It’s always an idea when you’re seeking advice to go to an expert. Someone with inside information, someone with experience and skills, and the ability to communicate it all to you in a no-nonsense, practical way. Which is why aspiring authors should ensure they get themselves a copy of How to be an Author: The business […]
News
Writing and hope. And puzzles. And coffee.
Last week, as I drove to Warnbro Community High School on my first day as writer-in-residence, I was certainly going through all these as possibilities. I was also revving myself up to give all the students I’d meet that day my best energy. I’d be working with each class of Year 7s right through to […]
Like a fish
‘A book isn’t complete until it has been read’, a wise person once said. I’m going to add to that. A packet of noodles hasn’t been enjoyed until it’s been eaten. Over the last couple of weeks at WA’s Shenton College, Year 11 English classes have been reading 90 packets of instant noodles. I only know […]
Stimulation, not silence
It’s fair to say that most people think writing is a solo affair: writer, computer, room, coffee. Silence, and thought. No interruptions. And this model is true for some. But it doesn’t work for many writers, and I’m one of them. I need stimulation, including interruptions when I want them. I need to see other […]
The resolution
Lovely old friends from Melbourne visited us this Christmas, and as we approached the new year, we looked back at some of the resolutions Tara* had made over recent years. They went something like this: Get your shit together Get shit done Get rid of shit. We were mulling on what 2019’s resolution could be. […]
A Maze of Story
I’m really delighted to announce I’m a patron of A Maze of Story, a small non-profit organisation that provides creative writing programs for primary school children who might not ordinarily have access to such enrichment. I’m in the very privileged position of being able to go to schools regularly and meet kids, teachers and librarians and […]
Interview about editing & writing
I had heaps of fun talking with Margaret River Press about editing Charles Hall’s forthcoming debut novel, Summer’s Gone, and writing my first adult novel, set in Margaret River and Gracetown in the late 1990s, called The Break. Check it out!
Living vicariously
As a child, I often pictured myself in khaki, ranging through the Australian bush helping to protect our native animals. I’d hold the little creatures tenderly, measure them, note their sex, check for pregnancy in females, record the data, and then kindly, lovingly, release them back into the world. Well I would have. I would […]
Spectacular new book trailer!
When The Spectacular Spencer Gray came out last month, I knew I had to get in touch with an old colleague. I wanted to ask the young filmmaker who made the book trailer for The Amazing Spencer Gray to turn her hand to the task again, this time for Spectacular. The result? Well, today the book trailer […]
Early reviews for The Spectacular Spencer Gray are in!
Early reviews for The Spectacular Spencer Gray are coming in and it’s hard not to be delighted. I’m including a few snippets here for those interested. Thank you to readers and reviewers alike and I look forward to seeing quite a few of you, along with your wonderful librarians and teachers, during Children’s Book Week! […]
Spencer Gray is just an ordinary kid, but he manages to get into some pretty extraordinary situations. When Spencer stumbles on a sinister operation, his life goes into overdrive – midnight rescue missions, super-endangered animals, hair-raising adventures. To survive, Spencer will need to pull off something spectacular.
Deb Fitzpatrick lives and works in Fremantle, WA. She has a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) from UWA and occasionally teaches professional writing and editing at Curtin University.