Allison Tait: #Robinpedia

Hair of fire, pen of flame, Allison Tait is an Australian writer, teacher, and an inspiration to up and coming writers. Her series, The Mapmaker Chronicles, have been warmly received by critics but also, more importantly, by the children they are aimed at.

The Mapmaker Chronicles are published through Hachette. They are well liked for mystery, mayhem and even murder. They’re an adventure quest set on land and sea. Allison’s Mapmaker Chronicles have been compared to Emily Rodda’s  Deltora Quest for action and excitement. A must read for 8-12 year olds… and 37 year olds. I never grew up.

Allison is also known for her educational podcasts with Valerie Khoo. In these podcasts Allison draws on over twenty years worth of experience from working in magazines, and now novels, to help new writers not make the same mistakes she did when she was starting out. Valerie and Allison’s podcast is rated number 1 in Australia for writing education. 

Possibly the most unique aspect to Allison’s writing is that she rewards herself for a long hard slog editing by hanging out the washing. I prefer gin. That’s possibly why she’s earning the big bucks.

And as if all that wasn’t enough, I suspect that Allison Tait is part of an underground organisation known as The League of Extraordinary Redhaired Gentlewomen. It’s so underground that I’m the only one who knows about it. The members don’t even know about it, that’s how cool and secret it is. Seriously, ask them about it and they’ll deny all knowledge of it.

The League consists of amazing red-haired women who kick arse and are talented in multiple ways. Other members include Emma Viskic, Isla Fisher, Penelope Bergen, Keighley Bradford, Lisa Fleetwood, and many more. I think I might even be in it. By day we create art, by night we fight crime.

Find Allison Tait’s website here.

Find Allison on Facebook here.

Find Allison on Twitter here.

If you feel you’d like to add any information please do so in the comment section.

Learn more about Robinpedia here.

The Kirribilli Club: #Robinpedia

A view from the Kirribilli Club.

The Kirribilli Club is located on Harbourview Crescent in Lavender Bay. It is practically right next door to the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Sydney branch. Kirribilli Club has a history as an Ex-Services Club and is  a member owned not for profit organisation. However it does have Dedes Watergrill restaurant, Sunset Cafe, U-Bar, Sports bar and a stylish cocktail lounge. Given the scurrilous, yet somewhat true, rumour about writers and their love of liquor I don’t think I need to say why this place is a valid entry for Robinpedia…

… but since when have I ever been subtle? Given that Lavender Bay can be a tad quiet on weekends, as it’s mostly seen as a business area, the Kirribilli Club has become an important source of nourishment for students, of the Australian Writers’ Centre Sydney branch, that forget their lunches. And given that writers, both students and masters do a love a tipple, it is at times popular after classes for impromptu “writers’ meetings” and the partaking of “writers’ juice.” It has been said that even internationally renowned authors have been spotted there, drinking their “juice” and “meeting” away… it has been said by me, because I have seen them and “juiced” with them.

A view from the Australian Writers' Centre. Notice the similarity in view with the Kirribilli Club.

For more information about Robinpedia please look here.

If you have any further information that you believe should be added to this entry then please write it in the comment section of this post.

How to Take Book Week Easy Without Resorting to Cartoon Character Costumes.

Full disclosure, I am a writer, an avid reader, a former English teacher, and worked in a library whilst doing my degrees. In short, I love books. I think that Book Week is fantastic and an important time to celebrate reading and writing. We celebrate sport and movie stars all the time, so it’s great to have a time to celebrate books.

And for me, that’s what Book Week is all about, celebrating books. It’s a chance to bring the spirit of fandom to books. My children’s school asked for children to dress up as characters from Australian books, which I thought was a lovely way to demonstrate support for the Australian book industry. It also helped really focus on celebrating books and not simply rehashing disney costumes that the kids already wear on weekends or football jerseys. Kids already celebrate their love of these things all the time so it was lovely to see books truly get given the focus they deserve.

But finding costumes for Australian books is hard and I already have superhero costumes at home and my kid loves heroes and although they know of the heroes through TV they are originally from comicBOOKS, I hear some fellow parents say. Don’t I have enough stress without adding book week? And I understand that, I really do. But I’ve got good news on both fronts. There are some really easy to costume Australian books, and it’ll open up discussions with your children about Australian literature. Talking about books can be exciting not stressful. Think of it as a fun thing where you get to learn about new books rather a drain on your time and sanity. So how about I give you some examples of easy to costume Australian books to take some stress out of the idea?

For little kids still into picture books, Andrew Daddo is an awesome source of costuming. To be the little girl from I Do It all you need is a green dress, some red and white striped tights, and a toy monkey. You’ve possibly got something similar left over from the festive season. So the costume is easy and you get to talk about and read this fantastic book. I also love Andrew Daddo’s Cheeky Monkey. A stripey shirt and red tracksuit pants or a blue shirt and yellow tracksuit pants has you costumed and reading a great story.

Do your kids love the word bum? Mine do. Tim Winton’s Bugalugs Bum Thief is super easy to costume. Hawaiian shirt, board shorts, bucket hat and a rope around the waist. Heck, Tim Winton also wrote Lockie Leonard, that’s another source of beachwear for any of your mini surfers and kids love those stories.

Sorry, my children only like pirates. GREAT. Introduce your kids to Andy Griffiths’ Tree House series. They can go as Captain Wooden Head.

