Welcome to the blog of the Tasmanian branch of the Children's Book Council of Australia!

Friday 31 January 2020

Connecting readers with creators – a dynamic partnership


Grant funding for 2020

In 2020 CBCA Tasmania and the Education Department will be implementing the second year of the Federal Grant. 

The aims of the grant are:

  1. Improve the literacy of Tasmanian school students by participating in CBCA Book Week activities in Tasmania in each of the years 2019, 2020 and 2021  
  2. To organize promotional, educational and other activities undertaken in schools prior to, during and after CBCA Book Week   
The grant will focus on the following programs:
  • Readers’ Cup Competitions for primary and secondary students around the state.
  • Author and Illustrator workshops and presentations in schools.
  • Launch into Learning, an Education Department transition program for children 0-4 years and their families 
The grant is also used to provide Book Week Merchandise sample packages for Personal/Concessional Members and Institutional Members

The programs are facilitated through the Book Week Committee:

  • Leanne Rands (North West Regional Coordinator) 
  • Felicity Sly (North West Regional Coordinator) 
  • Michelle Chapman (Southern Regional Coordinator) 
  • Roxanne Steenbergen (Southern Regional Coordinator) 
  • Carol Fuller (Northern Regional Coordinator) 
Author/Illustrator School Visits in 2020

Workshops are available to all CBCA Institutional Members as part of the membership benefits and can be booked by contacting: tas@cbca.org.au

This is a wonderful opportunity to promote our Tasmanian authors and illustrators and enrich the literacy experiences of students. Creators involved in this program will be paid ASA rates, standard travel and accommodation (if necessary). If any authors and illustrators would like to be involved in the program, please contact the branch for registration details.


2019 feedback

"Dear Children's Book Council,
thank you so much of giving us the opportunity to meet Christina Booth. We learned so much from her about how to write a book and where we get ideas from. It was an amazing experience. She is an inspiration to all young authors who aspire to be like her. Keep up your amazing work! "
(Mackillop Catholic College). (Read about such visits from Christina Booth's perspective)


"I loved being at Orford.  It was such a charming school and so many wonderful teachers and students.  It’s lovely to go to a smaller school and to be able to give a school like this the opportunity to have someone with them all day, something that their funds normally cannot cover. The CBCA Grant for schools like this is just a gem!" (Coral Tulloch Illustrator). (Read Carols’ blog post to wrap up the 2019 program)


"If a picture book is a conversation between words, images and the spaces in between, our journey was something similar. I see it as a week-long storyboard, the roughs for a comic strip in which children and book creators collaborate to create the beginning of multiple stories." 
(Julie Hunt & Dale Newman and their Travelling Workshop)

Leanne Rands
President CBCA Tasmania


Editor’s note: Why not share your experiences as either a visiting author/illustrator or a recipient school? Write a blog post so that others can have a taste of these special events. Email to tas@cbca.org.au.