Meet Deborah Abela, author of The Kindness Project. Deborah is one of Australia’s most beloved children's authors. Her latest middle grade novel is The Kindness Project, which is her 29th book. Recently, she also released the Book of Wondrous Possibilities. While Deb writes mainly in middle grade, she has also written chapter books and picture books, such as Bear in Space and the upcoming No More Room in the Bed. Also hear about ‘Words at Dawn', a writing initiative for students of the Australian Writers’ Centre. And your chance to win the novel The Many Lies of Veronica Hawkins.
00:00 Welcome to the world of writing and publishing 01:09 Busting myths about writing for kids 02:30 Guest spotlight: Nat Newman's writing tips 04:38 Words at dawn: A creative writing initiative 15:27 Deborah Abela: A deep dive into middle grade novels 27:12 The Kindness Project: From concept to creation 29:57 Exploring kindness through storytelling 31:38 The creative process and writing in verse 32:05 From pitch to publication 34:06 Character development and creative inspiration 37:55 Rejections and successes in the publishing world 39:16 From film to children's books: A career journey 43:21 The art of writing across different formats 50:51 Engaging with young readers: The importance of school visits 55:13 Top tips for aspiring middle grade writers
Deborah was born very short and had funny ears, but that didn't stop her being a very smily baby. When she grew up, she was still short, a bit clumsy and not very brave, which may explain why she writes books about spies, ghosts, soccer legends and children living in a flooded city, battling sea monsters and sneaker waves.
Deborah's family never had a lot of money, but every week her mum would buy a Little Golden Book at the supermarket for 40 cents, until slowly Deborah had her own library of books. Some of her favourite books at school were The Lorax and Professor Branestawm.
Deborah was always an adventurous kid and lived in her head a lot. It was there she went on brave adventures as she swung from the swings in the park pretending she was dangling from planes. She once even jumped off the garage roof thinking if she ran fast enough she could make it all the way to the pool. It wasn't a happy ending.
