Niki Foreman
Niki Foreman (she/her) is a long-time editor and writer who recently left the corporate publishing world to focus her energy on using books to change the world. Now, she fills her days writing and presenting as an author and advocate, mentor and speaker.
Niki's school visits have something for everyone, and she adapts all content for each school's preferences – primary, secondary, special schools and SSPs – around diversity and inclusion, neurodivergence and fitting in, visual literacy and inclusive language, and the power of the picture-book story form for readers of all ages.
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Niki's relaxed demeanour and dry sense of humour warms every room, and through her debut picture book The Umbrella – a nuanced book that "works as a simple story about making friends, and a much deeper exploration of bias, acceptance, and the complexities of the social world" (Lara Cain Gray) – her talks offer insights into her writing process, how to turn trauma into something beautiful, and unpack the story behind the story as well as how to use the book to open conversations using the safe metaphors found within the book.
As an author of many DK readers and non-fiction books and an editor for the whole spectrum of children's books, Niki understands her school audience and readers, as well as the grown-ups who care for and support them – which is why her talks and Q&A events for adults are equally popular.
On top of being an author, accomplished editor and mentor for emerging editors and writers, Niki is a lived-experience advocate for neurodivergent families, an authenticity reader for neurodivergent characters and stories that include neurodiverse themes, a presenter for the Australian Society of Authors on inclusive language (specifically around ableism and disablism) a committee member of the DANZ (Diversity in Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand) Children’s Book Award, and a member of the Australian Publisher’s Association D&I advisory board.
Workshops and Talks:
Sensory storytime and craft
‘The Umbrella’ is a nuanced story written in simple text, illustrated with engaging and brightly coloured illustrations that carry much of the weight of the story. It is the perfect story for engaging groups of mixed reading abilities, leaning on the power of visual storytelling as much as words. Through the use of ooshies and small umbrellas, Niki adds an extra dimension to the reading experience by engaging children in sensory elements of storytelling, creating an accessible and inclusive storytime.
An interactive 45-minute workshop that includes a sensory telling of the story, followed by story-inspired craft, playdough, drawing and colouring.
Suitable for lower primary and special schools / SSPs.
Key curriculum alignment:
• Learning areas: English; Visual arts
- General capabilities: Literacy; Visual language; Critical and creative thinking; Ethical understanding; Personal and social capability
Punctuate!
Punctuation is key to writing text that can be understood by the reader, and punctuation around dialogue is one of the most common parts of writing that confuses students.
A laugh-out-loud workshop that shows how mis-communication can come from punctuation misuse (and no-use!), followed by a guided reading of ‘The Umbrella’ through which students are invited to add speech tags and the corresponding punctuation to the story text.
Suitable for middle–upper primary.
Key curriculum alignment:
• Learning areas: English
- General capabilities: Literacy; Critical and creative thinking; Research
Multimedia storywriting
‘The Umbrella’ has been held up as the epitome of picture-book perfection – in which the words and illustrations interact to tell the story, each with space for interpretation both with and without their counterpart.
In this 1-hour workshop, children will learn how to write with restraint, leaving space in the words for pictures, and vice versa. Visualising a story in a multimedia format – in both words and pictures – is a key skill that involves understanding design and presentation of a story, as well as the structure of the words and visuals.
Suitable for upper primary and secondary.
Key curriculum alignment:
• Learning areas: English; Visual arts
- General capabilities: Literacy; Visual language; Critical and creative thinking
Writing non-fiction
Writing engaging narratives that are based in educating others on facts requires just as much creativity as writing fictional stories. Finding the golden nugget to draw readers in and structure the narrative around is key.
A fun workshop in which students discover how to breathe life into, and engage readers with, their presentation of an otherwise ‘dry’ topic.
Suitable for upper primary and secondary.
Key curriculum alignment:
• Learning areas: English; HASS
- General capabilities: Literacy; Critical and creative thinking; Research
The power of language
Many of the words we use in our everyday language hold a harmful history. Understanding which words they are, how they are harmful and what alternative words we can use instead helps to ensure our language is a safe one for everyone to use – speakers and listeners, writers and readers.
An engaging interactive 1-hour workshop that educates on how diversity and inclusion begins with the words we choose to use.
Suitable for upper primary and secondary.
Key curriculum alignment:
• Learning areas: English; History; Life Skills; Civics and Citizenship
- General capabilities: Literacy; Critical and creative thinking; Ethical understanding; Personal and Social Capability; Intercultural understanding
- Cross-curriculum priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures; Sustainability
Crucial backstories
A character’s backstory is a critical element of writing a story. It is what brings a character to life and draws readers in, offering insights into the character’s motivations and goals within a story.
A 1-hour story-writing workshop using the characters in the ‘The Umbrella’ story to understand character arcs.
The subject matter offers further topics for discussion around inclusion and belonging.
Suitable for upper primary and secondary.
Key curriculum alignment:
• Learning areas: English; Civics and Citizenship
- General capabilities: Literacy; Critical and creative thinking; Ethical understanding; Personal and Social Capability
Testimonials
Niki was an engaging and dynamic speaker. She brought humour, empathy, and a genuine connection to her audience in Years K-2. Her presentation was interactive and inspiring, handling the topic of inclusion and belonging with care. The students were thoroughly engaged with Niki's reading of the book, as well as the story behind the story of how the book came together. Niki herself was also extremely flexible and approachable, and the teachers loved hearing her speak as much as the students. We felt very lucky to have Niki present at the school, and I would wholeheartedly recommend her to other schools looking for an author who knows how to speak with, engage with and adapt to her young audience about the important topics in her picture book.
Seaforth Public SchoolNiki’s authors visit to our school for Book Week was engaging, heartwarming and interactive. She adapted the way she presented her wonderful story to ensure all our students could access, engage with and enjoy the experience. Each session was guided by the needs and interests of our students, allowing everyone to be involved in a way that worked for them. Her enthusiasm, passion and genuine love of reading and literacy were a joy to be around, and this shone through in the way she shared her story, The Umbrella. It was an absolute highlight of our Book Week celebrations. Thank you, Niki, for sharing your wonderful story and for creating such a special experience for our students!
Nambour Special SchoolNiki Foreman was an absolute delight to host! She brought with her a wealth of experience gained from more than 25 years in the publishing industry, as well as a genuine passion for sharing the inspiration behind her beautiful picture book, The Umbrella. Her workshops inspired creativity and connected deeply with attendees through The Umbrella’s powerful themes of belonging and self-acceptance.
Yeppoon Library“The world is a better place for having this book in it.”
Fleur Ferris, Award-winning Children’s Author - review of The Umbrella“When stories need to be in the world, you can feel it. It is so so beautiful.”
Lisa Nicol, Children’s Author - review of The Umbrella
The Umbrella
Snappy Crocodile Tales
Shark Reef
Deadly Dinosaurs
Queensland
Speaker type
- Author
- Non-fiction
- Educational consultant
Audience
- Preschool
- Prep - Year 2
- Year 3-6
- Year 7-9
- Year 10-12
- Tertiary
- Adult
- Teachers/PD