Meg McKinlay
Meg McKinlay is a children's writer and poet. She grew up in a television-free household and fell in love with books and language from a young age. An experienced teacher, Meg has a PhD in Japanese literature and has taught at schools and universities across Perth and in China and Japan. Her first novel, Annabel, Again (Walker Books, 2007), charts the delightfully difficult terrain of pre-teen female friendships, while Going for Broke, a novel for upper-primary boys (Walker Books, 2008) takes on the more lighthearted matter of daredevil stunts and world record attempts. A picture-book, The Truth About Penguins, is scheduled for publication in 2009. Meg's first collection of poems, Cleanskin, was published in 2007, by The Westerly Centre. Meg's poetry is for adults (and published under Megan McKinlay, rather than Meg), but she draws on some of her material in presenting high-school poetry workshops.
Meg's first collection of poetry, Cleanskin, was published by The Westerly Centre in 2007. Cleanskin is aimed at adults, but Meg draws on some of this material when conducting poetry workshops at high-school level.
Meg enjoys talking about writing almost as much as she likes writing itself (sometimes more!), and she is currently working with groups from mid-primary through to upper secondary school. Meg is happy to conduct readings, author/book talks which focus on the writing life and process, and writing workshops, both poetry and prose. Meg particularly enjoys talking about the creative process, exploring how a writer moves from that initial spark to a finished story or poem, and encouraging students to tap into their own imaginative potential. More information about Meg's presentations is available on her website, along with teaching notes for her books.
Meg is currently based in Fremantle, Western Australia, but zips back and forth across the Nullarbor reasonably regularly. She is happy to liaise with interstate schools to coordinate an author visit where possible.
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