“During her visit Jess spoke openly about the positives of reading and using imagination everyday. She engaged with the students in developing characters for future stories� The children were spellbound�I would like to thank Jess Black for her great rapport” – Neil Walpole, Bishop Tyrell Anglican College

“We would highly recommend choosing Jess Black as your guest author. Jess had a warm conversational style that really puts the children at ease. They enjoyed hearing tales of her childhood; listened intently as she read form one of her books; and during jointly constructed story time, the students were all engaged, critically thinking and wanting to contribute to the discussion” - Mrs. Papadopoulos, Al Noori Primary School, Greenacre THE PROGRAMME As an author, parent and tutor who has been speaking in schools for over 10 years, Jess Black is passionate about storytelling and encouraging kids to read and write creatively. She has taught hundreds of writing workshops for all ages and knows how to make the process fun and engaging. Jess helps students to understand the balance between planning and writing, using character to drive story and helping tap into the imagination to come up with inventive plots. Jess helps students tap into their own lives and memories to create exciting stories that resonate. By using images, storytelling, activities, characterisation and audience participation the students, with Jess’ assistance, create and share their own stories. Her talks leave children excited about the power of books and the joys of reading and a belief that we all have our own stories to tell. The programme is adjusted to suit the age of the audience. The Infant Programme looks at themes of friendship, family, Australian history and Australian wildlife in relation to her books Moon Dance and The Bold Australian Girl. The Primary Programme engages with themes of resilience, environmental conservation, animal welfare, sport, and kindness drawn from her many book series’ including Keeper of the Crystal, Little Paws, The Kaboom Kid, The Bindi Wildlife Adventures and RSPCA Animal Tales. Performance requirements: projector or smart board for visual presentation and a microphone please Creative Writing Workshops: only available after a performance - Flat fee of $250 + GST for 60 minutes and 35 students maximum. One Day in Residence: available for 3 class groups for 90 minutes each at a flat fee of $900 + GST THE PERFORMER Jess Black is the author of over thirty books for children. Her chapter books include the Keeper of the Crystal Series, the Little Paws series and is the co-author of the highly successful The Kaboom Kid, The Bindi Wildlife Adventures series and the RSPCA Animal Tales series. Her picture books include Moon Dance and a second book coming out in November 2017 called The Bold Australian Girl. Themes which are prominent in Jess’ books include: environmental conservation, resilience, animal welfare, friendship, loyalty and family. Jess has worked as a writer and director in children’s theatre, a writer and editor in children’s television; a book seller and a book buyer. She is also a senior tutor at The Writers Studio tutoring their First Draft Novel or Screenplay course and their Second Draft Novel course. Website: www.jessblack.com.au

DURATION: 50 minutes SUITABILITY: Years K-6

PERFORMANCE COST $4.50 per student $0.45 GST Total: $4.95 (incl. GST)

PERFORMANCE MINIMUM (120 students) ** $540.00 per performance $ 54.00 GST Total: $594.00 (incl. GST)

**Please note every student over 120 pays $4.50 + gst