Danielle Binks: #Robinpedia

Danielle Binks is an Australian YA/MG writer, blogger, and literary agent. She is also a passionate advocate of Pacey’s Creek. That’s right, Pacey’s Creek not Dawson’s Creek. Don’t even start me.

Oh, BLERGH – how much is Dawson *totally* an Ernest Hemingway?! A self-congratulatory drunk *artiste* who cruelly abandoned every women he ever cared for because the first woman he fell in love with dared to reject him. BLEEEEERGH. #PaceysCreek

— Danielle Binks (@danielle_binks) January 23, 2018

As part of her commitment to young adult literature Danielle Binks is one of the driving forces of #LoveOzYA. #LoveOzYA is a community of writers, teachers, readers, editors, and pretty much any people who seek to raise the profile of young adult literature in Australia. People, it’s a community of people. Danielle Binks is the editor behind Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology published through Harper Collins. This best selling book consists of short stories by writers such as Amie Kaufman, Elli Marnie, Jaclyn Moriarty and Gabrielle Tozer, and came in at number 3 for The Book Club ABC’s audience favourites of 2017.

Continuing on with her love of MG and YA fiction Danielle Binks has partnered with Jacinta Di Mase Management to become AGENT AT LARGE. That’s right, she’s free and out in the WILD!!! Won’t somebody think of the children? Danielle Binks has expressed her desire to see submissions from diverse writers, subversive speculative fiction, contemporary novels which are progressive, graphic novels, strong verse novels, and short story collections. Read all about which books she is looking forward to in 2018 here.

Danielle Binks is a highly regarded writer in her own right placing 2nd in the 2011 John Marsden Prize for Young Writers, highly commended in the Bayside Writing Competition in 2013, Yen short story winner in 2014, 2nd in the Rachael Funari Prize for fiction 2015, and her short stories have appeared in Voiceworks Magazine, The Necklace, Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology, and Betanarratives. Cementing these already impressive achievements Danielle Binks’ writing features regularly in Kill Your Darlings, Dymocks, #LoveOzYA, Newswrite, Junior, Stellar Prize School Blog, Wheeler Centre, and Daily Life.

And if ALL those achievements aren’t enough for you, she also has the blue tick of legititude on twitter.

Amazing how apropos this gif is for almost everything … pic.twitter.com/7OaFUgvBsP

— Danielle Binks (@danielle_binks) October 22, 2015

Tweet with Danielle Binks here.

Ponder Danielle Binks’ blog Alpha Reader here.

Find Danielle Binks’ website here.

Watch Danielle Binks’ Instagram here.

Tumblr with Danielle Binks here.

Discover #LoveOzYA here.

Learn about Robinpedia here.

Use the comment section to add any information that you believe would enhance this entry.

Read about my views on being a dyslexic writer here.

Read about my thoughts on author branding here.

Fleur Ferris: #Robinpedia

Fleur Ferris is a former police officer, paramedic, and current author of YA smash hits. In her downtime she farms rice…. because, you know, she doesn’t have enough on her plate with being Super Woman.

Fleur’s first novel, Risk, was published through Penguin House in 2015 and won two Davitt awards, a Family Therapists‘ award, and was long listed for an Indie award. On top of that it scared the crappola out of parents, teachers, and teenagers alike. It is about the dangers kids face online, and indeed every parents worst fear comes true when a child in the novel goes missing after connecting with someone online.

Not satisfied with terrifying parents out of their minds once, Fleur released Black through Penguin House in 2016. This brought the danger out of cyberspace and directly into your own neighbourhood. Trust no one. 

In 2017 Fleur is back at it again. In July she releases Wreck and has no doubt found a new way to traumatise readers. I cannot wait to find out how. Mr Penguin, should you like to send me an early review copy I wouldn’t say no. Just sayin. 

Find Fleur Ferris’s website here.

Find Fleur Ferris on Twitter here.

Find Fleur Ferris on Facebook here.

If you have more information that you would like added please post it in the comment section.

Learn more about Robinpedia here.

Kids and YA Literature Festival: #NSWWC

Firstly a big thank you to Aleesah Darlison who was the Kids and YA Literature Festival director at the event I attended yesterday at the New South Wales Writers’ Centre. As always I took away many new ideas and lessons.

1) Children and YA authors all together in one place looks awfully similar to an episode of “Primary Teachers Gone Wild.”

2) I’m pretty sure if they had a cut and paste session we would have all been in. Just the vibe I got from my fellow writers from our reactions to the Keynote Speaker. Boori Monty Pryor deals with primary aged children all the time so has an animated and interactive style. He was having us hug ourselves,  raise our hands and roll around on the ground with laughter (ROFLing as the hip cats call it). It was brilliant and everybody was involved. Hence if he’d decided to do the painting activities he does with his kids with us I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been the only one cleaning glitter out of every nook and cranny for the next month.

3) Famous writers are really, really,  really, super nice. Pamela Freeman even greeted me with a hug. (Not to name drop shameless name drop ahead I have now received hugs from not only  Pamela Freeman, but also Kate Forsyth, Jan Cornall and Walter Mason. Emily Maguire I’m coming for you next!)

4) Editors are really nice too! No really,  they are. I know that sounds weird because we’re all fairly convinced that they’re all angry, old, hermits that live in caves, away from the light, snacking on bitter pills and drinking the blood of wannabe writers just so they can wee it into their chamber pots and toss it on the dying embers of our failed manuscripts… over share? But they are nice. Zoe Walton is always so kind and so organised at every festival I have seen her at and Nicola Robinson was nice enough to shake my hand and give me a warm smile. Not one editor asked us aspiring writers to line up and bend over so that they could kick us in the pants. I kid you not.

5) Once you’re a teacher you’re always a teacher. Jacqueline Harvey uses her whiteboard to plan stories. You have done us proud Ms Harvey and we salute you. Whiteboard Marker Pride!!!

6) I want to be Catherine Jinks’ BFF. Should she ever be in the market for one I’m ready. She was so funny and so enthusiastic and so real that I think everybody hung on every word she said.

7) Burritos are a bad idea when you’re wearing pale colours. I got sauced. Bring back the rice paper rolls I say. At least when I spilled them all over myself there was very little evidence. Sure I should learn to eat with some dignity but I’m 34 and still haven’t acquired that skill.

8) I’m weird! When my name didn’t get pulled out of the “hat” for the pitch contestant I was a tad despondent not relieved. Although thoroughly pleased that my brother’s best friend from year 8 the extraordinarily talented and beautiful Ms Alison Whipp, won the contest. Novacastrian pride. I admired her so much as a kid (she’s seven years older than me so seemed so sophisticated and full of grace) so it was lovely to get the chance to do so again.

Now I shall leave you with a few memorable quotes from the festival:

“I wanted to read about heroes and heroines that looked like me.” Wai Chim

“I didn’t want to feel ashamed of who I was.” Sarah Ayoub

“Eat the story, drink the story, paint the story, dance the story, write the story.” Boori Monty Pryor

“Film is very tightly structured, for me, novels are a much more philosophical pursuit.” Isobelle Carmody

“If you were good at selling yourself you wouldn’t be a God damn writer. You’d be an actor or something.” Catherine Jinks

“Writing in Hollywood is like writing with a committee.” Wendy Orr

“I believe in loyalty.” Jacqueline Harvey

“Write a cover letter that shows you believe in your story so that the publisher will too.” Rochelle Manners

“Write a ripper of a story.” Felicity Pullman

And now I’m spent.