Poppy’s Monster

On today’s show, we chat about monsters. Those monsters our kids grapple with in their daily lives and their storybooks. Plus, we have an honest chat with our special guest about the real stuff that aspiring authors go through when they start out on their writing journeys. And, Liv is back to review two picture books about a yogo posing wombat and working guide dog named Jemima.

Today’s special guest first entered storytelling by telling fibs as a child. It’s not clear whether her parents believed these, but they were unsurprised by the career choices that followed: actor, theatre director, playwright, dramaturg. She has since entertained audiences as a giant frog, wrestled words of acclaimed playwrights, led theatre shows across Australia, and won numerous awards for photography. She lives in Canberra, Australia with her 4 kids, husband and a menagerie of pets. She has just completed a Graduate Diploma in Psychology and hopes to combine her understanding of people with the power of imagination. Everybody please welcome, the wonderful and very busy, Shelly Higgs.

Is this a new publishing trend?

Complete series out in a year

On today’s show, we chat with an international award-winning author about an awesome new series of 6 books for kids, all out in the same year. We chat about the process of writing, acquiring, illustrating, publishing, and distributing a complete series in a single year. Plus, the challenges that come with a new author journey.

Today’s special guest is an international award-winning author who adores exploring all the world has to offer! Her love of travel started at age three on moving from Sri Lanka to Australia with her parents.

Having family sprinkled around the world; she has lived, worked and been on many adventures overseas. She currently resides in Canberra with her family.

Her appreciation of travel and uniqueness of culture has been captured in the pages of her books. Jacqueline hopes her stories will encourage her readers to learn more about the world and help to cultivate an empathetic, accepting and inclusive community.

Storytelling with authenticity

On today’s show, we chat with an author about storytelling with authenticity, and the process of writing stories that help kids deal with fear, grow to be resilient, and giving kids a sense of belonging.

Today’s special guest has a unique journey with storytelling that covers cultures, languages, and the spaces in between. It wasn't until adulthood that she rediscovered her love for reading through stories that finally felt relevant to her experience. This shaped her approach as both a teacher and school counsellor, where she used picture books to help students feel seen and develop a sense of belonging.

Her professional work as a psychologist, alongside her experience raising three daughters, infuses her stories with themes of empowerment, resilience, and authenticity.

Her recent book, Aslan and Benny, explores a boy confronting his fear of a very cute family dog. And her upcoming release, A Lemon for Safiya, beautifully weaves Arabic text throughout a powerful story about compassion and cultural connection.

When she's not writing you can see her in the water as a qualified scuba diver!

Everybody, please give a big welcome to the creative and talented Jemima Shafei-Ongu.