At eight years old, Georgie was bitten by a redback spider. That same year, she won her first writing competition.
As a grown-up, (do children’s authors ever grow up?) Georgie is an internationally published award-winning author, wife and mother of three.
Never knowing where inspiration will strike next, Georgie carries a notepad wherever she goes. She even has a waterproof notepad stuck to her shower wall.
Georgie is terrible at keeping secrets. Just ask the thousands of school children around the country she’s shared writing secrets with.
Obsessed with helping kids to bring their stories to life, Georgie has meticulously structured workshops and presentations designed to harness kids’ imaginations and free their inner author.
Georgie believes all emerging authors and illustrators should have a voice. In 2011, she founded Creative Kids Tales.
WHAT CYA CONFERENCE DID FOR ME
In 2013, I attended my first CYA Conference and was the unofficial head tweeter and Facebook reporter. In 2014, that title became official and with over 200 tweets I had not only shared information I had learned, but also had very sore fingers. Seriously though, one of the most important aspects of the CYA Conference for me is the competitions. In 2013, I entered two stories and was awarded top ten listings under the Picture Book Pre-school and Chapter Books for older readers categories. By 2014, I had caught the bug and entered four stories. This time, I received third place under the Picture Books Primary Category and placed in the top ten with my other submissions. In fact, it was one of these other submissions that was contracted to Dragon Tales Publishing and launched in 2015.
The CYA Conference has only fuelled my desire to be a published author. Listening to the success stories, attending talks, workshops and immersing myself in all things writerly has become a yearly ritual. The networking opportunities are plentiful, and the friends I have made are lifelong. To be able to surround myself with likeminded people and learn all I can along this journey is priceless.
I could sing the praises of CYA all day, but you will only ever appreciate it if you attend. If you are serious about achieving your dream of publication, then attend you should.
I have always been confident I would be published; you have to be otherwise you will drown under the criticism and rejection. But would I have achieved publication as quickly without the lessons learned and valuable tools from CYA? I honestly don’t think so.
My advice is to immerse yourself in the writing world totally, network, attend festivals, workshops and soak up as much information as you can. Be seen, be heard and give back. Always give back and help others by offering what you have learned. This together with working hard at your craft will ready you for that day when you finally receive that acceptance letter. And believe me it’s on its way.
