Children's Book Festival Family Fun Day: State Library Victoria 2012

What a day! Children everywhere.

From 10.00 am - 400pm the State Library of Victoria and forecourt was packed with authors, illustrators, publishers, entertainers, storytellers.

For a change - I had nothing to do except wander around snapping friends in action and helping lug the gear.

Victoria has nurtured so many talented folk working to produce beautiful books. Our authors and illustrators are celebrated well beyond the borders.

Snapped here are Leigh Hobbs - artist, author and globetrotter. Leigh has a brilliant website where you can get a glimpse the breadth of his talent. Leigh is so many things - enviably multi talented.

And then there was Graham Davey snapped outside the YABBA tent in Little Lonsdale. YABBA stands for Young Australians' Best Book Award. A non-for-profit group that seeks to ignite curiosity and inspire a passion in young people for reading.

Friend, Claire Saxby was busy for hours meeting her fans. Her book There was an Old Sailor is in schools, libraries and kindergartens wherever I go. The illustrations by Cassandra Allen continue to amaze me - they are just so right!

And these folk were just the tip of the iceberg.

Thanks SLV. It was a wonderful day and I loved seeing you all in those yellow t-shirts. No one escaped it seems and you were all so friendly and patient with the throng.

And finally let me say - the Exhibition: Love and devotion: from Persia and Beyond - rare illustrated Persian manuscripts is gobsmackingly gorgeous. The depth of this exhibition is extraordinary. I recommend a visit to get acquainted with the works and then a second visit with a guide.

A must for story lovers! or just lovers!

A Grimm Reminder: Belgrave Library 29 March 2012

click on poster to enlarge

Story mates from Storytelling Australia (Victoria), JJ Sheills, Matteo and self are plotting a little Grimm telling to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the first anthology by the well-known Bros.

We plan to repeat this exercise throughout the year.

I'll keep you informed. We may arrive in a town near you!

Belgrave Library

Reynolds Lane

Belgrave

7.00pm

FREE

Port Fairy Folk Festival Storytelling 2012

The Port Fairy Festival ... too much fun!

I spend the bulk of my time at the festival listening to music and dreaming of coming back for another crack at life as a musician.

However one of the highlights of the weekend is a spoken word event - the Pat Glover Storytelling Award. Now banned from entering since I took home the trophy for a third time in 2009 - I participate on the judging panel.

Jim Haynes MCs the Pat Glover and kindly invites me tell a tale at some point in the preceedings. What storyteller could resist standing on the stage of the old Lecture Theatre in front of those plush curtains. Looking at the pic taken by my friend Stephen Whiteside, after 3 days of camping, I'm looking a tad crumpled!

My mate from the Newport Fiddle and Folk Club, Greg Jenkins and I enjoyed sharing hot tips from the program. Greg and I will be co hosting WORDS WORDS WORDS - the spoken word event for the Newport Folk Festival in July. Check out the Club here. News of our festival will soon start trickling through.

Back to the Pat Glover ... I thought this year was one of the best. The winner, Andrew McKenna, floored us with a brilliant, dark, Irish selkie story. In the hall with nothing to assist in the telling, storytellers have to work against a slightly inhospitable environment. From the moment Andrew spoke, we were transported and held captive to the end.

I managed a couple of snaps of Andrew. In one he is being congratulated by Jim and in the other, he is alongside Teresa Jordan who was visiting from the US. Teresa and husband Hal Cannon presented a piece called Songs and Stories of the Rancher's World. How this went under my radar - I don't know, but I was fortunate enough to meet Teresa and the first thing I did when I got home was look at her beautiful website. Teresa is now off to central Australia but hopes to return to Victoria and with luck, I will have the pleasure of introducing her to the tellers at Storytelling Australia (Victoria) one day.

Well, that's all folks. There are now tents to pack away, several loads of washing to hang out and its back into harness. The week of storytelling begins tomorrow at a kindergarten.

Stories for all ages... I love my job!

Canterbury Tales Book Club Project: Williamstown Literary Festival 2012

The Canterbury Tales Book Club Project ...

