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Why I ran away with the circus (and how you can too)
I adore science and innovation: thanks to science, I have light bulbs, a fridge, and a sense that the world is a wondrous place and incredible things can happen. And yet, I don’t work in science. Why...
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12 ways to read a picture book…with Ernie Bond
Meeting Dr Ernie Bond feels like meeting an old friend. He’s super-friendly, down-to-earth, and shares a passionate love of children’s literature. “Ooo! Ooo!” he says. “This is not referred to in the...
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10 questions your TV pitch should answer…with producer Amanda Higgs
After graduating film school, Amanda Higgs followed her own advice: she worked hard, and she stuck to her passion. “It took ten years to get my first production credit,” she says. “If I’d known it...
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How to drink tea: more than just a cuppa
When I write, I drink tea. When I need comfort, I drink tea. When I’m catching up with friends, I drink tea. And I’m not alone. If you’re a fellow lover-of-tea, or you want to know… what teas to serve...
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3-step CPR for your feature film script (or my over-edited novel)
Is your script missing something? Does your story meander? Or maybe you can’t seem to find your rhythm? Join the club! CPR for your script: form and structure I’ve been working on the same...
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10 things our puppy taught me about freelance writing
We recently adopted a rescue puppy from Wish, and for the first time since I was a kid, I’m sharing my life with a pooch. It’s terrific. I expected the joy of seeing my kids learn to love and care for...
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Writing science: Avian AIDS, French beetles, ocean modelling and parasite...
When I’m not writing children’s fiction, I’m writing popular science, and right now I’m thrilled to be working with SciTech as a consultant editor, collaborating with the ScienceNetwork WA news team...
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Dreadful writing, bloodcurdling thrillers, fun and games
Term 3 is nearly over! It’s time to celebrate, so come on down to the Riverton Library on Thursday 9 October to talk dreadful writing and spooky stories. We’re aiming to have loads of fun, including a...
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Laurie Oakes on political journalism in the digital age
Will they still need us? Will they still feed us? Laurie Oakes spoke tonight at Curtin University on political journalism in the digital age. It was terrific. I’ve never identified as a journalist (I’m...
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Another reason I love science: blood, guts and fine dining in Tokyo’s themed bar
Ever feel like the night life in your city just isn’t cutting it? Check out my review of Alcatraz+ER, a science-themed Tokyo pub, originally published in Cosmos magazine. I dare you to read it and not...
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Writing for museums: Meet the crown dragon
Want to be paid to learn new things? Be a science writer! I recently worked as a writer on the Australian Museum’s TYRANNOSAURS – MEET THE FAMILY exhibition, now touring New Zealand. Prior to this job,...
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Super models: science and robotics meet the arts
As well as being an amazing scuba instructor, experienced Japanophile, and all-round-fabulous-woman, my lovely friend Sophie Sakka is a humanoid robotics researcher. When we first met, Sophie was...
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New Year’s declutter uncovers Santa’s work
There’s nothing I like more than making lists to mark the start of a New Year, and 2015 is no different. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to clear out the Piles of Important Things, to leave more...
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Diverse books to read in 2015
What’s on your reading list for 2015? Any books featuring diverse characters? Julie M. Fiedler recently contacted me about the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award and prepared a...
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2015: Finish your book or eat grilled crickets
You read it here first: This year I am finally going to finish that book. You know. The one I’ve been writing for THREE YEARS!! It should never have taken this long. I have all the excuses, and it has...
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Takeshita Demons fan art: nukekubi nightmares!
How’s your 2015 shaping up? Invented anything crazy yet? I’m writing a manuscript with my five-year-old, which is quite an entertaining process. He has some off-the-wall ideas, which is just what I...
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HeARTlines, diving for treasure, and digging up dinosaurs
How’s 2015 treating you? I’m loving it! I’ve just finished reading The Luminaries, which is AMAZING and totally worth the months of dedicated reading it took me to finish. I’m also: – writing a fast,...
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Communicate to inspire (your plaice or mine?)
Yesterday at Scitech nearly 100 science communicators gathered to network, share ideas and hear from some of Australia’s exciting and most influential scientists and communicators. Highlights of the...
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heARTlines festival launch! Come for the party!
Come one! Come all! Come for the OPENING of the 2015 heARTlines Festival of Children’s Literature and Book Illustration exhibition. The exhibition opening will be held at the Mundaring Arts Centre...
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Hanging heARTlines 2015
This week I’ve been working with the team at the Mundaring Arts Centre to hang this year’s heARTlines festival of children’s literature and illustration. Like hanging the 2013 exhibition, 2015’s...
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