Author in residence

Of the many pleasures that have come so far from writing for me, one of the best must surely be those opportunities, whether arranged or spontaneous, to engage with experienced and budding readers and writers. Writing, even works of fiction, often open a window into the author and the period after releasing a novel can be one of some trepidation as the writer waits for the public’s pulse.  Putting yourself out there carries risk which, for me, makes those engagements much more charged. Hale’s Centre for Writing is a fantastic initiative, well led by Naomi Bryant and valuably supported by Kelly Clarke. I’ve very much enjoyed all of the sessions I’ve had with the year 7, 8 and 9 boys there this term as part of that program – our workshops bringing characters to life, our casual chats about wandering on less travelled roads, following uncommon pursuits and other sources of fertile material for writing, discussing some of the classics and of course the ocean!

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Good Men Read, Hale School 2026

Characters, author, plot question time

The most energetic group of year 7s readers I’ve had the pleasure to engage with. We set ourselves a goal of getting a certain number of points for a book quiz and had to lift it after just the first of 6 novels. Most enjoyable to talk about the dreams and opportunities reading first creates and then helps to realise and to share ideas about its many other benefits. Very much looking forward to talking later this week with some of the Hale year 8 classes about character painting and development and dissecting a chapter of Into the Sea with some year 9 boys.

Froth / Hollow Co-Lab & All the Running

Great to spend an evening inside the cosy walls of Froth at North Beach last week, hearing from Chris Holyday about his Reflections book about Perth’s northern coastline littered with fantastic photos from many decades ago (some great black and whites from the very early days) and talking with Jono from Hollow Surf about All the Running with a backdrop of inspiring short surf films from WA surfers. Thanks Pete for hosting and to everyone who came along.