In May, I travelled to Brisbane to speak at the Narelle Oliver Lecture.

On my first morning in Brisbane, I had a wonderful session with the girls from St. Aidan’s Corinda. 

Don’t you just love Blobet the Great? This was one of the many gorgeous drawings of the Chinese mythological beast Qilin. I also received a rather glam portrait of myself drawn by Chloe. Thank you to the girls and teacher librarian, Helen Gardener, for such a lovely morning.   

I had a fabulous time presenting at the Narelle Oliver Lecture. Narelle was a dear friend and a wonderful picture book writer and illustrator who passed away far too soon. The Narelle Oliver lectures are held yearly and are dedicated to her memory. I spoke about how my childhood led to the four things I am most passionate about today – Imagination, art, school libraries and diversity in children’s literature.

Thank you to Jenny Stubbs and Robyn Sheahan Bright. It was lovely to catch up with old friends and meet new ones! 

–  Gabi X