Pirate curses, clockwork beetles, and mythical mazes are all to be found in the stories of award-winning children’s writer and artist Judith Rossell.
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She will visit the region next week for the New England Writers’ Centre and Children’s Book Council’s children’s literature festival “Booked In”.
"I was that kid at school who was always drawing when I was supposed to be doing other things,” Judith said, “and now I work as a book illustrator."
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After working at CSIRO as a scientist (a sane one, she hastens to say), she left to follow her passion: drawing.
She’s illustrated about 80 books, but, like many artists, wanted to tell her own stories. From jungle and Egypt-themed maze and puzzle books, she turned to writing children’s novels, starting with Jack Jones and the Pirate Curse (2006).
Now her books have been translated into nearly 20 languages.
The trick to writing a children’s book, Judith says, is not to be boring.
“You want the kids to be engaged with the story,” she said. “If you ask them what they most want to read, the number one thing for them is always humour. Kids read for laughs, especially primary school children, and also to find out about the world, to stretch them a little, to learn.”
Judith will visit schools in Armidale, Guyra, Uralla, and Walcha to teach students about drawing and using research to inform stories, and will give a Live Link video presentation for children in rural and remote schools.
She will also give a workshop for adults in Armidale on Tuesday evening, about how the industry works, sparking the imagination, and making a story from a situation.
“When you're writing, write about things that interest you,” Judith advises. “If something catches your attention, you make a note of that, and save it up. You collect ideas from the world like that – and when it comes to writing, you've got a headful of little things you could include.”
Her most recent series, the Stella Montgomery Intrigues, for instance, draws on her obsession with Victoriana. The novels feature an orphan girl who comes up against black magic, sea monsters, and mutton-in-aspic.
And Judith has put her enthusiasm to good use. The first book in the series, Withering-by-Sea, won the Indie Award, Children’s and YA, the ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children, and the Davitt Award, Best Children's Crime Novel, 2015.
If you want to learn the craft of writing imaginative children’s stories, book a place in the evening workshop at Granny Fi’s Toy Cupboard, 120 Dangar St, Armidale, on Tuesday May 8, from 6pm to 8.30pm, with a light supper included. $55 New England Writers’ Centre members, $60 members of partner orgs (Skywriters, CBC, NERAM), $70 non-members, $50 youth (12-18). Book online through the New England Writers’ Centre.