Luckily, I had already parked the car when I saw this! It could have been nasty had I still been driving! But it was a lovely surprise and made me feel very welcomed.

The Year 3s had been working on narrative writing so we spent our time together talking about how I write my stories. We looked at where ideas come from and how I plot out my stories. The kids were very attentive and asked some great questions. I had a wonderful time working with them. At the end, we had some fun when they worked on writing and illustrating a Pippa chapter of their own. Lots of great ideas were flowing from all the budding authors and illustrators.

The students of Wooloowin are very fortunate to have a gorgeous, well stocked library. Not only are there stories on the book shelves, but there are stories on the windows too. You can only see a small section of it in the photo above, but the library has huge stained glass windows covered in pictures from children’s stories. I really wish I’d taken a proper photo, but I was too busy just staring at it. The lucky students at this school can get lost in a story in the pages of a book, or they can get lost in a story just staring out the window! What a wonderful place to learn, imagine and dream.

Thank you, Wooloowin State School, for inviting me to visit.

Happy Book Week!

For those of you in the Brisbane area, the Moreton Bay Regional Libraries are hosting the “Write around Moreton Bay” Readers and Writers Festival on the 15th and 16th of October. If you’re interested in writing or illustrating for children, come along to the panel with me, Katherine Battersby and Lucia Masciullo. Here are the details:

Writing for kids: Why it isn’t as easy as you think!

Julie Nickerson, Katherine Battersby & Lucia Masciullo

Chair: Tina Cavanough

Saturday, 15th October, 3.30-4.30pm

Arana Hills Library, Narellan Park, Arana Hills

All sessions are free, but please phone the library on 3351 3401 to book. The wonderful staff from Collins Booksellers, Morayfield, will have books available for sale and signing on the day.

To check out the whole festival program, click here.

Hope to see you there!

I’m still pinching myself to believe that my little book is available in China! But Pippa’s been a busy girl here too. The Australian version has just been reprinted – woo hoo! I’d like to say a big

thank you!

to all the kids who have been reading Pippa’s stories. I hope you’re enjoying them!

Thank you to the Arana Hills Library for hosting this event and to everyone who came along on the day. It was a perfectly perfect success!

Thanks, Dee!

Thanks, Sally, for inviting me over!

You know when you pull the plug out of the bath and the water gets sucked down? Well, I’m the water and this book is the plughole and it’s sucking me in really fast!

Thanks, Amelia! You just made my day.

and local author

Julie Nickerson

request the pleasure of your company

to share in the 

celebration of the book launch for

“Pippa the Perfect Flowergirl”

Julie will be reading from her new book

and there will be fun craft and games.

The best flowergirl/attendant will win a prize

(ages 5-12 years).

Light refreshments to follow.

10.30am – noon

Wednesday, 6th July, 2011

Please RSVP to the Arana Hills Library

on 3351 3401

After two years of writing and editing and more editing and more thinking and more writing and a bit of banging my head against the computer screen, I’m very pleased to announce that Pippa the perfect flowergirl has been released in Penguin’s Aussie Nibbles series. It has been delightfully illustrated by Janine Dawson who has captured the essence of Pippa perfectly. I would like to thank my wonderful agent and the brilliant team at Penguin for all their hard work and feedback on the story. Also, I couldn’t write without the support of my wonderful writing buddies who inspire me to write the best story that I can write. Special thanks to Katherine Battersby and Dee White who were there during the banging my head against the computer screen stages with helpful advice and words of wisdom (some of which you can read in this book!). I’m very lucky to be involved with a supportive network of writers who I am proud to also call my friends. You guys are awesome!

Now, what shall I write next …

Authors from around Australia and overseas have donated signed books, manuscript assessments and other writing services to be auctioned to raise money for the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. And it’s easy-peasy:

• Go to the Authors for Queensland website
• Browse the items
• Bid for your item in the comments box
• Once the auction closes on January 24th (11pm EDST), the highest bidder for each item will be notified
• The winner makes a donation for the required amount to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal and emails a copy of the receipt to the auction organisers
• The author sends the item to the winner

If you’d like to bid for a copy of Pippa’s perfect ponytail, click here.

Good luck with your bidding! It’s for a very worthy cause.

(Thanks to authors Kate Gordon, Katrina Germein, Fleur McDonald and Emily Gale for organising this fundraiser)

UPDATE ON THIS APPEAL: The Authors for Queensland auction raised a whopping $19,981.39 for the flood relief appeal. Awesome!