WARNING: Coarse language, violence, sexual references and blasphemy.

The WiIliamstown Literary Festival is well and truly engraved in my calendar. This is my community coming together to celebrate ideas, language, new publications, old tomes ...

As well as honouring locals who have made their mark in the literary world, established authors from afar are invited to come and share the talk and of course there are open mics for poets and storytellers who have something to say.

In my continuing enthusiasm to have spoken language at literary festivals, some mates and I have been entrusted with a spot on the Sunday of the festival where we will be sharing our examination of The Canterbury Tales and yes ... they are rude and blasphemous - hence the warning.

The Canterbury Tales mark a turn in the history of English Literature, a popularising of the vernacular, a shift away from the use of French and Latin for the purposes of literature.

This is Chaucer 101 for enjoyment and education. It will be provocative but above all it is our wish to whet your curiosity. Isn’t that what a Festival of Literature is all about?

Here we are at our first meeting. That's Catherine Ryan with the bike. Catherine is preparing 'the lecture' and Danny O'Connell, (pointing the finger) is tackling the Miller's Tale. Simon Leverton is sitting at the head of the table eating and thinking about music - he's our MD.

Missing for the first meet/moot was Bernard Caleo, comic book maker, who is creating a Kamishibai version of the Nun's Priest's Tale. Bernard is busily making a documentary about the Melbourne's Graphic Novelists. Check it out:

Claire Saxby was also absent from our first meeting. Lordy! its like herding cats getting a bunch of creatives in the same place at one time. Claire is a well loved writer for children but what is less well know is she is an amazing poet and our favourite MC.

Learn more about the Williamstown Literary Festival here.

Qualia Lounge Book Worm Showdown: raising money to educate kids

Eric Forest, chef and storyteller at the Qualia Lounge

An email arrived in my in box this week from Eric Forrest. Inside the subject bar was written, 'a quest for storytellers'.

Reading on. I learned that Eric was hosting a week long fundraiser for Room to Read. This is a global organisation dedicated to promoting and enabling education through programs focused on literacy and gender equality in education.

Here's the thing ... for every poet or storyteller who was prepared to stand up and read, recite or tell, Qualia Lounge was offering to put $20 towards Room to Read.

Well who's gunna argue with that! By the end of the night we had over $160 in the hat. The money will go to a program in Laos supporting female literacy

But there was a twist ... at the completion of the performances folk voted (with monopoly money) for their highlight and the lucky winner received a $100 bar tab and had the privilege of wearing the worm!

Poet, Randall Stephens, was surprised by the announcement and perhaps wary about donning the worm. Before our eyes he transformed from happy poet to evil annalid.

The Qualia Lounge is a unique idea and my kind of place. I was welcomed like I was walking into a home. Its a place where strangers introduce themselves, hands are shaken and ideas and stories traded around wine and nibbles. And of course I had great fun sharing a story with my new best friends.

So ...

Details about Qualia Lounge here

Check out Randall Stephens here

And most importantly if you are interested in supporting Room to Read check it out here

Kamishibai mate and comic book maker Bernard Caleo has a new monthly comic

I'm excited. My first episode arrived in the post today!

Stories in pictures: Traffic signal boxes in Hobart

I've been enjoying a ten day break in Tasmania taking in the sights of Bruny Island and MONA, as well as enjoying the food and wine and open-hearted Tasmanian hospitality.

Stories are everywhere - in the air we breathe.

In Hobart, it pays to spend time waiting for the lights to change as so many of the traffic signal boxes have been painted with stories.

Here on the corner of Argyle and Davey Streets, artist Valentina Marshall has drawn our attention to the Australian Spotted Handfish.

At 12 cms, this species is listed as endangered - the Northern Pacific Seastar being one of the factors in its decline. Its home is the Lower Derwent River estuary, Frederick Henry Bay, D'Entrecasteaux Channel and the northern reaches of Storm Bay. This is one very sweet animal!

If you're handy with a paint brush and have a story to tell, you can decorate a TSB. Check out the Urban Smart website here and find out how.

Pictures are stories!