In this issue:

Welcome

Have you updated our contact details? The 1300 number has now been disconnected: our new easy-to-remember local number is:

07-30408-INK(465)

Wherever you are, you can now also make direct contact with us via a Skype Call - search for [email protected] and add Speakers Ink as a contact.

If there is anything at all we can do to help you secure vibrant speakers, please don't hesitate to make contact through our website.
 

Voices on the Move

Julie Fison will be touring Western Australia in May as her novel, The Call of the Wild (part of the Choose Your Own Ever After series) has been nominated for the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award. She is available for bookings from May 15-19 in Perth.  "Over my years as Teacher-Librarian I have seen many authors' presentations but Julie's presentation this afternoon would have to rank as one of the most successful just judging by the follow-up interest by our students." - St. Eugene's College.                 Holiday Fun Brian Falkner is an award-winning author and writing coach and also a much loved Speakers Inker! Brian is hosting 'Write Like an Author', a fun holiday camp for young writers, aged 9 to 14 years.   Held in a fun and supportive setting, this camp will see children create, develop and write awesome stories alongside Brian!   Creative writing is a great way for children to use their imagination and help develop self-confidence and identity.   Over four jam-packed days, children will develop their writing skills and discover how they too can write like a professional author!   Brian will show children the tricks of the trade and be on hand to answer any questions and offer one-on-one guidance.   Any child who enjoys creative writing will be sure to love this special school holiday camp. Not only will they be able to focus on their writing, they will also make new friends! "Brian Falkner was absolutely awesome. His 'StorySports' session was a huge hit with all of our parents, students and staff who attended. I would definitely book Brian again and can recommend him to other schools. He had a real knack of engaging with our boys, which is why we invited him for Book Week in 2015 & 2016" - St. Joseph's Nudgee College, August, 2016

The Spotlight

 is on  David Hallett  

One of Australia's premier performance poets David Hallett has been developing and presenting school performances and festival features for over two decades. Twice winner of the Poetry Olympics at the Sydney Writers Festival, winner of the Byron Bay Writers Festival Poetry Prize, Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup and Woodford Story Award, David has toured with his poetry from outback schools to the Sydney Opera House to the beat cafes of New York.

David's secondary schools presentations have included masterclasses on poets Wilfred Owen, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, John Donne, Peter Skrzynecki, Judith Wright, Bruce Dawe and Emily Dickinson; as well as his own popular show of original poetry Rhythm, Rhyme & Rap.

"I think for a school to miss an entertaining and informative seminar by David would be a sad loss for any school community, especially since poetry needs to 'come alive' for students through meaningful rendition". - Red Bend Catholic College, Forbes

To book David or any of our wonderful speakers for your school or library, please visit our website: Speakers Ink.

Narelle Oliver Memorial Library Bhutan

Are you a librarian or TL who culls and then is stuck for where to send the books? Well, BookLInks has an idea: Joy Vardy, an old friend of Narelle Oliver's,  is setting up a Library, Books for Bhutan, in Narelle's memory.  Click on the links for all the details, and if you can make a contribution to help ship all the books to Bhutan, then please help.

International Read to Me Day

Emma Mactaggart, one of our very own Speakers Inkers, is the creator of International Read to Me Day.  Emma's goal is to use 'International Read to Me Day" as a way of connecting young people around the world to each other and to their communities.  Emma passionately says, "We all know it takes a village to raise a child, but it often takes a child to inspire a village into action.  It is time to listen to that one child".

International Read to Me Day will be held this year on Sunday, 19th March - we hope you can get behind this great initiative.  For all the details, please follow the link.

Congratulations to...

   

Oodles of Utils

Do children play games when they come in to your library? Perhaps they might be interested in  Oodles of Utils, a new game of life choices and trade-offs developed by Briar Willard and Luigi Pameijer. The goal of Oodles of Utils is to have fun and discuss priorities. It can be played at a number of different levels, so suits a range of age groups. 

What's On

 

	Fixtures in the Kids Lit Quiz are happening. KLQ is a world-wide competition.
	Reading Australia has declared March to be Poetry Month. National Poetry Day is 21 March. Why not?
	The Books I love best Yearly (Bilby) Awards organised by the CBCA Queensland branch are on again this year - registration opened on 1 February. Nominations close at the end of March. Children can vote for their favourite books throughout terms 2 and 3 and winners will be announced on November 22.
	The State Library of Queensland has many programs running throughout the year. Keep checking for more information as programs are finalised.
	Following the success of the reCollections exhibition in 2016, another exhibition of original illustrations from Australian children's books is being organised for 2017. Visually speaking will comprise artworks on loan from local children's illustrators from their published books. The exhibition will first show at the Garden City Library during April and May.
	The Somerset Celebration of Literature is once again being held in March 2017 and in preparation the National Poetry Prize and the National Novella Writing Competition is now open for applications.  What a great way to encourage young aspiring poets.

And now for a message from George.....

Yours in promoting literacy from all at the Speakers Ink team,

Sandie, Helen, Margie, Anna, Jan, Rob and James