Kristin Darell
Kristin Darell is the author of nine books for children, including the best-selling junior fiction novel The Kick-Off, which launched her popular Football Fever series and her new series Taronga presents for children aged 7+.
After working as a broadcast journalist for twenty years, she now spends all her time in the world of children’s books. She is either writing stories, talking to kids and teachers, or helping find better ways to help young people love stories through her work with the Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation.
But she is still passionate about non-fiction and loves sharing stories of her time as a producer and reporter with students to encourage them to be curious and share true stories of their own.
Kristin believes we all have a story to tell – whether real or made up – and wants to help everyone to be brave enough to let their imagination soar.
It’s a Twin Thing: The Break Up
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-break-up-its-a-twin-thing-9781761353598
Being a twin is forever, but for Abigail and Brooklyn, starting grade five is about to test their bond in ways they never expected.
Book one in a fun, warm-hearted series from bestselling author – and twin – Kristin Darell.
Identical twins Abi and Brook are inseparable. They’ve always been in the same class; they dance together; they're in a rock band together; they even have the same best friend. But for the first time, they’ve been put in different classes at school and everything they think they know about each other is put to the test. Can Abi and Brook find a way to accept the changes in themselves and each other? And can they pull together in time to play in the school talent show?
“A joyful story about growing up, growing apart and finding your way back to each other. Kristin Darell brings authenticity and empathy to a classic twin tale.”
CHERYL AKLE, BETTER READING
"Readers of the Sweet Valley Twins, Baby-Sitters: Little Sister and Click series will enjoy the familiar mix of friendship drama, shifting relationships and sibling rivalry."
KIRSTEN BARICH, BOOKSELLER + PUBLISHER
"Your kiddos from around Year 3/4 will love this I guarantee . . . fresh and lively and, very importantly, completely authentic sounding. Kristin clearly knows her stuff with ‘voice’ particularly for this age group [so many get it wrong]."
SUE WARREN, JUST SO STORIES
"There is no doubt that this new series . . . will be huge hit. Kids love twin themed books . . . a fast paced, fun, warm-hearted series for readers 8 plus."
PAUL MCDONALD, PAUL'S BOOK TRAIL
Author talks for Kids
Kristin’s author talks are engaging, entertaining and informative – inspiring kids to dive into the amazing world of stories. Drawing on her background in television, she uses fun visuals and interactive activities to explore the writing process and inspire kids to find their own stories from real life or their imagination. Kids will leave the talk with new tools and inspiration to dive into books, reading and writing.
Writing Workshops for Kids
Do you ever wonder where story ideas come from? Have you ever invented a character and wondered what to do next? Do you love writing, but don’t know where to start? Join children’s author and former broadcast journalist Kristin Darell as she helps build writing confidence and skills. In a session tailored to the class needs, Kristin uses fun activities to explore different aspects of the writing journey, including finding ideas, plotting and planning, setting and creating believable characters.
Making Non-Fiction Fun – Talks and Workshops
After working as a journalist for more than 20 years, Kristin loves sharing her experience as a Television reporter and producer to support students with their non-fiction writing journey. Through fun and interactive workshops and talks, Kristin looks at fact versus opinion, bias, interview techniques and why we should all look past the headlines. Students will be inspired to ask curious questions and understand the importance of sharing stories that are true.
Workshop examples
Brilliant Beginnings to Epic Endings (Workshop for Stage 2 and 3 - Year 3-6)
In her Brilliant Beginnings to Epic Endings workshop, Kristin leads students through an exploration of character and their five senses to spark story ideas. Using prompts and a step by step process, students go on a journey of discovery, building pieces of the story and having a go at writing a brilliant beginning. By re-visiting their character work, students then get to explore different types of possible endings and get excited about discovering where their stories might go.
Writing for media (Year 7-12)
Writing for media is a unit aimed at students from Grade 7 to 12. Kristin introduces students to the different types of media writing, sorting fake from real news, choosing and angle and the headline, the impact of AI on news writing, and using the inverted news pyramid to construct a lead newspaper story. Kristin can extend the learning to include writing for television for radio by including the differences between writing for print or speech. This unit works best with an introduction session which can be entire grade groups, followed by smaller workshop sessions.
