”Book an Adventure” – Book Week

From 16 to 23 August, Domremy was enthralled by the spirit of adventure as 2025 National Book Week was embraced by all. The theme this year, if you haven’t already guessed, was, ‘Book an Adventure.’

Years 9 and 10

Years 9 and 10 were delighted to be addressed by the wonderful Gabrielle Tozer! Gabrielle is an award-winning author, freelance writer and editor based in regional New South Wales. She is the author of eight books, including, ‘The Unexpected Mess of it All’, ‘Before We Met’, ‘Can’t Say It Went to Plan’, ‘Remind Me How This Ends’, ‘Peas and Quiet’ and ‘The Intern’. She is currently working on three new books with HarperCollins (including two more picture books with Sophie Beer!). Her book, ‘The Intern’ won the Inky Book Awards.

Gabrielle spoke to the girls about remaining open and curious, embracing inspiration from everywhere. She emphasised the importance of recognising that rewriting is essential – no one writes a perfect first draft (not even the most experienced and prolific of authors). Students learnt that embracing mistakes is essential and a must for improvement.  She also emphasised not being pigeonholed into any one aspect of creativity and that writing can be found in a plethora of areas including script writing, songs, web sites, comics and novellas. All are valid and present opportunities for avid writers.

Here are a few observations from our students:

Last week Gabrielle Tozer visited Domremy to talk about her life as a writer. She shared her experiences and gave relevant advice to students such as her writing process and how she balances work and personal life. It was a fun and engaging opportunity to learn from her! Reine,Year 10

Gabrielle was an incredibly captivating speaker, sharing her passion for books, journalism and stories. It was extremely helpful to have her as a speaker for concrete tips on overcoming writer’s block, finding inspiration, and learning that mistakes are what teaches us. The author’s presentation was a valuable and engaging experience that has left me feeling motivated and inspired to be more observant and using my mistakes as a learning opportunity to grow. Janice,Year 10

Years 7 and 8

Years 7 and 8 had the awesome privilege of hearing from Lisa Shanahan, one of Australia’s most prolific Picture Book writers. Lisa has also written books for Young Adults such as, ‘The Grand, Genius Summer of Henry Hoobler’ and ‘My Big Birkett: The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost it.’ Both these novels received many accolades and awards and culminated in Lisa being a highly acclaimed CBCA Book Award recipient.

Lisa asserted  to the girls that genius writers observe breadcrumbs of conversations, interactions, and experiences which feed inspiration for a story. She talked about the ‘four doorways’ of story telling; Character, plot, setting and language.

Again, some observations from our students:

This Book Week activity with Mrs. Shanahan has greatly inspired me. Her personal journey helps me understand that a great story comes from an inadvertent moment. I really appreciate Mrs.Shanahan and our amazing school staff for letting me participate in this inspirational event, to have a great writer sharing her personal stories with our school community. Kaya Year 8

I loved the author’s visit and Lisa Shanahan was very inspiring. She spoke  of how you can keep your imagination even until you are an adult. We learnt how to get over writer’s block, listened to her stories and were taught to see images in new ways. I am very glad we had this opportunity! Jessica Year 7

Both Gabrielle and Lisa reinforced to students the importance of receiving feedback and editing when writing. 

We thank them both for their time and advice to our students.

Mrs Nicole Harada, Teacher/Librarian

Years 9 and 10 with Gabrielle Tozer

Years 7 and 8 with Lisa Shanahan