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Connecting Australian Authors
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Inspired by the amazing Book Pen Pals UK, Author Pen Pals is a new initiative created in 2023 to connect Australian authors and illustrators with Australian schools, in particular those that rarely have the opportunities to host or meet authors due to a lack of funds or their remote location.
We want to spread the love of literacy to all schools throughout the entire country! We want to encourage kids to share their stories! We want to promote our homegrown talent!
THE 2024 PROGRAMME HAS LAUNCHED!
Australian Authors and Illustrators...
If you're a published author or illustrator creating incredible books for primary school-aged children, then you're eligible to join. If your debut book is released in 2024, you are more than welcome to sign up for the 2024 year. If your work is professional and of high quality, we are accepting self-published authors, too. This initiative is about celebrating the love of literacy and encouraging children to read, write, draw, and share the stories they love with others. If you share this vision, please sign up by clicking here or the link below.
Australian Primary Schools...
If you're a teacher or teacher-librarian working in a primary school in Australia and think your class or classes would benefit from becoming pen pals with an author or illustrator for the 2024 school year, then click here or the link below.
If you're a published author or illustrator creating incredible books for primary school-aged children, then you're eligible to join. If your debut book is released in 2024, you are more than welcome to sign up for the 2024 year. If your work is professional and of high quality, we are accepting self-published authors, too. This initiative is about celebrating the love of literacy and encouraging children to read, write, draw, and share the stories they love with others. If you share this vision, please sign up by clicking here or the link below.
Australian Primary Schools...
If you're a teacher or teacher-librarian working in a primary school in Australia and think your class or classes would benefit from becoming pen pals with an author or illustrator for the 2024 school year, then click here or the link below.
It's simple and fun!
Authors and illustrators pair up with a class or classes for an entire school year and commit to sending at least four postcards throughout that year.
Classes pair up with one author or illustrator for the entire school year and commit to replying to them at least twice throughout that year.
Of course, more letters and postcards and other correspondence can be exchanged. There is no limit! We just want you to have fun and make exciting connections.
Sure! What you chat about with your pen pal is up to you, but we suggest it be about literature since that's the goal of this initiative.
Authors and illustrators can talk about a favourite book in each postcard or recommend age-appropriate books for the class to consider. Children can respond by talking about their favourite books too.
Authors and illustrators can offer writing and drawing prompts; or share fun stories that might have happened to them and encourage children to tell theirs; or talk about their creative process or best places to write and invite the children to describe or draw theirs.
There are so many ideas and avenues to explore with your pen pal!
Yes, but only a few. Once pen pal pairings are made, we will not be able to vet the correspondence exchanged. We don't have the resources to monitor every interaction, so we trust that every person involved understands the privileged situation they are in and respects their audience.
This initiative is for primary school children only, so please ensure the content of your correspondence is age appropriate. That means no profanity, no recommendations of books which are considered offensive or for older readers.
In your letters, please always consider the different backgrounds and cultures, religions and experiences of your pen pals. This initiative is intended to be considerate and inclusive of all communities, races, genders, and disabilities. Every child deserves and needs to be represented and included.
This initiative is for primary school children only, so please ensure the content of your correspondence is age appropriate. That means no profanity, no recommendations of books which are considered offensive or for older readers.
In your letters, please always consider the different backgrounds and cultures, religions and experiences of your pen pals. This initiative is intended to be considerate and inclusive of all communities, races, genders, and disabilities. Every child deserves and needs to be represented and included.
An Important Note for Schools:
Though we are positive all correspondence from your pen pal will be entirely age appropriate, please ensure the class or group adult leader reads through everything first before sharing with the children.
Please value the wonderful work our authors and illustrators do to engage your students. We kindly ask that you don’t ask or expect them to provide free workshops or Zoom sessions to your class. School presentations are a vital part of a creator's income stream and financially support them to continue creating their amazing works. Recommended rates for hiring your creator to provide Zoom sessions or workshops can be found here: https://www.asauthors.org/findananswer/rates-of-pay
We are currently looking into funding options for financially disadvantaged schools.
Since many of the addresses provided to you are our authors' and illustrators' home addresses, please treat them as confidential, and only known to the adult who is responsible for the class or group.
Our team of authors and illustrators are diverse, representing many different marginalised communities across the country. Acceptance is vital in today's society. Should your curriculum prevent you covering content such as LGBTQI or religion, please clearly note this in your initial application. We care deeply about our pen pals' mental wellbeing and being upfront about your curriculum will help them choose classes and schools that align with their books.
If you would like your pan pal to show a Working with Children check/card, please note this in your initial application.
Though we are positive all correspondence from your pen pal will be entirely age appropriate, please ensure the class or group adult leader reads through everything first before sharing with the children.
