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Lindy Batchelor, CBC Northern Sydney President (top), the crowd that gathered to hear Laura Harris speak (above).
On Wednesday night, 26 April, the CBC Northern Sydney Sub-Branch met at the beautiful new Abbotsleigh Library at Abbotsleigh Girls' School, Wahroonga. Not only was the venue entirely delightful, so was the company.
We had around 45 people in attendance, one of our biggest meetings yet. Everyone had come from near and far (some as far as the Central Coast!) to hear Laura Harris, Children's Publisher at Penguin speak.
Laura regaled us for over an hour about her experiences at Penguin, what she looks for in a manuscript, how she deals with unsolicited manuscripts (of which she receives around 3000 per year) and the delight she feels upon discovering the next big thing.
Oliver Phommavanh, a soon-to-be-published Penguin author, and a stand-up comedian, was there. Laura told us of her delight at reading Oliver's manuscript when he submitted it through his agent, Brian Cook. Having been in the same writers' group as Oliver for several years now, and having read through many versions of his story titled 'Thai-riffic' I can attest to how funny and clever it was from the very start and how much of a stand-out it was. AND, how much work Oliver has put in these last few months to bring it up to the standards required by Penguin.
Following Laura's relaxed and insightful presentation, we moved on to our AGM where the usual positions of office were up for nomination and election. Lindy Batchelor, our esteemed President, has decided to stay on for another year (phew!) while Wendy Blaxland and Karen Robertson will share the Vice-President position. We had a few new volunteers for positions on the committee, including Antonette Diorio who will be our Secretary, Laurine Croasdale who has agreed to be our Communications Officer, and Poona Bowden, who will help out with the organisation. I'm staying on as Minutes Secretary.
Lots of laughter and chatting followed and a fun night was had by all!
We had around 45 people in attendance, one of our biggest meetings yet. Everyone had come from near and far (some as far as the Central Coast!) to hear Laura Harris, Children's Publisher at Penguin speak.
Laura regaled us for over an hour about her experiences at Penguin, what she looks for in a manuscript, how she deals with unsolicited manuscripts (of which she receives around 3000 per year) and the delight she feels upon discovering the next big thing.
Oliver Phommavanh, a soon-to-be-published Penguin author, and a stand-up comedian, was there. Laura told us of her delight at reading Oliver's manuscript when he submitted it through his agent, Brian Cook. Having been in the same writers' group as Oliver for several years now, and having read through many versions of his story titled 'Thai-riffic' I can attest to how funny and clever it was from the very start and how much of a stand-out it was. AND, how much work Oliver has put in these last few months to bring it up to the standards required by Penguin.
Following Laura's relaxed and insightful presentation, we moved on to our AGM where the usual positions of office were up for nomination and election. Lindy Batchelor, our esteemed President, has decided to stay on for another year (phew!) while Wendy Blaxland and Karen Robertson will share the Vice-President position. We had a few new volunteers for positions on the committee, including Antonette Diorio who will be our Secretary, Laurine Croasdale who has agreed to be our Communications Officer, and Poona Bowden, who will help out with the organisation. I'm staying on as Minutes Secretary.
Lots of laughter and chatting followed and a fun night was had by all!
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