Every year, Australian Writers’ Week brings authors from the Land Down Under to China for a series of talks, readings, and workshops. Among this year’s guests is Bronwyn Bancroft, writer, artist and activist. Beijingkids talked to her about her life and work; read our interview with YA author John Marsden here.

Bronwyn Bancroft grew up in rural New South Wales, the daughter of an indigenous father and a mother of Scottish-Polish heritage. She studied at the Canberra School of Art and Sydney University, and has worked as an artist, fashion designer and writer.

Much of her work is inspired by her indigenous heritage, and her family home in Lionsville.

“My home at Lionsville is off the grid,” she said in a 2015 speech. “I have no technology, no television and my nearest neighbor is 15 minutes by car. You live in the heart of the landscape with a river running by the house.

“This place informs all of my work and has done for three decades. I go home on average six or seven times a year and my cousins caretake when I am not there.

“I live in two worlds. The bush and the city and this allows me a wonderful touchstone for my life… This land, my family and my people are my inspiration.”

In the same speech she said, “I know we are meant to be able to articulate and share our creative genesis and theories with as many people as possible, but I prefer to engage with my work instead of writing or talking about it. The act of creating for me is a chance to connect with memories and push those creative boundaries to the ultimate extremes.”

Despite her reluctance to talk about her art we were lucky enough to secure an exclusive interview with her.

You have a very distinctive visual style. How much does it owe to formal training, and how much to traditional techniques?
My style has developed over many years. I wanted to create from a very young age and loved art all through school. I went to art school in 1976 and I was 18. I have studied all my life and have three degrees and I am completing my PhD. Art is all about practice and I paint everyday. I love creating new artwork and am delighted everyday by art.

Do you prefer illustrating your own stories, or working with other people?
I love illustrating and the more books I write and illustrate the more competent I become. I love working with other writers and am overjoyed to bring their words to life with imagery.

Your work celebrates your dual heritage. Do you think multiculturalism is under threat? Can children’s books help?
I celebrate the people who made me who I am. I love the knowledge that my Aboriginal family possess and I love the tenacity of my Polish/Scottish Mum. We should all be much more tolerant of our differences. We are all human. Intolerance of other cultures creates division and this threatens our existence as humans. I think children’s books and stories can initialize a young person’s mind to be open to new ideas.

You write about the importance of transmission, of stories and culture. Which writers and illustrators inspired you?
I am in awe of all people who spend their life creating for the joy of other people.

Bronwyn Bancroft: My Life, My Country, May 14,
Adults. English & Chinese. 7-8pm. Free. BHG Changying Shopping Centre, 17 Chaoyang North Rd, Chaoyang District. 北京华联（常营购物中心）, 朝阳区朝阳北路17号

Photos: By Hamiltonstone – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9482666, https://www.pinterest.com/snorthstarr/bronwyn-bancroft/

You have probably never heard of Roderick Hunt, but he is the author of one of the most successful series of children’s books in history. Together with illustrator Alex Brychta, he developed the Oxford Reading Tree as a reading scheme for British schools, but unlike the tedious repetition of earlier such schemes, the Magic Key books are characterized by humor, charm and adventure. Now, 30 years on, children in over 140 countries have learned to read with the help of Biff, Kipper, and Chip, and their family and friends.

Hunt and Brychta are visiting Beijing this week, and are speaking to an invited audience at the British School of Beijing Sanlitun (BSB Sanlitun) on Saturday, May 13. We caught up with Hunt and spoke to him exclusively about his life and work.

Did you learn to read from a reading scheme? If so, which one, and how did you feel about it?

Yes. I learned to read on a scheme called Beacon Readers. I was very slow to start with. For my sixth birthday a rather fierce aunt (called Auntie Marion) gave me a book. It had no pictures. Just pages of black print. She commanded me to read a page in front of all the adults. I tried but the book was too hard and she gave a loud ‘tut’ and a sigh and said in an icy, withering voice: “Can’t you read, yet, Roderick?” I felt really humiliated and had to try hard not to cry. So at school I picked up a Beacon Reader – the story called “Billly Goats Gruff,” and saw the sentence “Trip-trap, trip trap over the rickety bridge.” I realized the “ck” was part of the word rickety and that meant “bridge” came next so I could then work out the rest of the sentence. From that moment my reading took off and I read as many books as I could get my hands on!

What books did you read as a child? How did they inspire you?

There were not many lovely picture books when I was a boy but I read quite long, weighty stories such as the Biggles books, Treasure Island, The Last of the Mohicans, Swiss Family Robinson and so on. Luckily, as I read, I see pictures in my mind and I have such a strong visual mind that I even see words and sentences as pictures, so when I read I have a kind of film running in my brain!

My children read your books for pleasure – I can’t imagine anyone doing that with any other reading scheme. How do you manage to create such appealing characters and interesting stories with a limited vocabulary?