Please value the wonderful work our authors and illustrators do to engage your students. We kindly ask that you don’t ask or expect them to provide free workshops or Zoom sessions to your class. School presentations are a vital part of a creator's income stream and financially support them to continue creating their amazing works. Recommended rates for hiring your creator to provide Zoom sessions or workshops can be found here: https://www.asauthors.org/findananswer/rates-of-pay
We are currently looking into funding options for financially disadvantaged schools.
Since many of the addresses provided to you are our authors' and illustrators' home addresses, please treat them as confidential, and only known to the adult who is responsible for the class or group.
Our team of authors and illustrators are diverse, representing many different marginalised communities across the country. Acceptance is vital in today's society. Should your curriculum prevent you covering content such as LGBTQI or religion, please clearly note this in your initial application. We care deeply about our pen pals' mental wellbeing and being upfront about your curriculum will help them choose classes and schools that align with their books.
If you would like your pan pal to show a Working with Children check/card, please note this in your initial application.
An Important Note for Authors and Illustrators:
All correspondence from the children must be treated as confidential.
Do not share personal details within the correspondence with anyone.
Do not share names or photos on social media or similar unless full permission has been granted by the school and parents/guardians.
Only address your correspondence to the class or group adult leader.
Only send your correspondence to the school address provided.
And a Final Must-Read Note for Everyone:
Author Pen Pals has no control over and is not responsible for the information, practices, content, or associated activities of any participants in the Author Pen Pals programme.
Any further activities, communication, correspondence, or services conducted and agreed upon between both parties, meaning anything outside the programme requirements stipulated on this website (to send two and four letters/postcards) must be arranged directly between school and creator. This includes but is not limited to in-person visits and talks, virtual calls and presentations, workshops, etc.
Author Pen Pals is not a booking or speaker's agent, nor book promotor or distributor, and will therefore not be held responsible for any complaints, issues, or proceedings that arise relating to extra arrangements and bookings made. It is the responsibility of all schools to request and for all book creators to provide their own Working With Children checks and public liability or professional indemnity insurance.
Author Pen Pals is really just the admin department making connections and doing the initial hard work for you!
All correspondence from the children must be treated as confidential.
Do not share personal details within the correspondence with anyone.
Do not share names or photos on social media or similar unless full permission has been granted by the school and parents/guardians.
Only address your correspondence to the class or group adult leader.
Only send your correspondence to the school address provided.
And a Final Must-Read Note for Everyone:
Author Pen Pals has no control over and is not responsible for the information, practices, content, or associated activities of any participants in the Author Pen Pals programme.
Any further activities, communication, correspondence, or services conducted and agreed upon between both parties, meaning anything outside the programme requirements stipulated on this website (to send two and four letters/postcards) must be arranged directly between school and creator. This includes but is not limited to in-person visits and talks, virtual calls and presentations, workshops, etc.
Author Pen Pals is not a booking or speaker's agent, nor book promotor or distributor, and will therefore not be held responsible for any complaints, issues, or proceedings that arise relating to extra arrangements and bookings made. It is the responsibility of all schools to request and for all book creators to provide their own Working With Children checks and public liability or professional indemnity insurance.
Author Pen Pals is really just the admin department making connections and doing the initial hard work for you!
SCHOOLS! SIGN UP HERE
*Now that the 2024 programme is underway we cannot guarantee we will be able to match you with a pen pal;
however, please sign up and we'll do whatever we can!
*Now that the 2024 programme is underway we cannot guarantee we will be able to match you with a pen pal;
however, please sign up and we'll do whatever we can!
PRIVACY
AUTHORS: When signing up via the Google Form, please only supply details (such as your name, email address, website, etc.) that you are comfortable for us to keep on file and use only to contact with updates or in an emergency. We will never share your details with any other party.
SCHOOLS: Once you have signed up via the Google Form, please know that the details you provide on it will be published on this website for the authors and illustrators to peruse in order for them to find a perfect match. Please, therefore, only include details that you are happy for us to make public and be available online.
We ask please that you be patient and bear with us, but to also feel 100% free to contact us with your concerns, your thoughts and ideas, and your suggestions for improvement. It is imperative that we put the children first, always, and keep them at the forefront of our minds when making decisions.
Author Pen Pals is run by British-Australian children's author, Kate Foster, and Dee White who is the international author of more than twenty-five books for children and young adults.
Find out more about Kate on her website: www.kfosterbooks.com and on Twitter and Instagram: @kfosterauthor
Find out more about Dee at www.deescribe.com.au and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as DeeWhiteAuthor.
Should you have any questions or concerns about Author Pen Pals, or are a publisher or journalist or education body based in Australia, you can contact Kate and Dee at [email protected]
Find out more about Kate on her website: www.kfosterbooks.com and on Twitter and Instagram: @kfosterauthor
Find out more about Dee at www.deescribe.com.au and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as DeeWhiteAuthor.
Should you have any questions or concerns about Author Pen Pals, or are a publisher or journalist or education body based in Australia, you can contact Kate and Dee at [email protected]
A final note from us...
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With gratitude to our partners and supporters
