LIVEWIRE ~ Starlight Charity ~Supporting Kids & Families living with Serious Illness

 

Loved speaking to the LIVEWIRE parents of kids who are facing prolonged hospitalisation, and fighting illness. There were lots of parents online.  It was a special experience.

Loved sharing my book ‘Butterflies’ with them.

 

Right now in Australia, Livewire estimates there are 50,000 young people experiencing social isolation, lower peer support and lower wellbeing as a result of living with a serious illness or disability. 
 

Livewire  is a free and safe online peer support program connecting socially isolated individuals affected by a serious illness, chronic condition or disability – Kids, teens, parents, siblings, community.

 

 Livewire.org.au is an initiative of the Starlight Children’s Foundation and is supported by major partners including Optus.  It was established with funding from the Australian Government under the Clever Networks Program.

 

For information email :  member.services@livewire.org.au

Kane Miller Publishers taking ‘Butterflies’ to USA Book Expo May 2011

 

 

Butterflies is a love story

- a girl and a boy; sisters; girlfriends;  family; search for identity & being all you can be.

 The journey writing ‘Butterflies’:-

years of  in-depth interviews, extensive reading, hospital immersion, research

the writing and re-writing to capture love, family, search for identity

understanding it from a deep personal place

The agenda:-

 Butterflies would reflect the real stories & journeys of  young people and families.

It would be  story where disability (burns)  is part of the fabric of life, but not life itself.

The main character Katherine  would be complex like all human beings with a real family, a background and a personality that reaches from the page into the lives of readers and unites us in our dreams, hopes, belief in the future.

Highlights:

- Butterflies recognised by IBBY as outstanding literature on disability

- Flown to speak at the New York Burn Congress about the inspirational nature of Butterflies

- Meeting Kim Phuc who set up the Kim Foundation for the child survivors of war; the 9 year old Vietamese girl running from napalm in the 1972 Nick Ut photo; who also spoke  at NY World Congress

- Louise Sauvage World Sportsperson of the Year of Disability’s endorsement of Butterflies

- Endorsement by The Children’s Hospital Westmead Sydney

- Translation into Bahasa, Indonesia

- beautiful emails from readers -

suzanne, before reading butterflies i thought the only way to be pretty was to be perfect, the hair the face the looks, but it’s not true

I have just finished reading Butterflies and I must say it is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read

Today as I was reading butterflies, I tried very hard to put myself in Katherine’s shoes. I cried more than I usually do. I just love the way you describe how show feels, and her surroundings.

Thanks for giving me the joy of reading your work,

Thankyou to Kira Lynn, Publisher for Kane Miller USA in believing in ‘Butterflies’.

In May 2011 ‘Butterflies’ will be at the USA Book Expo.

 

 

 

 

Fabulous Young Adult Authors, Darling Harbour, CBCA & Master Class- Sydney Writers Festival 2010

The View: Gorgeous Sydney Harbour, boats, sunshine

The Boat: Jessica Watson’s Ella’s Pink Lady which has just sailed around the world 

Young Adult Authors: Jaclyn Moriaty, Anthony Eaton, William Kostakis, Susanne Gervay

Teens: Enthusiastic writers from schools all over Sydney – Sydney Girls High, St Scholastics Glebe … great girls.

Touched by comments that all the authors received. I want to share a few written in my card:-

Thankyou for speaking with us. You’re a great inspiration for me. And I love your books!  Mischa

Thankyou so much! I love being around people who love to write.  Ash

Thankyou too – and thankyou to Jane Taylor of the Children’s Book Council Australia who did all the hard work organising it.

St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove LOVE music and books

Had a fantastic time with over a hundred St Ursula ‘s girls. They  are enthusiastic and love music.

They wanted to know all about TORY and the music industry. They love Tory’s songs being part of our novel ‘That’s Why I Wrote This Song’.

Girls wanted to know how to get into the music industry. I told them it was about loving music, but also about getting to know people -

doing work experience at the music stations, magazines, music marketing companies.

 Tory works in music now for SHOCK and they have huge bands.

  Some of the bands she’s worked with include – but there are heaps more – 50 cents, Green Day, Chemical Romance:-

Check out TORY on my website: – www.sgervay.com

and my youtube channel to see the video clips of her songs – Psycho Dad and I Wanna Be Found:-

www.youtube.com/user/sgervay

Aussie Month in Argentina with Dynamic YA Blogger -The Clock Monkey

The Clock Monkey is a dynamic YA blog from Argentina and it’s AUSSIE MONTH. Drop into Ella’s site and look around. 

Feb 1st: Welcome to The Clock Monkey’s Aussie Month! (Introductory Post)

Feb 5th: Blogger Interview: Holly Taylor

Feb 7th: Book Review: Tomorrow, When The War Began, by John Marsden (EBook Giveaway)

Feb 9th: Aussie Author Challenge

Feb 12th: Author Interview: Goldie Alexander

Feb 13th: Author Interview: Ryan Kennedy & Hazel Edwards

Feb 14th: Happy Birthday Pretty Book! (Aussie Edition)

Feb 16th: Blogger Interview: Steph Bowe

Feb 18th: Author Interview: Chrissie Michaels

Feb 20th: Author Interview: George Ivanoff (Book Giveaway for Gamers’ Quest – International)

Feb 23rd: Book Review: That’s Why I Wrote This Song, by Susanne Gervay (Lyrics by Tory Gervay) *Updated: Book Giveaway – International*

Feb 25th: Featured Author: Meryl B. Tobin (Review by Chrissie Michaels; Poem by Meryl B. Tobin)

 

British High Commission Library, SCBWI India, Scholastic India, Publishers & Indian Authors

India is on the cusp of launching into a new era of children’s writing. 

I had the privilege of being invited by the head of SCBWI India, writer Jyota Singth Visvanath to launch SCBWI India at the British High Commission Library, Delhi. 

Jyoti has been published in the prestigious magazines Highlights and Cricket in the USA, and has had a hugely successful series of non fiction children’s books with sales of 1.5 million books.

I spoke about publishing, writing for kids and young adults with the Sayoni Basu Managing Director of Scholastic India and the dynamic Anita from a significant Indian publisher. There were wonderful Indian authors and illustrators there. Swati Roy Bookseller from EUREKA, The Bookstore for the Young  is so enthusiastic about youth literature.

Siddhartha Sarma was in the audience. His YA novel, ‘the grasshopper’s run’ published by Scholastic is a powerful book set in 1944 exposing the imperial Japanese Army’s invasion of British India. It’s a wonderful book, a sign of the talent in Indian youth writing.

The event was enthusiastic, enquiring and filled with the energy of new ideas and passion for writing.

There was interested discussion on young adult literature and censorship.  While Indian teens were reading Twilight and all sorts of literature, there is difficulty in schools and parents accepting ‘search for identity’ YA literature.  I discussed my YA books and opened discussion on ’The Cave’ and censorship.