Book Week Author Events
Father and Son Book Breakfast
As part of Book Week and a continuation of our Reconciliation Week celebrations, Year 9 and Year 10 Fathers and Sons gathered in Shore Library on Tuesday morning to meet Author and proud Kokomini man Graham Akhurst.
Graham reflected on his own journey of becoming a writer and encouraged the boys to take their time when working on their own manuscripts. Graham also mentioned the importance of “specificity” – using the correct terminology to describe something, for example, Wattle instead of yellow bush.
There were several questions from the boys where Graham discussed his Indigenous lived experience, mentioning “everyone is on their own journey” and shared his deep cultural heritage along with the twists and turns it has taken him to become Senior Lecturer of Indigenous Studies and Creative Writing at University Technology Sydney.
Special thank you to Cooper Semmens for Acknowledgment of Country and Zac Roberts for expressing appreciation on behalf of the Year 9 and 10 students for Graham’s visit.
It was wonderful to see Dads with their sons and Grandads with their grandsons, sharing their love of reading and enjoying this special morning together.
Years 7 and 8 Author Visit
On Tuesday 18 June, author Bradley Christmas presented to the boys in Years 7 and 8. He discussed the craft of writing, reading examples from his young adult novel Saltwater Boy published last year. It is a heartfelt coming-of-age story which covers themes such as family relationships, bullying, loneliness, self-discovery, friendship, love, environmental care, and connection to the land. Bradley encouraged the boys to use their own experiences in their writing. He revealed that the setting of Saltwater Boy on the NSW south coast is an area where he spent his childhood holidays, and some of the main character’s experiences were drawn from his own youth.
Besides being a writer, Bradley is also a musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the Country Music band Copperline. Bradley enjoys song writing and encouraged the boys to try this form of writing as well as poetry and short stories. The boys enjoyed listening to Bradley performing one of his songs accompanied by his guitar and harmonica.
The boys clearly found the presentation interesting and had many intelligent questions for Bradley. On behalf of the boys, he was thanked by Sam Holt in Year 7 and Nathan Borgonah in Year 8.
Mrs E White
Head of Library & Information Services
