Award winning writers Patrick Ness and Isobelle Carmody talk about literature and imagining the future. The session will also include performances of scenes from the books.

Patrick Ness is the author of The Knife of Never Letting Go and its sequel The Ask and the Answer, two compelling novels. The story of teenagers Todd and Viola fighting for survival in a totalitarian post-holocaust future raises complex moral questions. The Ask and the Answer won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Booktrust UK Teenage Book Prize. Patrick has also taught creative writing at Oxford University.

Isobelle Carmody is Australia’s international queen of fantasy literature. Carmody began writing Obernewtyn aged 14-years-old. Obernewtyn is an adventure story set in a dystopic future. Twenty two years later, Obernewtyn comes to its climax with The Sending. (Released March 2010)

 Presented by the Centre for Youth Literature, supported by Walker Books Australia 

 ‘A Thousand Words Festival’ celebrates the unique place that children’s stories hold in our society. Our aim is to create a vibrant forum where stories and books are told and displayed, where other art forms are used to bring stories to life, and above all, where there is a constant and lively discussion between book lovers of all ages.
Children’s literature holds an incredibly unique place in our society. These books exist in every form imaginable and come to life in the telling, reading and remembering of them.  ‘A Thousand Words Festival’ is a celebration of these stories, created for children, but open for everyone. Our goal is to bring wonderful stories, in all their forms, to people who are young in years or at heart.

With this in mind, we have created our inaugural event, celebrating local talent. We have brought together the creators, tellers and readers of some amazing stories in a space that is inviting and exciting. There will be a range of activities on the day which include go-go workshops, activity stands, competitions, food, freebies and more. In the afternoon there will be several sessions aimed at young adults, and the winner of our first annual ‘A Thousand Words’ story competition will be announced. There will be plenty of free activities throughout the day and book lovers will be able to purchase books to be signed by their favourite authors.

A Thousand Words: A Festival of Children’s Stories

 Cost:  Author Sessions: $10 adult full day, $5 child full day, children under 2 FREE.

There is no other award in Australia that reflects what teenagers want to read. The Inkys are international awards for teenage literature, voted for online by the readers of insideadog.com.au. Join us for the Inky Awards Ceremony (and cake!)
Featuring author James Roy, the young judges, the winning authors, and the winning Creative Reading Prize entries.

At this time of the year, you need a laugh, right? We have four very funny writers waiting to be pushed from the wings. Barry Jonsberg has been a favourite since The Whole Business of Kiffo and the Pitbull. David Metzenthen’s new book Jarvis 24 is a comedy set in Melbourne’s east. Kirsten Murphy’s droll wit is at play once more in Halfway to Good, while newcomer Penny Tangey’s Loving Richard Feynman is a rib-tickling debut about a girl’s fascination with a dead physicist. Trust us, it’s funny.

One of the great challenges for Australia is to identify and understand the myriad of factors that influence our children’s development and to put into place the measures that can improve outcomes for future generations.
On the 3rd and 4th of December 2009 researchers and policy makers will have an ideal opportunity to discuss research and policy initiatives that have resulted from the use of data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).