Welcome to the July 2017 edition of CKT
July is an exciting month for us as we announce the winners in our first competition of the year – Magic, Mystery or Skateboards.
We had a record number of entries this year. Submissions this year not only tickled our judge's funny bones but they were also inspiring. With the theme of Magic, Mystery or Skateboards there was a variety of interpretations by our entrants that opened the door for some very creative story telling. It was great to see lots of new writers taking the plunge and submitting their stories. Well done!
We would like to thank Faber Academy for sponsoring our competition. Their prize of a $295 voucher for use in either their Sydney or Melbourne locations is an excellent opportunity for our first place winner to enhance their writing.
Congratulations to the following winners:
1st Shaye Wardrop – Far and Near (Winner of the Faber Academy prize)
2nd Angela Costigan – Age Old Magic (Winner of a detailed critique of your entry through the CKT Manuscript Assessment Service)
3rd Georgina Moore – The Mystery of the Lost Teeth (Winner of a $50 book pack and one-year membership with Creative Kids Tales)
All feedback forms have now been emailed to our entrants. If you have not received our email, please check your spam box. If still nothing, please email me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Congratulations to all those who shared their work with our judges.
Opportunity for members - Last month you may have seen posts in various Facebook groups about an opportunity for CKT members to have their stories read by professional actors on radio.
Here's what we are looking for:
Playful fun language, rhyming, silly is ok too. For the 3-6 yrs age bracket. Theme Guide: dinosaurs, fairies, robots, space, animals, transport, oceans, jobs, Australia, music, insects, pirates etc. Any themes or topics that a 3-6 yr old would love. Your story should be able to be read aloud and hold the listener for 4-5 mins. As there will be no visuals, the story needs to stand alone. Stories will be rotated with other titles and may get 2-3 plays per week.
There is the potential for popular stories to be given air time up to 12 months.
This is an excellent opportunity for your stories to reach a new audience. Stories will be read by professional actors and have sound effects added to compliment your story.
This invitation is extended to Creative Kids Tales emerging authors. As there will be deadlines involved with the project, we are looking for members who are available to commit.
You must be a member of Creative Kids Tales to participate in this exciting new initiative. For more information contact Georgie at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This is an exciting initiative that we hope will be taken up by lots of our members.
If you are not a member of Creative Kids Tales now is the time to join.
Creative Kids Tales, an industry recognised site for children’s authors has been helping authors on their journey to publication since 2011. Whether you are looking to build your author platform, address weaknesses in your manuscript, access opportunities, be part of a nurturing critique group or source information about publishers, CKT can assist you on your journey. Membership starts from $30 per year.
For more information about becoming a Creative Kids Tales member and taking advantage of the exclusive offers for our members email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. What are you waiting for?
The deadline has now closed for our CKT Story Collection. All submissions have been received, accepted and edited. It’s time to begin the process of putting it all together. We have 40 contributors who have submitted a rainbow of stories, poems. The CKT Story Collection will be published later this year and would make a great Christmas gift. Stay tuned for more information soon…
Recently I have been fine tuning my author presentations with a number of school visits. It can be daunting when you first stand before a room full of little faces. The experience is fun, nerve-racking but very rewarding. I share my experiences over on the CKT Blog.
(June 2017 St John the Baptist Primary School)
(Spreading my author wings 😉)
Did you know that the CKT Blog is now our most visited page! We covered a variety of subjects on our blog including Author Etiquette, Independent Publishing, Writing with Abandonment, Writing – work life balance, Building your Author Platform and we also chatted with a few International Authors – Kate DiCamillo, Jeff Kinney, Lucy Cousins and Stephan Pastis. Why not keep up to date with all our posts, simply pop over to our blog page and subscribe!
P.S. If you would like to blog for us, just email me (Georgie) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
That’s all from me this month. See you in August.
'A brilliant site jam-packed with info. Whether you’re an emerging or a submerging creator, CKT is a life raft!
'Congratulations to Georgie Donaghey for her hard work and enthusiasm in setting up a site that has been sorely needed to promote current Australian children's writing. Not just for the established, but for up and coming, Creative Kids Tales showcases talent and provides information essential for anyone in the industry.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales is ambitious, specific and professional - the Top Tips section alone is a must-read for every aspiring children's writer.' - 
'Buckets of thanks to Georgie for creating Creative Kids Tales. There’s a wealth of wonderful information and resources for everyone interested in creating books for kids – and a warm sense of community.'
