Interviews with our Readings Children's Book Prize Shortlist 2015
We interviewed all six of the six shortlisted authors for this year’s Readings Children’s Book Prize.
The winner of the Readings Children’s Book Prize will be announced at midday on Tuesday 16 June!
Meet A.L. Tait, author of The Mapmaker Chronicles: Race to the End of the World
What were you like as a kid?
“I think the best word to use would be ‘self-contained’. I was a skinny, freckled, ballet-dancing redhead who loved reading and topped the spelling tests week in, week out. Your basic nightmare.”
Meet Tony Wilson, author of Stuff Happens: Jack
If you won the RCBP, who is the first person you would tell?
“The first person I’d tell is my wife, Tamsin. Then my parents, then my four children, although I’d probably only get spit bubbles in response from the four week old, Alice. I have a son called Jack, too. He’s nearly four and he has cerebral palsy. He’s very different from the sporty Jack in the book, but I hope one day he enjoys having a book named after him.”
Meet Tamsin Janu, author of Figgy in the World
What is your favourite scene in the book?
“I like when Figgy and Nana visit the orphanage. It is quite a sad scene but it helps Figgy to understand how lucky she is to have a loving family. And every time I read the scene it reminds me of the orphanage I worked in when I was in Ghana, and the kids who lived there.”
Meet Trace Balla, author of Rivertime
How did you book begin?
“The little seed was a beautiful wooden canoe that I spent ten days in on the Glenelg River, with my partner Greg. Of course my trusty journal came along too, and by the end was overflowing, and ready to be twisted into a story! The river’s natural beauty and remoteness from the modern world really affected me. Sitting in a silent boat with a keen bird watcher sparked my growing interest in birds.”
Meet Karen Foxlee, author of Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy
When did you first want to be a writer?
“I can distinctly remember telling other kids in grade two that I was going to be an author when I grew up. I had written my first story about a girl and a horse. It was published in a little purple exercise book. I wrote lots more, illustrating them with pictures from the back of Reader’s Digest magazines. I never really gave up writing from that point on.”
Meet Allison Rushby, author of How To Save The Universe In 10 Easy Steps
What is your preferred writing snack?
“I’d like to say chocolate, but it gives me headaches (the cruelty of this is unimaginable because I love chocolate!). The truth is, I’m more likely to get desperate and sneak those little packets that go in school lunchboxes, so it’s usually rice crackers, Tiny Teddies or Barbecue Shapes!”
