Nathan Luff's Blog

Keen to write for kids or young adults? Writing NSW is presenting a day full of thoughtful discussions and creative insights that will inspire your writing and help you build your career.

Join an audience of aspiring writers and over 30 of Australia’s most beloved and exciting children’s and young adult authors (including me!!!!) for a jam-packed celebration of storytelling on 9 August in Callan Park. From panels, pitching sessions, book signings and more, don’t miss out on securing your ticket to the world of kids and young adult literature today!

Now in its twelfth year, the 2025 Kids and YA Festival is directed by one of Australia’s most popular authors for children, Jacqueline Harvey.

Read more and book here.

 

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Thanks to the spectacular folk at Big Sky Stories and the generous support of First National Real Estate Broken Hill, I’m heading to Broken Hill for some school visits, workshops, and more!

On top of a few days of school visits, I’m running a creative writing workshop on Tuesday the 25th of March from 3.45pm – 4.45pm. This is for children aged 9-13. If you’d like to register, email hello@bigskystories.org.au

 

 

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I’m very excited to be heading to Adelaide in October to be part of Once Upon a Festival 2025.

Once Upon a Festival is a unique event in South Australia and is one of the largest literary festivals for young people in Australia.

Thousands of young people will have the opportunity to experience a stellar lineup of world-class authors and illustrators in workshops, talks & special events over two days, with the aim of fostering a lifelong love of literature in students aged 7 – 17 years.

This is an initiative of Immanuel College in collaboration with Immanuel Primary School, the City of West Torrens and QBD books.

You can find out more information about the program and book tickets here.

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There is a Nathan Luff backpack that makes its way around the country each year, along with a whole heap of other author/illustrator backpacks.

The PLCC Backpack Project was inspired by the CBCA’s Travelling Suitcases and schools book to have their choice of backpack visit their school for a term.

PLCC Backpacks are filled with books, engagement & promotional materials, information about the author or illustrator and a unique author or illustrator challenge for your students! 

Backpacks can travel to any school, anywhere in Australia! They are FREE to book; you simply pay the cost of forwarding your backpack to the next school. This project is not funded and instead is organised and run by the dedication and passion of volunteers.

To find out more information or to book a backpack for your school, visit this webpage.

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I’m an Author Pen Pal, which means I get paired with an Australian school and we get to correspond by snail mail throughout the year.

Inspired by the amazing Book Pen Pals UK, Author Pen Pals is a recent initiative created to connect Australian authors and illustrators with Australian schools, in particular those that rarely have the opportunities to host or meet authors due to a lack of funds or their remote location.

The project is run by dedicated volunteers who want to spread the love of literacy to all schools throughout the entire country! They want to encourage kids to share their stories! And they want to promote our homegrown talent! What’s not to love about that?

You can read more here. While you might have missed the boat for 2025, you should put it in your calendar to sign up for 2026.

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I’m delighted to announce I will be appearing at the 2025 Somerset Storyfest on the Gold Coast.

It’s a wonderful line up, catering for school kids of all ages. Events run from the 1st to the 3rd of April. I hope to see you there!

Storyfest is a captivating celebration of storytelling for the entire family. As the premier writers’ festival for the Gold Coast, Storyfest stands as a beacon of literary excellence, and its annual three-day event on the Gold Coast is the cornerstone of this spectacular organisation. You can find out more and book tickets here:

https://www.storyfest.com.au/

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I recently had the pleasure of guest appearing on four episodes of this excellent podcast for writers: 5 Writers 5 Minutes.

Five best-selling kids’ authors in a five-minute masterclass. Every week, Deborah Abela, Tristan Bancks, Sarah Armstrong, Lian Tanner and Zanni Louise (though Tristan Bancks has been off winning many awards so a range of authors have been standing in for him) share their writing and editing secrets, reveal how their books developed and give tips on how to write your own story.

You can hear me in episodes 2.24 — 2.27.
https://5writers5minutes.buzzsprout.com/2206300/episodes

Alteratively, find this as a podcast or on YouTube by searching 5 Writers 5 Minutes.

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Write your own disastrous family adventure in a young writer’s workshop with me at the State Library of NSW on the 4th of August.

This workshop will run for 45 minutes during which you’ll create your own disastrous family outing story, complete with zany characters, thrilling plot twists and non-stop adventure!

Suitable for ages 6-12. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Find out more and register here.

This event is in addition to the State Library’s FREE Family Sunday celebrations! Join them afterwards for a family puzzle party and other fun activities between 10:00am – 1:00pm. For more information, visit Family Sunday: Puzzle party.

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Want to win a free author visit for your school?

The CKT’s Curious Kids Competition is a delightful initiative that invites questions from inquisitive kids about their favourite CKT author or illustrator.

It’s a chance for budding book lovers to ask their most pressing questions and get a glimpse into the magic behind the stories and illustrations they adore.

Every class that sends through a question for their favourite CKT author or illustrator, will go into the draw for their school to win a FREE 30-minute virtual session with that CKT Author or Illustrator.

You can even ask a question for an interstate author or illustrator.

They encourage teachers and teacher librarians to work with their students to come up with the questions. The more classes that submit, the more entries go into the barrel for your school. So your school will have more opportunities to win.

What the winning school will receive

Your favourite CKT Speakers Agency author or illustrator will share a reading from their books.

A Q&A with your favourite CKT author or illustrator, including a response to the question submitted at the time of entry.

The author or illustrator will share basic information about their writing or illustrating processes.

The CKT’s Curious Kids Competition commences on 1 July 2024. Closes on 30 September 2024.

The prize will be offered virtually in Nov/Dec 2024 at a date to suit both the speaker and the winning school.

Find out more here: https://cktspeakersagency.com.au/hey-teachers/

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Book Face is opening in St Ives and they have a Grand Opening celebration planned with children’s authors, giveaways, book signings and more. I’m going to be there. Will you?

St Ives Book Face — St Ives Shopping Village — Saturday 29 June — 9am–Noon.

9.00 — 10.00am — Laura Sieveking, Rebecca McRitchie and Yvette Poshoglian
10.00-10.30am — Nathan Luff (that’s me!)
10.30-11.30am — Eva Amores & Matt Cosgrove

Come say hi.

 

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