Radio and TV

Posted on December 20, 2011 by George

Doing interviews is just part of the job when you’re an author. I’ve done lots of magazine and blog interviews… and occasionally, I get a radio or television interview. Radio and television can be a lot of fun, especially when you get along well with the interviewer. I did a couple earlier this year, so I thought I’d tell you about them.

In October I attended the Armageddon Pop Culture Expo as a minor guest. Basically, this meant I sat at a table in the exhibition area signing the occasional book. It was a lot of fun and I had author Ian Irvine at the table next to me. While there, I was interviewed by the wonderful people from Level 3, a gaming series shown on Channel 31 in Melbourne and also posted on the Web. In case you’re interested, I’m at the 13:30min mark in Episode 240.

More recently, I appeared on Published Or Not, a bookish radio show on 3CR.  The show it put together by Jan Goldsmith. She has got to be one of the best interviewers around. She read Gamers’ Challenge prior to the interview and came up with some great questions and insightful comments. The interview was a pure joy. You can download a podcast here.

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National Year of Reading & Mentone Grammar

Posted on December 7, 2011 by George

As you may already know, 2012 has been designated the National Year of Reading (NYR). Lots of authors, libraries, schools, publishers and individuals have thrown their support behind this rather brilliant initiative. Now, in case you haven’t worked it out yet… the idea is to get people reading. Yes, I know… it seems like such a simple thing. But there are so many people out there who aren’t at all enthused by reading — and NYR is our chance to get them enthused! Events are being planned all across Australia… so keep an eye out for what’s happening in your area.

To find out more about the NYR and the events being organised for 2012, check out their website.

One school that has really embraced the NYR, is Mentone Grammar. The library staff over there are already in the process of planning heaps of great stuff for next year.

Now, I’ve had a bit of an association with Mentone Grammar over the years. I was a student there back in the 1980s. I returned to the school in 2003 for a week as Writer in Residence, and then again in 2004. In that year I also participated in the Old Mentonians’ theatre production of Breaker Morant, playing the President of the Court Marshal (I occasionally moonlight as an actor). And earlier this year I spoke to the student book club about the process of getting a book published, from first idea to finished product.

Next year I’ll be spending a bit more time at Mentone Grammar. I’ve been asked to be the Patron Mentone Grammar Reading Ambassador for the National Year of Reading (or “Patron MGRA for the NYR” for those who like cool acronyms). I feel very honoured and I hope that I can live up to the title. And I’m also really excited! This is a chance for me to share my enthusiasm for reading and writing. Of course, when I’m enthusiastic about a topic it can sometime be difficult to shut me up. But I’ll do my best to aim for a combination of enthusiasm and decorum. :-)

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Out and about

Posted on November 30, 2011 by George

It has been a busy couple of months with lots of book signings, speaking gigs and other writing related outings. The definite highlights were the two school literary festivals — Yarra Valley Grammar on 20 October and the Catholic College Bendigo on 25 November. I love doing school visits. They are a great opportunity to speak with kids and teens — the audience that I write for. And it’s wonderful to see them getting enthusiastic about reading and writing. The festival in Bendigo made it into the local paper…

I also attended a couple of recent awards ceremonies. The first was for YABBA — the Young Australians’ Best Book Awards. These are a set of children’s choice awards. The second was the Children’s Charity Network’s Young Australian Art & Writers’ Awards. My thanks to the organisers of both events for inviting me along.

I’ve just finished judging the St Leonard’s College Writing Competition. It was an honour to get to read all the wonderful stories written by both primary and secondary school students. Judging is a tough gig! All the entrants deserve congratulations and I really wish that I could award prizes to all of them… but a winner needs to be chosen. And that’s a hard decision to make.

There are still more events lined up for the rest of this year and into 2012. But more on them later.

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Education Writing

Posted on October 31, 2011 by George

I do a lot of writing for the primary school education market, for publication both in Australia and overseas. In fact, I’m currently working on a new set of readers at Prep and Grade 1 level for Singapore. Very short word count and specific topics make them quite a challenge to write. But I love writing them. They are fun and the variety of topics that I get to write about keeps me interested.

My most recently complete education title was a piece of historical fiction. Written for the US market, Miracle on the Hudson is about the 2009 crash landing of a passenger plane in the Hudson River. A really interesting topic to research and then write about.

My most recently published education titles were also for the US market. Mom’s New Cell Phone and Paul Bunyan were published by Red Wings Learning in August this year.

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Fairfield Books signing – Sat 29 Oct

Posted on October 27, 2011 by George

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Reviews

Posted on September 26, 2011 by George

Gamers’ Challenge got reviewed in the Herald Sun Weekend! And it was a positive review. :-)

Getting a review in a major, high circulation newspaper like the Herald Sun is great. It brings my book to the attention of many more people… especially parents buying books as presents for their kids. But Gamers’ Challenge has also been getting good reviews on various websites (like The Compulsive Reader and Kids’ Book Capers) and in subscription mags (like Aurealis Xpress and Buzz Words). So a BIG thank you to all those reviewers.

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