Dim's Write Stuff

With the world in upheaval and enforced isolation encouraging a surge of forgotten habits such as staying put and reading more, I happened upon an old copy of the Winter 2019 SCBWI Bulletin. The article that caught my eye was by Susan Salzman Raab, a SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) marketing consultant and the author of An Author's Guide to Children's Book Promotion. Susan spoke about the expression of human rights and how we as creators are obligated in no small way to help the forward movement and enforcement of human rights through our roles as storytellers and story sharers. I found her discussion meaningful and inspiring, ironically, even more so in our current climate of disruption and uncertainty. Judge for yourself. Excerpt from Sarah's SCBWI article Winter 2019. 'Children’s authors and illustrators have always had a unique role – that of being allowed to share their ideas with other people’s children. And the canon of...

Limelight by the youngest winner of the Australian Poetry Slam , Solli Raphael , is a slip of a book, barely a shiver of autumn breeze, yet between its snappy tri-coloured covers beats an enormous heart of passionate ability. Barely 13, Raphael tentatively turned his attention from writing and performing poetry to recording the evolution that resulted in him being a virtual overnight poetry sensation. For those like me that enjoy poetry from afar, dabble in the most basic of poetic structures and, up until a few literary festivals ago, thought slam poetry involved a shot of tequila and a lot of gratuitous shouting (and had no idea why anyone would want to encourage that sort of activity in a children's writing festival), this book is a revelation. Raphael writes with unfettered, youthful candour describing his passions for sport, music and the arts, namely writing. His zeal translates into an introduction that is both chatty and inspiring. He credits his primary school te...

'Books have a powerful way of triggering the imagination of children and building their understanding of the world.' CEO  Elaine Ng of the National Library Board, Singapore This was a sentiment echoed not only in my own seminar at this year's Asian Festival for Children's Content 2017 (AFCC) but in many other sessions I attended and moderated for as well.  The official AFCC 2017 program, which ran from 17 - 21 May 2017, is nearly 90 pages long bursting with over 120 conference sessions and book-related events for delegates and the general public. That's a lot of talking, work-shopping, pitching and exchanging. I was delighted to be in the thick of it having been invited to present and launch my latest picture book there. I can but hope to reproduce the animated vibe and sense of camaraderie I experienced wondering up and down the multi-floored, air-conditioned halls of the mighty National Library, but I'm going to try... Leslee Udwin punchin...