In this issue:

Welcome to 2017

Happy New Year!  After a much deserved break, welcome back to what we hope is going to be another exciting and vibrant year.

We here at Speakers Ink have been working over the break to ensure we are in the best position possible to assist you with your speaker needs for 2017.  Part of this process has been to employ additional staff as well as looking to further streamline our processes.

Our energetic and committed Team for 2017 is as follows:

Sandie - Manager
Helen - Consultant
Margie - Newsletter Editor
Jan and Anna - Administrative Support
Rob - IT Support
James - Website Support

As part of the streamlining process, after many years we have decided to "retire" the 1300 phone number - this decision has been made due to the high cost of the service to you, our valued clients, when making a call.  We have instead implemented a new easy to remember local number - 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. When out of the office all phone and Skype Calls divert directly to our mobiles so you can always easily reach us.

Finally, we have had problems of late with website enquiries not being received or ending up in the spam folder and not found immediately.  To this end we have set up a new enquiry link from the website which will integrate directly into our booking software.  In addition, you will also see a new, more streamlined Feedback form being sent - all new services are to help save you time and help us serve you better.

If you experience any problems, or can offer ways of further improving our service, please don't hesitate to contact us.

To kick things off, please explore our full list of 2017 Speakers on our website. There are some new exciting speakers coming on board so make sure to keep your eyes on the website.


You can also follow Speaker’s Ink on Twitter or Facebook to keep up with the latest news in the world of Voices. 

2017 Touring Speakers

As momentum is growing for 2017, I am pleased to report that we have a number of Speakers visiting not only Brisbane but other States around Australia.

To see who is visiting where and when please check out the Touring Speakers page on our website.  If a Speaker is of interest - please contact Speakers Ink directly to secure your booking!

Stop Press

Tristan Bancks has just advised that he has opened up an additional 4 days in 2017 for bookings to coincide with the launch of his new book - My Life and Other Weaponised Muffins.  Tristan now has availability in the week beginning Monday, 27 February - not too far away! If you would like to pursue a booking with Tristan during this time, please contact Speakers Ink to secure your booking.   

The Spotlight

 is on Jock Serong 

Jock Serong lives and works on the far southwest coast of Victoria, Australia. He has worked as a criminal lawyer, and as founding editor of Great Ocean Quarterly. Jock currently teaches law and writes feature stories for publications such as Surfing World, Tracks, The Guardian, Slow and Coastalwatch.com. His first novel, Quota, won the 2015 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel. His most recent book is The Rules of Backyard Cricket.
 
Jock's third novel, On the Java Ridge, concerns Australia's treatment of asylum seekers. It will be released by Text Publishing in August 2017.

Jock will be touring Brisbane and surrounding areas from Monday, 13th March through to Friday, 24th March - if you would like to pursue a booking please contact our office today - Speakers Ink.         

Virtual Visits

Ever wanted to give your students the opportunity to be engaged by a wonderful speaker but your School or Library is located in a remote location making this almost impossible?  Well, have you considered a Virtual visit? With technology moving so quickly, more and more of our fabulous speakers are set up to offer your students the experience of a life time - even if they are not physically in the room with them!

Congratulations to...

	Leigh Hobbs on the completion of his first year as Australian Children's Laureate, promoting reading and literacy for young people. All the best wishes for the second year of his appointment to this important role.
	Aleesah Darlison on the publication of her exciting and powerful new junior novel Running from the Tigers. For more details on this book please see Aleesah's profile page.

What's On

	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... read more.
	Book Links is this year expanding its 'Romancing the Stars' event to incorporate THREE evenings in February, 'speed-dating' with authors, poets and illustrators. This is a perfect opportunity for librarians and teachers to meet speakers and find out what they do, and it's a lot of fun!

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