‘Try to find communities wherever you are and wherever you go, one friend at a time. Creating art itself can take turns being exhilarating, boring and painful. Having friends and mentors to wade with you through times of doubt is the reason I’m still able to write.’

‘O’Beirne gifts the reader with eighteen windows into other worlds, minds and dreams, set in the past, present and future, and painted on an Australian canvas.’ –Robert Fairhead reviews A Couple of Things Before the End: Stories by Sean O’Beirne

‘The sparkling imagery and complex, nuanced characters linger long past the last pages.’ – Amanda McLeod reviews The Octopus and I by Erin Hortle

‘A deep and poetic probing of the nature of grief, Lia Hills’ The Crying Place is the story of Saul, a 30-something ‘whitefella’, whose closest friend Jed has died by suicide…’

One afternoon session of The Kids & YA Festival saw four YA authors come together to discuss their passion for young adult literature, the experiences that have enriched their story telling, and their contributions to the YA community. The panellists came from a variety of backgrounds. Both Steph Bowe and Will Kostakis began their writing […]