'The Creative Kids Tales site is great fun and full of information about authors and their books!' - 
'Wow! What a wonderful resource.
'Creative Kids Tales is a brilliant resource – for established writers and those just starting out. I wish it had been around when I was a new writer. There are lots of invaluable tips and great advice.
'Once you find an easily-accessible, up-to-date and vibrant source of writing help and encouragement, you should value it and use it! Thanks to Creative Kids Tales, that’s all available, just with the tap of your finger: 
'Creative Kids Tales is a lovely online meeting space brimming with support and ideas for writers.'
'I love the grumpy cat videos, hahaha it's so grumpy ... oh, wait, wrong website. Ah yes, Creative Kids Tales. Brilliant! Getting published is an amazing, frustrating, brilliant, lonely, creative journey, and www.creativekidstales.com.au is awesome in that it helps both published and pre-published authors by providing support, inspiration, a community, and by allowing authors to learn from other authors, and who better is there to learn from .. .except maybe that grumpy cat, hahaha, hilarious.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales is a fantastic resource for aspiring writers that showcases emerging and published authors and illustrators and provides links to publishers' websites, helpful hints and competitions.'
'Congratulations on a brilliant site, and a superb first year!'.
"What a wonderful website and wealth of resources. I wish I’d discovered it sooner - but I can still enjoy it now, and have added it to my list of resources for new writers."
'This is a great website. Nowadays, when getting published is so hard and staying published not much easier, everyone needs all the help they can get. And here's Help with a capital H!' 'Go Georgie! Creative Kids Tales is an inspiration for all writers of children's and YA fiction.' - 
'What a great asset you are to the children's book industry, Georgie.
'Wow! Creative Kids Tales is a fantastic resource for writers, no matter what stage of their writing journey they are at. Congratulations, Georgie, on your attractive, easy-to-navigate website, your generosity to your fellow writers and your constantly evolving ideas. Thanks on behalf of all of us.' - 
'I’m thrilled to be Creative Kids Tales author of the month.' 'I hope in some small way by me taking part, I might help and inspire young authors and artists to follow their own artistic path.' 'The key I believe is to seek to enjoy what you do. Even though doing your best is a constant challenge I find it is a worthwhile one. So, get drawing and / or writing.' Good luck ! - 
'I stumbled on to Creative Kids Tales by accident. I thought it was kid's tails. I'd been doing some research about goats and how their tails were actually a fifth leg, a very long time ago. Or did I just dream that? In any case, I was bitterly disappointed at first to find not tails, but tales. However, while I was at the site I had a wander around, and soon discovered that it was even better than a goat's site - no kidding! This is a brilliant haven for writers, new and not so new; a place to showcase their work and to learn from others.' Well done, Georgie. You've done a fantastic job. - 
'Creative Kids Tales is a great forum for people who spend most of their working time alone. It is interesting and inspiring to see and hear what other authors and illustrators have to say.' - 
'Emerging from one's chrysalis of anonymity into the prodigious world of creative children's writing and publishing is a daunting prospect. Georgie Donaghey's Creative Kids Tales is a superlative source of inspiration and information for the bourgeoning writer and illustrator. She has created an invaluable platform from which writers, both developing and established, can view, promote and share each other's work, and most importantly aspirations. A fun, friendly, and informative forum that everyone in the kids' lit industry can benefit from.' Keep it up Georgie! - 
'CKT is a great resource for both established and emerging authors. I like the way you're always coming up with new and exciting initiatives at your site. And I love reading the fascinating journeys and achievements of the writers you profile here.' - 
'What can I say? Well if you have clicked this far and uncovered these words you KNOW that this (Creative Kids Tales) is a terrific resource full of ideas and connections.
'Creative Kids Tales is such a great website for navigating this industry – not just for authors and illustrators, but for parents and teachers and librarians and publishers and kids and storytellers of all sorts. It’s awesome!' - 
Creative Kids Tales offers a brilliant platform for established and emerging creators to keep in touch and learn from each other. That is a great thing for this most isolated of all professions (apart from On-site Antarctic Penguin Imitators). - 
'Thanks for having me on Creative Kids Tales. It's a great resource for emerging writers and illustrators and I hope it will have a long future.'
What a terrific, enthusiastic, informative and creative resource - of value and interest to so many people.
"Whether just starting out or with many books under your belt, Creative Kids Tales is the perfect place to go for all things writerly. Sharing the inner world is a wonderful thing for solitary writers, and it's all there on Georgie's website.
