Not the Plot

Send us Fan Mail Dr Mark Carthew is an award-winning Australian children’s author, poet, editor, musician and educator well known for his books and series celebrating language, humour and wordplay. His picture books The Gobbling Tree, ill. by Susy Boyer and The Thing That Goes Ping! ill. by Shane McG, were both awarded the prestigious Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Award. Mark has extensive experience in trade and education editing and publishing with over 100 +...

Send us Fan Mail Rebecca Green has worked as a journalist, book reviewer and school librarian. She is inspired by the unusual and writes children’s books that celebrate differences. Rebecca grew up in country Victoria reading horse books, dreaming of owning a horse and riding whenever she could. After discovering zorses, the offspring of a horse and a zebra, Rebecca started dreaming about owning one. In 2025 Rebecca won the Spiers Prize for her middle grade novel A Girl, a Boy, a Horse and a ...

Send us Fan Mail Dannika Patterson, a Brisbane-based children’s author, workshop presenter, and former journalist. Her books aim to uplift, empower, and spark wonder, while gently opening conversations about big ideas. In this episode of Not the Plot, Dannika chats with host Teena Raffa-Mulligan about the challenge of finding publishers, the experience of working with an illustrator, her thoughts on rejection and the importance of connection with a supportive community. She also shares ...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Ouston is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, and the recipient of the 2014 Erica Bell Literary Award as well as the manuscript prize at the Tasmanian Premier’s Literary Awards in 2017. He holds a PhD and has worked as a copywriter, editor and bookseller. As a musician he performs as Costume. Adam lives in Hobart, Tasmania. His latest novel, Mine, about a poet trapped down an abandoned mine in the mountain rainforests of Tasmania, has been attracting critical acclaim si...

Send us Fan Mail Annette Pesek has been drawing and painting since she was old enough to hold a pencil and paintbrush. Upon completing a Maths/Science Education degree at Melbourne University, she attended watercolour classes with Melbourne based realist artist Walter Magilton. After a few years she turned to Botanical Illustration, as she discovered this was her true passion. She then attended regular classes with Melbourne based botanical artist Terry Napier, until she moved to WA in 2019. ...