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Updated: 7 February 2010
Wendy's very pleased to announce that after a long wait, Mokie and Bik Go To Sea, illustrated by Jonathan Bean will be released in the US and Canada in April. Have a look here: http://us.macmillan.com/mokieandbikgotosea
Creative by Design Festival at Kings College on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia: Wendy will be speaking at this festival, on October 12 and 13.
Mt Eliza Art Show, on Oct 23 - 25 in Mt Eliza, Victoria, Australia, has a new Bringing Words to Life Competition, where the artists have to interpret Wendy's final poem in Peeling the Onion. Wendy will be judging the winning entries with the help of Cherie Leeden from Oak Hill Gallery and John Hatfield from the Chisolm Institute, and will be presenting the prize on the Opening Night. http://www.mtelizaartshow.com/wendyOrr.html
Wendy will be visiting schools in Brisbane from Friday 27 to Friday April 4 so won't be able to answer emails during that time. She'll be sure to get back to them when she returns. Also, the Q&A page had some technical difficulty for a bit, but it should be cleared up now, so please resume with your questions!
Nim's Island is a nominee for "Best Movie for Family Audiences" at the upcoming MOVIEGUIDE Awards on February 11th!
IT STARTED WITH A BOOK....
When well-known author Wendy Orr wrote The Great Yackandandah Billy Cart Race in the early 90s she never dreamed it would become a major family event for the town of Yackandandah.
Wendy wrote the book when she and her family were living in Waaia, in the Goulburn Valley.
"My son was in scouts at the time," Wendy explains.
"And they had a billy cart race at Nathalia, which is very flat of course, but the kids had a lot of fun.
"That started me thinking that I'd really like to write a story about a billy cart race, but I needed somewhere with hills, and I just loved the name Yackandandah."
The first two drafts of the book were written in rhyme, but Wendy decided to abandon the idea by the time the final draft went to print.
Wendy says she never dreamed the book would lead to the creation of a real Yackandandah billy cart race, but it's not her only book to achieve bigger things.
While living in Yarroweyah, near Cobram, Wendy wrote Nim's Island.
The book was a multi-award winner and was made into a film starring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin.
"So Nim's Island, which is about a little tropical island was written just outside of Cobram," Wendy laughs.
But this weekend is all about the billy carts and Yackandandah.
The race day, which sprang to life from the pages of Wendy Orr's book, will be held on Sunday, November 9.
The race is open to all ages and there are trophies for each age category.
Check-in for entrants is at 8:30am, with racing to start at 9.30am until 2pm.
16 September 08: Wendy's junior novels Paradise Palace and Paradise Gold have been
optioned as a TV series by Peace Arch. The books are no longer in
print, but if the series goes ahead, perhaps the books will come back
too!
Voices on the Coast, Maroochydore, Queensland:
Tuesday 3 June 08, Year 7-12
Wednesday 4 June 08- Libraries, tbc
www.immanuel.qld.edu.au/voices
Monday, 12 May
NIM AT SEA
“[An] equally winning sequel…”
“In a palm tree, on an island, in the middle of the wide blue sea, is a girl.” Orr opens both Nim’s Island (1999) and
this equally winning sequel (published to coincide with the release of the prequel’s film version)
with the same lines—but this time takes her plucky protagonist to a very different island, halfway around the world.
Chasing poachers who have snatched her beloved sea lion Selkie, Nim stows away aboard a cruise ship where she finds
both a whole menagerie of captives and herself among other children for the first time. Meanwhile, deciding (wrongly)
that she’s intruding, Alex (aka Alex Rover, renowned but seriously shy author of bestselling adventure novels) heads
back to her native New York without a word to Nim’s dad Jack, who is so frantic at everyone’s sudden disappearance that
he sets out aboard a raft for the nearest, but still distant, town. Casting Nim, Jack and Alex into adventures that are
exciting but never more than briefly scary, the author expertly shepherds the impulsive trio all the way to the Big
Apple—lacing the separate voyages with just-missed meetings and unreceived e-mail messages, and building up to a
comically tumultuous climax, rescue and loving reunion. Millard’s occasional sketches add pitch-perfect notes of
light suspense and humor. (Fiction. 10-12)
Friday, 9 May
Wendy is home from her travels and is doing her best to get through over 500 emails, phone messages and letters that have
come in during this time. Please be patient - when you resend emails after two days it just clogs up her inbox even more
and it will take longer for her to reply to everyone. However some emails have disappeared from her system so if you
have not received an answer a month after your first email, you can resend it now.
Wendy is on her way back to Australia from Canada, and won't get there till Wednesday, so there'll be
a delay in answering questions and emails, but keep sending them in!
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