'Creative Kids Tales is great. You can pick the brains of people who make stuff without having to stalk them or do anything illegal.' - 
'If there's anything emerging authors struggle with (beyond the dreaded writer's block), it's receiving recognition or even acknowledgment of their work – battling for a slice of that incredibly elusive publishing pie. Georgie Donaghey has created a priceless promotional and networking station that allows new authors to not only share their work, but gain the courage and nous to take their work to a whole new level. Creative Kids Tales is a valuable addition to Australia's burgeoning children's book market.' - 
'I would have loved to have had access to creativekidstales.com.au when I was starting out! It's an invaluable source of information, inspiration and encouragement for both emerging (and fully-emerged!) writers.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales is a treasure trove of resources and insights, compiled with dedication and enthusiasm. A wonderful resource for anyone who is interested in picture books and children's literature.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales deserves all its accolades. Thanks to its creator, the site provides brilliant support, inspiration and encouragement for anyone who loves creating children's books. I have no hesitation in passing on your link.'
'If a website can be described as 'homely' or 'a friendly place for emerging writers to visit' then that's how I would describe Creative Kids Tales. It's probably the only Australian website for children's writers that I visit regularly and actually feel part of. When I need motivation, interesting writers to read about, or just a peek at my own 'baby steps' towards being a published writer, I visit the Creative Kids Tales family.' A big thank you to Georgie and Rod for a great website. - 
'Everything you need is here, on Creative Kids Tales! Oh, how wonderful this would have been for the young Emma Quay, knowing she loved children’s picture books but not knowing a soul in the industry. Down to earth, comprehensive, friendly, realistic and encouraging advice — this is an invaluable resource. Bravo!' - 
'Creative Kids Tales will jump-start adults seeking to become writers!' - 
'Georgie and the team at Creative Kids Tales have a wonderful passion for children’s stories, and this site is a wonderful place to visit to find and share ideas!
'Creative Kids Tales provides such a valuable service. Writing can be a lonely business at times, and seeking publication can be daunting. So it is especially wonderful for writers to be able to access such a comprehensive site where information, experiences and the ups and downs of writing for kids can be shared.' Well done, Georgie! - 
'The thing I like about the Creative Kids Tales website is that the authors come across as real people who face the same problems that beginning writers do and that there’s plenty of practical advice.' - 
'What a wonderful website Creative Kids Tales is, supporting and helping Australian authors in their quest through the dark thorny forest of the publishing world. Georgie should be congratulated for all her hard work and fearless leadership!' - 
'Creative Kids Tales is an awesome resource you should totally check it out.' - 
'Thanks for being such a strong advocate for children’s literature, the power of stories, and reading.
'This site is such a wonderful resource for writers and illustrators at every stage of the journey. I've learned more about some of my favourite people in children's literature here, but also had the joy of discovering whole new worlds of talent.' - 
Writing can be a lonely profession. By necessity, you need to work alone much of the time. But it is wonderful to have a website which eases that by connecting creators with each other and with a wealth of information and resources.
'The long-distance marathon of writing, illustrating and publishing usually begins along a very foggy road, in the dark, shoeless. But wait! What's that light on the horizon? A glowing little cafe, full of a bunch other runners plotting out mud-maps on napkins and exchanging anecdotes, warning about ditches and praising short-cuts. Stop for a while, have a cup of tea, maybe even a shoe-fitting, then get yourself back on the road for the long slog to sunrise.' - 
'Georgie Donaghey’s Creative Kids Tales is deservedly going gangbusters! What a wonderful forum and multi-storeyed resource for shiny new authors, legends of the industry and every writer in between!'
'Creative Kids Tales is a unique and valuable online resource for new and established authors. The site provides a wealth of information and insight into the children's writing world.' 'Thanks for all your support, Georgie, and keep up the good work.' - 
'Creative Kids Tales offers new writers the joy of publication on their journey of craft and creativity.'
'Creative Kids Tales has inspired, encouraged and supported not only the published, but also us hopefuls still learning the ways of the publishing world. Thanks for providing not only an amazing site to scroll and learn through, but also providing friendship and a real sense of chasing our dreams.' - 
'I wish Creative Kids Tales had been around when I was first starting out! What a brilliant way to connect with other authors and find out about the lovely world of kids books.' 'Go Georgie! I think you're amazing.' - 
'It's about time that we had something like Creative Kids Tales. It's a treasure trove for information and news, plus it showcases talent from aspiring writers. It's a wonderful springboard for anyone who wants to dive into the Children books world!'