So one day after arriving back in Australia I attended the CBCA 2019 Conference at the QT Hotel in Canberra.
Surprisingly I didn’t appear to be suffering from jet lag!
I think it was the best conference the CBCA have put on since I have been attending them.
The Conference theme was And Now They’re Laughing and looked at humour in children’s literature.
The first session I attended was The Politics of Children’s Literature: Humour in a Serious World. A great session which consisted of a panel of authors and illustrators.
That night the conference dinner was held at the Arboretum. If you have never been out to see it make sure next time you are in Canberra you allow time, as in daylight it is astounding!
I am not a fan of alternate drop meals, where every second person gets the fish and every other person gets the steak. Then every second person gets the chocolate tart and everyone else gets the passionfruit cheesecake. This time it worked in my favour. I got the salmon and the chocolate tart. Wasn’t going to swap with anyone!
Leigh Hobbs was the guest speaker and he was absolutely brilliant as he talked about his two years as Australian Children’s Laureate. We also got a glimpse, and the story behind it, of his new MR CHICKEN book! Mr Chicken All Over Australia. It is fantastic. Going be a winner as it has so many Australian place names in it, everyone will want buy it to see their town in print, being visited by Mr Chicken!
We got to see the roughs of the book, and then the next day I saw a brand new copy straight from the printer!
During the conference there was a silent auction happening with the traditional conference bears.
This session was hilarious. Those three guys were so funny, and dressing up as they did made it even funnier.
Paul Jennings was very deservedly awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award and gave a very emotional speech via Skype. Not a dry eye in the house.
The conference finished with an outstandingly funny debate between authors and publishers and surprisingly the publishers won!
Like I said, I think this conference was the best one I have been to over the least 10 years or so.
And I was inspired to get back to the computer and keep writing!
Great post, thanks, Jane.