in teams answering questions based on all aspects of Children's Literature.
They love authors and illustrators taking part, either in competing teams or just to mingle with the kids. The quiz is not for profit and is fully funded and run by volunteers so any support they receive is greatly appreciated.
The Sydney heat will be held at Cerdon College, Merrylands on Friday 13th March 2015 from 10am to 1pm. The National Final will be held at the Lend Lease Monkey Baa Theatre on Saturday 14th March 2015 from 1pm to 3pm. They are also having heats in Queensland in Ipswich and Brisbane, in Canberra, ACT and in Orange NSW.
If you'd like to come along, please contact Nicole Deans on kidslitquizaustralia@gmail.com
Sketch and Scribble at Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney – Tuesday 3rd February
The first event for SCBWI (NSW) was a sketch and scribble expedition through Taronga Park Zoo. The goal – to unlock the creative juices of authors and illustrators.
We gathered at the entrance of Taronga Zoo. Authors and illustrators from Sydney were joined by an enthusiastic Newcastle contingent. Liz Anelli illustrator arrived straight from the airport after a 5 hour flight from Perth where she launched with author Mike LeFroy ‘Howzat!’ (Walker Books). Howzat! For dedication? Illustrator Natalie Daniel came from farther afield in the Hunter Valley. Sarah Davis Illustrator Coordinator drove from the Central Coast. Susan Whelan assistant SCBWI coordinator for Central Coast/Newcastle, Katrina McKelvey President of the CBCA Newcastle as well as SCBWI writer, illustrator Kirrili Lonergan, illustrator Gwynneth Jones and lots of others made the trek to Sydney for this event.
Marjorie Crosby-Fairall (ARA) had her checklist. Deborah Abela (ARA NSW) had her bag of goodies with stimulus titles – animals, places, journeys – and we were inspired to sketch and scribble. We headed off for the first stop, the giraffes with their graceful movements and long necks. There were the bears, tigers, monkeys and the antics of the baby Asian elephants. Highlights had to be the two performances – the bird show and the seal show.
Lunch included a wonderful show and tell with illustrators sharing information on their tools of the trade – from charcoal pencils to paints. Anita Howard shared her special technique of creating sun-pages as the background to her illustrations.
It was a day of comraderie, networking, illustration and story.
Thankyou to Liz Anelli for organising the discounted zoo tickets.
Susanne Gervay (RA), Deb Abela (ARA NSW) Marjorie Crosby-Fairall (ARA)
SCBWI Australia East & New Zealand