My kid only dresses like princesses. Fabulous. Pamela Freeman has you covered with Princess Betony.

Actually I meant swashbuckling hero types not pirates or Princesses. Fine, Allison Tait’s Map Maker series is for you.

Are there any casual costumes out there? Glad you asked. Deborah Abela’s Max Remy Super Spy books were a huge hit with my nieces. Cargo pants, orange top, and you’re ready become a spy.

My kid loves skateboarding. Anita Heiss has you covered with Harry’s Secret. A skateboard, and an Indigenous flag sticker for it.

My daughter loves pretty dresses and pigs. Check and checkmate. Here’s Jacqueline Harvey with Clementine Rose. Blue dress, red bow, red shoes, and a toy pig. You’re done.

I want to dress my kid as an animal. Great. Koalas, possums, and wombats are in a huge amount of picture books. You can’t swing a dingo in an Australian picture book festival without hitting an animal book.

This is crazy, but I just happen to have a giant unicycle lying about my place, is there anyway I could incorporate that into Book Week. Why yes, yes you can. A.B. Paterson’s Mulga Bill’s Bicycle is an oldie but a goldie.

I want my kid to wear my old nightie and a shower cap. Ooookay… that’s oddly specific but I can help you out there too. Try Seven Little Australians.

There are so many Australian authors out there with great books and easy costumes to make. Book week is a fabulous opportunity to google them, read them, and fall in love with them. So in 2017 I challenge you to catch the Book Week fever. Next year you can choose a book week costume that is just as quick and easy as a store bought dress up costume but has the added bonus of talking about Australian books and bringing the spirit of fandom to reading. Let’s really love books! Get excited about new books and let your kids catch your enthusiasm. Show them that there are more things to be excited about than those costumes that they already own and love.

You Don’t Have to be a Millionaire to Support Authors

Not long ago I blogged about how Walter Mason inspired the spirit of fandom in me. For those of you not familiar with Walter Mason, he’s probably the most charismatic person in the Australian book industry. And let’s be honest, there’s lots of competition, so this means he’s pretty spectacular. Today I’d like to speak about the spirit of fandom a little bit more and how that actually helps authors.

We always hear “buy books, if you truly want to support authors than just buy their damn BOOK! For god’s sake open that wallet, they need to pay rent!!!” Which is fair enough, buying books directly funds authors. It’s even better if you do it through your local bookshop, but  we don’t all have the money to buy books everyday. Fortunately, for those of us that want to love more than our budget allows, that doesn’t mean you can’t support an author every single day if you should want too. There are lots of ways you can help out authors you love that don’t cost an arm and a leg. 
When people love a movie they sometimes pay to see it many times but many simply can’t afford that but they still help out by providing much needed enthusiasm through raving to friends, tweeting, making fan art, blogging and generally being fanatical. We can do the same thing for books. Let’s bring the spirit of fandom to the book industry.

Read and interact with an author’s blog. Most authors have a blog. Commenting on their blog and letting them know that you like what they’re on about helps provide a moral boost and let’s them know what their readers do and don’t like. Writing can be very solitary and knowing there are people out there loving your work helps. If you are a blogger write your own blog entry about how a book or author has inspired or moved you. Shout out your appreciation loud and clear, let your enthusiasm become contagious. Write a review.

Rave to your friends about your favourite authors. I’m far more likely to read a book recommended by a friend than by looking at an advert. They’re my friends so I respect their opinion. I started reading Kate Forsyth books after a friend loaned me a copy of Dragon Claw. I have now gone on to buy myself, and friends, over 30 copies of her books. One loan resulted in mutiple purchases. And the books of hers that I have gifted to friends have resulted in even more readers. So never feel like you’re cheating an author by loaning their book out, you could be getting them a loyal reader.

Connect with authors on twitter. Who doesn’t love a compliment? Who doesn’t work better with a little enthusiasm to warm their soul. Knowing that your writing has touched someone has power. Last night I received a tweet from Michael Williams, a person that I respect and admire very much, and it meant just as much to me as a book sale. No it doesn’t pay the rent but it does help keep the depression at bay and depression is a mind killer so it’s just as vital.

Follow authors and interact with them on any of their social media platforms. Most authors aren’t guaranteed their next book will be published. If they have a strong fan base they seem like a safer bet to publishers. If publishers can already see that people love their work and connect with what they write then that’s a big vote of confidence. Show your confidence in your favourite authors by doing so publicly if you dare.

How about some fan art. Show what those words look like in your mind. Show just how much books have touched you by inspiring you to create your own art. Not an artist? Me neither. I like to create memes instead. I spend far too much time on imgflip. But I just love putting beautiful words on beautiful pictures and sharing my love. Feel free to give it a go. It’s easy and fun.

Attend author workshops. Many authors earn most of their income through teaching. So attend their events if you have the means.

And of course, yes, buy their books when you can. (Note: there are a few authors who only appreciate this method of support so will probably feel bombarded by the above suggestions, so don’t do those to them, but most appreciate some enthusiasm.)

You certainly don’t have to support an author every day, but you can if you want too without going into poverty. What are some of the different ways that you like to show support?

Edit: I’ve started using #auslitlove on my tweets that are about loving Australian authors so that I can keep track of who I’m loving and make sure I spread the love around far and wide.