The 2019 Newington LitFest has sadly come to an end. The authors, illustrators, storytellers and performance artists who visited for the festival have left us with wonderful memories and new insights into their books, drawings and stories told. 

Here are some thoughts from a few of the Wyvern boys about the authors, performers and storytellers.

K – 2

Matt Cosgrove – Author Talk

• I liked Matt Cosgrove because he showed us how to draw a robot. Charlie No (KW)
• I liked how Matt read his book, ‘Alpacas with Maracas’ to us. Paxton Clarke (KW)

Bronwyn Vaughan – Performer

• I liked when Madame Bon Bon showed us how she used the sewing machine and fabric in the story, ‘Something from Nothing’. Tobias Calvert-Hasan (1Y)
• I thought the performance was creative and she had us act out some of the parts in the show. Flynn Vogel (1Y)

Kate Forsyth – Storyteller

• I really liked how Kate had the little treasure box with all her trinkets that helped her tell her stories. Liam Johnston (2S)
• I liked Kate’s story about the little girl who lived in a small cottage. She tried to help her mother by finding the witch who made porridge. Sam Coull (2S)

Years 3 & 4

Tim Harris – Author Talk

• Tim was incredible. Henry Eversgard (3M)
• He changed my mind about reading. He’s the best author I have met. Thomas Bilsdon (3J)

Jules Faber – Illustrator

• Jules’ illustrations pretty good. I enjoyed how he taught us to draw his character, ‘Weirdo’. Archie Downes (3M)

Kate Forsyth – Author Talk

• Kate’s stories were extraordinary as well as her back story for her series ‘The Impossible Quest’. Marcus Taylor (3M)

Years 5 & 6

Tristan Bancks – Author Talk

• Great stories, awesome cliffhangers, with a real life based theme. Tristan is an incredible author and storyteller who is interactive and funny. Marko Nikolic (6K) and Oliver Moore (6B)

Kate Frosyth – Writing Workshop

• Kate told us you should always start your story with a bang! Hugo Young (5M)
• She helped me with how to set out my planning for a story. Liam Mitchell-Zancanaro (5M)

Mick Elliott – Author Talk

• Mick Elliot was very entertaining and super funny. He has excellent stories of funny situations. He involves the crowd a lot. 

Sean Choolburra – Performer

• Sean was funny and interactive with his audience. He also embraced his traditional culture which was interesting to learn about. We liked how he got people onto the stage when they didn’t want to. Even at first if they were’t comfortable being on stage, by the end they really loved it. Bradman Fox (6H) and Jack Duddy (6K)

Click here to view some of the photos from the above events. 

The Book Parade

The Book Parade was a vibrant display of fabulous story characters from ‘A Time or A Place’ in the literary world. The boys (and parents) excelled themselves in bringing these imaginary book characters to life. As well as being an entertaining and fun event, the Wyvern Book Parade also raised $738.50 for Room to Read, to assist this organisation in bringing books to children in developing countries. Thank you so much to everyone. What a great result! 

Please click here to see this colourful spectacle.

Spelling Bee

Headmaster, Mr Michael Parker, and well known Australian children’s author, Ms Susanne Gervay, were the adjudicators for our Spelling Bee this year. This nerve-racking, suspenseful event had everyone on the edge of their seats. In the end, Vasili Tzouganatos (5S) was the runner-up and Nathan Chong (6K) the spelling bee champion.

Thank you to everyone in the Wyvern Community for your contribution and support of an incredible 9th Newington Literature Festival.

Kind regards,

Mrs Barnes
Librarian