Opening of The Library at the Dock 2014

Was my pleasure to tell stories at the opening of this gorgeous new library, 5 mins on the no 48 tram from Southern Cross Station.

Situated in Melbourne Docklands, a comfortable 3 story building with one of the highest green ratings in Australia. This library has everything!

Here I am telling stories from a set of tales I have been working on that I call Flyway.

The Yarra River didn't always do a clean right swing passed the city; rather it looped to the north and what we now call the Docklands was a swamp full of wildlife, especially birds. There would have been all sorts and many migratory birds - now there is food for thought (ie stories).

Storytelling Australia Victoria is working on a series of 6 storytelling shows titled Words on the Wind to be performed in this wonderful new venue. Curated by Anne E Stewart, 9 storytellers will explore, the location, history, environment ... of The Dock.

Details to come but in the meantime check out the lbrary HERE

And thank you to the Docklands News for allowing me to use this lovely photo.

Words on the Winds kicks of on July 24 with Jan Wositzky's show Buckley: The Go-between. check it out HERE.

Here's a little video I made at the opening. The Jindi Woraback Dance Group. Enjoy!

Stories for the very young as part of the Newport Folk Festival 5 July 2014

Dharma and I have been telling stories to the very young at the Festival since it began. This is my local Festival, A weekend when all else is set aside for the celebration of music, dance and stories for all ages of all kinds.

Newport Folk  Festival program HERE

Australian Fairy Tale Society Inaugural Conference 2014

Just returned from chairing the inaugural Australian Fairy Tale Society Conference. I managed to keep the day on time which was a huge relief. Time management is not a skill I boast about! This Society is a wonderful initiative. The best I can do to share the day with you, is this slide show. Here you can see the presenters and glean an idea of the strength of the papers.The AFTS is a not-for-profit society focused on collecting, preserving, discussig, sharing and creating Australian fairy tales.

I urge you to visit the new website: http://ausfairytalesociety.com.au/

Williamstown Literary Festival 2014

This Festival is an amazing achievemnet. Every year, a bunch of hard working volunteers bend over backwards to create a festival of words that everyone can enjoy.

Some time ago, I was approached by a Book Club to meet and share stories. But this was no ordinary Book Club, Chapter Five is five young people from the Mornington Peninsula. I asked the programmer of the Williamstown Literary Festival if we could be included in the weekend and maybe inspire other young people to set up a Book Club. Lorraine didn't pause for breathe - the answer was 'Yes'. So this was the deal: Chapter Five hosted a session on how to set up a Book Club and led a discussion on Wonder by RJ Palacio and I reciprocated with a set of traditional folk tales.

Chapter Five were inspirational! Fingers and toes crossed that there was someone in the audience who will pick up the baton and offer a Book Club discussion next year. If not, we'll just have to ask them back!