In May, I attended the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards held at the State Library of NSW. Despite ‘Zadie Ma and the Dog Who Chased the Moon’ not taking out the Patricia Wrightson Prize, we had a wonderful time.

Congratulations to all the winners and shortlisted authors, especially Corey Tutt and Blak Douglas, who were the winners in my category with their non-fiction picture book, “The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia’s First Peoples.” A book I must buy for my grandchildren!

What I loved about the Awards was the cultural diversity among the winners and shortlistees – it reflected the true nature of Australia.

It was wonderful catching up with so many friends, both old and new: my publisher at Penguin, Laura Harris, Kris Darrell, Justine Burton, fellow shortlistee Sandhya Rose Parappukaran, Zewlan Moor, Jemima Shafei-Ongu and many, many more!

But what made the night so very special was to be there with my wonderful daughter, Lei Lei. With work and young children, it’s a rare opportunity for us to travel together.

– Gabi X