Let’s get reading: The power of fiction to shape girls’ lives
The books we read have an incredible power to shape our thoughts, and our view of the world and our place in it. Fiction delights, enthralls, infuriates, inspires. It transports us to other realities....
View ArticleGirls in crisis: self-harm, and what you can do to help
Increasingly I am being asked by concerned parents and girls about the issue of self-harm, so this week I’m bringing you an abridged version of the section in my book The Butterfly Effect that looks at...
View ArticleAmazing Grace: One woman’s story of overcoming anxiety
I am fortunate to regularly be a panelist on Channel 9′s Mornings with Jane Caro, self-described novelist (Just a Girl), author (The Stupid Country, The F Word), writer, feminist, atheist, Gruen Chick,...
View ArticleMy next book
The Next Big Thing encourages writers to share their work. Participants answer questions on their next big project (usually a book, but not always – one of the nominees listed with me was a playwright)...
View ArticleJudging A Book By It’s Cover
This week there has been animated discussion about book covers. Concern over the truly awful feminised version of Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar” went beyond merely that of taste. 1966 cover design...
View ArticleAll About Women – Bringing Up Daughters
I am thrilled to announce I will again grace the stage at the Sydney Opera House; you may recall last year I joined Germaine Greer, Eva Cox and Tara Moss there as part of the Festival Of Dangerous...
View ArticleDestroying The Joint
I was thrilled to be asked to contribute to “Destroying The Joint – Why Women Have to Change The World,” an incredible new collection of writing initiated as a response to radio broadcaster Alan Jones’...
View ArticleRelationship Education – beyond the birds and bees banter
Did you know that: *24% of 14 to 17 year-olds know at least one student who has been the victim of dating violence, yet 81% of parents are either unaware of it, or turn a blind eye. What’s more, 33% of...
View ArticleFictional Future Girls
My first experience with dystopian fiction, with a genre of novels that explore a future that is bleak, corrupt and almost without hope, was in High School when we read Z For Zachariah. I recall...
View ArticleFind Your Tribe
Despite the popular rhetoric about social media leading to the demise of real-world friendships (you’ve heard the criticisms, right? “Teens are now too busy texting to talk”, “Young people care more...
View ArticleWhy It’s Actually Okay for Your Child to Feel Ungrateful Sometimes
I’m incredibly excited to introduce you today to my fourth book. Gratitude – A positive new approach to raising thankful kids will be the first in a series I am writing for parents of kids of both...
View ArticleA teen girl’s guide to surviving Valentine’s Day
The following extract is taken from the book for teen girls I co-wrote with Nina Funnell, “Loveability: An Empowered Girl’s Guide to Dating and Relationships.” It is published by Harper Collins and may...
View ArticleThis is what teen girls need and deserve. THIS.
I recently posted the following on my Facebook page. It quickly attracted over a hundred shares so I thought it worth sharing with you here too. Sometimes I see things marketed towards teen girls under...
View ArticleIn celebration of Book Week; my long-standing love for books, libraries, and...
This year is the 70th anniversary of the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s annual Book Week, which runs from August 22 – 28. The following post was originally published by RendezView. My love...
View ArticleAsk Me Anything
I was thrilled to be asked to contribute to a book that is destined to become a teen-girl must-have; Rebecca Sparrow’s latest title for teen girls, Ask Me Anything (heartfelt answers to 65 anonymous...
View ArticleSo what are you reading?
The talented author Rebecca Sparrow ( featured previously here and here) posted a video over the weekend profiling her favourite authors for teens. I was beyond thrilled to have scored a mention! Check...
View ArticleTake a bow, class of 2016. You’ve made it
This week the HSC exams finished for another year and, as an educator and the parent of a teenage girl who sat her last test on Monday, I can’t help but reflect on this time. Not so much on the...
View ArticleMy top 10 tips for raising happy, confident teen girls
I am just back from Perth where I had the most incredible time presenting (along with Dr Justin Coulson and Clark Wight) as part of Maggie Dent’s Masterclass on Parenting Teens. This event was to...
View ArticleTheres an art to being alone and loving it
I spend a lot of time alone. I’ve been single for about five years now, and I often work by myself from home. My children are teenagers and although we are very close, they are swept up in their own...
View ArticlePolicing the boundaries
Reports of improper teacher-student relationships are on the rise. Earlier this month, in a Daily Telegraph exclusive it was revealed that sexual misconduct incidents have increased by two thirds in...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....