Starting Strong: A workshop on beginnings and plotting (for Stage Four - Year 7-8)
In her Starting Strong workshops, Kristin pushes students to deepen their creative thinking when constructing the start of their story. By drawing on the senses and encouraging students to ask curious questions of their characters, Kristin takes the mystery out of getting started and knowing where your story will go. Students will build the pieces of their story step by step and get started by writing a brilliant beginning.
Other workshops available:
- Building believable characters
- Where do story ideas come from?
- Writing from different points of view
- Adding fact to fiction (writing about what you love)
- Writing as a Team
- Write-a-Book-in-a-Day (WABIAD) Preparation
Kristin is happy to develop a workshop to suit your school’s specific focus areas – just ask!
Recent festivals & conferences include:
May 2024: Sydney Writers’ Festival – In Conversation with Morris Gleitzman
May 2024: State Library of NSW LitUp! Conference – Presenter
August 2023: Littlescribe Mini-Writing Festival – Host & Participant (Turning Fact into Fiction)
June 2022: Chair of the Aspiring Writers Panel at the 2022 Kids & YA Festival, WritingNSW
June 2022: ScribeTribe host at the Littlescribe Mini-Writing Festival
July 2021: Littlescribe Mini-Writing Festival – Reporting & Non-Fiction for Lower Primary
March 2021: MC and moderator for Australian Children’s Laureate Foundation Summit
July 2020: Littlescribe Mini-Writing Festival – Non-Fiction for Stage 2 “Heroes”
Testimonials
Kristin was highly engaging with this age group while at the same time encouraging students to tell their own stories. I would definitely recommend her to other schools.
Pacific Lutheran College - August, 2025Kristin Darell’s visit to our school was an absolute highlight! Her energy, warmth and enthusiasm had our students completely captivated and her ability to connect with young readers was truly inspiring. She brought storytelling to life, sharing her journey as an author in a way that was both engaging and encouraging. Our students left the session buzzing with excitement, eager to continue reading her books and even start writing their own stories. It was a fantastic experience that has left a lasting impact. We would welcome Kristin back in a heartbeat!
Gregory Hills PS, 2025Our students enjoyed an interactive and fun-filled session with Kristin Darell. The talk was so beautifully designed to suit the needs of our students and was thoroughly enjoyed by our whole Primary school community. Students really enjoyed learning about her writing and character development process, teachers also found it so valuable in the way she directly supported classroom learning about writing. Kristin also shared about her life journey as a writer which made it personal, interesting and accessible for students, especially when they were able to enjoy so many wonderful photos of her childhood, family and pets. I can highly recommend an author visit with Kristin for Primary students. Fun and educational all in one!
Loreto Normanhurst – August 2023Kristin visited our Year 3 students recently to share latest release of her book in her Football Fever series. Her passion, enthusiasm and energy were contagious among all who were there. Students were encouraged to start creating as she shared her passion for reading and why she started writing. Connections were easily made between the Year 3s and her books Football Fever, a popular sport among the students at school and they could all relate to being a team player. Kristin catered to the age group appropriately and had the students wanting to know more, in fact it was a struggle to get them out the door for lunch. Engaging and fun activities encouraged student participation. I highly recommend Kristin visiting your school.
Barker College - March 2023The students thoroughly enjoyed Kristin’s author visit to our school today. She was very entertaining and had the girls in stitches! Kristin also spoke to the girls about the writing process, how to get story ideas and how to build and flesh out characters. All the students loved Kristin’s talk!
Ravenswood School for Girls - March 2023
Twin Thing The Break Up
Taronga presents: Night Owls
Taronga presents: Baby Boom
Taronga presents: Party Animals
Taronga presents: Poo at the Zoo
Football Fever 4: Gala Day
Football Fever 3: Next Level
Football Fever 2: Half-Time Heroes
Football Fever1: The Kick-off
Into Tordon
New South Wales
Speaker type
- Author
Audience
- Prep - Year 2
- Year 3-6
- Year 7-9
- Year 10-12
- Adult