A great deal of the appeal is that Alex and I work together so when I have drafted a story I meet him and he draws the rough sketches. That way much of the story is told through the pictures. The pictures act as the vehicle or an extension for the feelings, reactions, subplots, impending events and so on that occur in the story.

Are the characters based on anybody you know? What about Floppy, is he based on a real dog?

No, they are all entirely figments of my imagination, but their characters have grown based on a build-up of so many stories – like a soap-opera. Gradually the character takes on a life of their own,

Did you have much involvement in producing the TV series? What was it like hearing your creations speak?

I’m afraid Alex and I hadn’t much control over the TV series. We wished it could have been a lot different! Enough said!

Your books have been read by millions of children worldwide, but you don’t have the fame of someone like JK Rowling. How do you feel about that?

I’d rather be as anonymous as I am and I’m glad I am not much in any spotlight other than the one which shines a light on my passion to enable children to become literate, to love books, and to be effective, critical life-long learners. (That sounds a bit high-flown, but I hope you know what I mean).

Together you’ve written over 400 books – which is your favourite?

The Rainbow Machine.

Do you have plans to do anything different in the future? Any books or projects other than the ORT?

I’m slowly trying to write a novel! I need to get on with it. At my age, I’m running out of time!!

Photos: courtesy of OUP

Every year, Australian Writers’ Week brings authors from Down Under to China for a series of talks, readings, and workshops. Among this year’s guests is John Marsden, author of over 40 novels for children and young people. beijingkids talked to him about his life and work; watch out for our forthcoming interview with writer and illustrator Bronwyn Bancroft.

John Marsden was a teacher who took up writing because he saw that his teenage students weren’t interested in the fiction being offered to them. His first book, So Much to Tell You (1987), was an immediate bestseller, and he was already feted in Australia before his international breakthrough came with Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993). In this fast-paced thriller a group of teenagers go on a camping trip, but return to find their town has been invaded and their families captured. The novel spawned nine sequels and was adapted into a movie, released in 2010. When we spoke to him, this celebrated series was a natural place to start.

The landscapes and lifestyle in Tomorrow… are very powerfully evoked. Are they based on your own childhood?

Yes, to some extent. I grew up in rural areas until I was 10 years old, but all through my life I’ve kept in close touch with farming and the bush. I went to a city boarding school where most of the boys were from farms, so I heard many stories about their lives.

The teenagers in the story enjoy an enviable degree of freedom compared to most contemporary urban kids. How have your readers responded to that?

They seem to find it a pretty exciting idea. Lots of farm kids do live like this. At the age of 10 or 12 they might learn to drive tractors and other farm vehicles, muster sheep and round up cattle. It’s a shame that many adults treat young people as helpless. Such adults seem to have a completely false idea of what children and teenagers can achieve.

Ellie [the protagonist of the Tomorrow… series]is such a strong character. Was she inspired by anybody real?

Yes, a girl who I taught three times: when she was 11, when she was 15, and when she was 17. She lived on a farm, was a terrific writer, was highly intelligent, and had great strength of character. We are still friends today – she is now about 48 years old, with three children, and still a wonderful person.

I understand you also run a school. Tell us about it.

In my school we try to walk the line between high standards of work and behaviour, and a relaxed, good-natured, good-humoured atmosphere. We encourage the kids to take risks– they climb trees, ride bikes and ripstiks, have water fights, have stick wars. In class, we might make jokes and tell stories, but we also expect students to work hard. We believe that a classroom should not be a boring little building where children sit at desks all day. Our classroom is the world. We take students all over the place, to festivals, to museums, to galleries, to concerts, to the theatre, on hikes, on canoe trips, on ski trips, on bike camps… And we have as many interesting visitors as possible, to come and talk with the students. We want our students to have a trusting, positive, adventurous attitude to people, to the world, to life.

John Marsden will be speaking at three events in Beijing:

What We Talk About When We Talk About Young Adult Literature: John Marsden in Conversation with Yi Ping (翌平) (English & Chinese)
Thursday May 11, 7-9pm. Dongcheng No. 1 Library, 85 Jiaodaokou East St, Dongcheng District
北京市东城区第一图书馆，东城区交道口东大街85号

John Marsden: A Life in Books (English)
Saturday May 13, 11am-12:30pm. The Bookworm, Building 4, Nan Sanlitun Rd, Chaoyang District
老书虫 ，朝阳区三里屯南街4号楼. RMB 50 (includes a drink), age 12+

John Marsden: Take care, take risks (English)
Saturday May 13, 2-3pm. The Hutong, 1 Jiudaowan Zhongxiang, Beixinqiao, Dongcheng District
北京融汇通文化传播有限公司，东城区北新桥九道湾中巷1号. RMB 50 (includes a drink)

Photo: abc.net.au