Sally Murphy's Blog, page 33
August 30, 2017
Busy Times (Or Why I have been a bit quiet)
Apart from my regular Monday Quotes, this blog has been a bit quiet of late. This is because, offline, my life has been frantically busy. This is what I have done in the past few months:
• Submitted my completed PhD thesis for assessment.
• Celebrated the release of two new books – Looking Up and Sage Cookson’s Singapore Sensation.
• Became a Doctor – yes, the thesis has been accepted and I am now allowed to add ‘Doctor’ to the front of my name. My thesis is titled Belonging: Finding a Place In and For Children’s Poetry
• Visited dozens of schools and libraries and spoken to thousands of kids (and their teachers and librarians).
• Finalised edits on the sixth Sage Cookson book: Sage Cookson’s Christmas Ghost, due out in November.
• Prepared for the release of book 5, Sage Cookson’s Literary Launch, which is released tomorrow.
• Presented on a panel bout writing children’s poetry at the Queensland Poetry Festival.
• Started work on Book 7 and 8, coming in 2018
• Started work on another project, hopefully coming in 2019
• Written poems, and drafted a new picturebook.
• Made notes for about a jillion other books I want to write, after I’ve finished the current batch.
I am writing this post sitting at the Brisbane Airport, on my way home from three wonderful days at Kirwan Primary School in Townsville. Tomorrow I will be home, and back at my desk, as well as visiting my dolphins.
I love my life!
August 20, 2017
August 13, 2017
August 12, 2017
It’s All About the Books
August is always always always my busiest month of the year – and it’s the same for all of my Aussie author and illustrator friends, as Bookweek stretches out to become Bookmonth. I’m spending this month visiting schools and libraries in Bunbury, Perth, Brisbane and Townsville, talking about books and reading and writing. Exhausting, doing so many visits back to back, but at the same time exhilarating, because I am sharing my great love with enthusiastic kids (and adults too). Every school, every library, every session, is different and that’s because every audience is different, and has different interests and experiences and questions. How lucky am I to spend my days doing what I do?
Here’s a song by some clever young choir-mobbers that thrills me. I just had to share.
Have a great Bookmonth. I am already, and know it’s going to keep being wonderful.
August 6, 2017
What I Read in July
Another month has been and gone, and time to report on my readings for the month. It felt like I read a lot this month, but it seems I only managed 13 books. Perhaps because there were a few long ones in there. My favourite this month was revisiting A Monster Calls, even though it made me cry. Now it’s time to see the film adaptation.
Picture BooksRock Pool Secrets, by Narelle Oliver
Shearing Time, by Allison Paterson & Shane McGrath
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, illustrated by Matt Shanks
The Fix-It Man, by Dimity Powell & Nicky Johnston
Younger Readers
The Blue Cat, by Ursula Dubosarsky
The Beast of Hushing Wood, by Gabrielle Wang
The Boy and the Spy, by Felice Arena
A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness
Adult Fiction
The Midsummer Garden, by Kirsty Manning
A Hundred Small Lessons, by Ashley Hay
Nonfiction
The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller, by Carol Baxter
The Clever Guts Diet, by Dr Michael Mosley
Gardens of Fire, by Robert Kenny
Have a great August – the last month of winter here in my part of the world.
