Author Talk in the Primary School by Lisa Shanahan

Last week, students from Kindergarten to Year 2 were fortunate to enjoy a visit from the highly acclaimed Australian author Lisa Shanahan in the Primary Library.

Lisa is an award-winning writer of nearly 20 picture books and works of fiction for children. Her picture book Hark, It’s Me, Ruby Lee! was named a 2018 CBCA Honour Book for Early Childhood and was also shortlisted for the 2018 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for Children’s Fiction.

During her engaging and animated presentation, Lisa used a variety of props and expressive voices to captivate the students. She spoke about where her story ideas come from, often inspired by her own children, and shared that she always carries a writing journal with her. She enthusiastically described writing as a form of play, reminding students that even the most ordinary things can become extraordinary through storytelling.

Lisa also gave students a behind-the-scenes look at her creative process, sharing examples of her messy first drafts, character sketches, and storyboards to show how she plans the structure and order of her stories. She spoke about the joy of working with different illustrators throughout her career and highlighted the importance of receiving feedback from her publisher, something all real writers value.

Lisa encouraged the students to embrace reading and to enjoy the entire writing process. The teachers also thoroughly enjoyed Lisa’s visit, almost as much as the children, finding her passion for storytelling both inspiring and infectious!

Karen McBride
Primary Teacher Librarian