Well for me anyway! Hooray I'm in Sydney! For Sydney Writers' Festival!

Currently, I'm snuggled under my sleeping bag in the dorm in the hostel I'm staying at: a dorm which I have to myself I might add! Another hooray for room & ensuite to myself!

I must admit I won't be uploading any photos as my mini laptop, as much as I love it, is very slow, and I don't have the time nor patience currently to wait!

However, you can hit LIKE on my Facebook Fan Page as I've been putting photos up there, and will continue for the rest of my time here.

(Side note: in extraordinarily good timing on Facebook's behalf, when I checked Facebook on the way to the airport this morning, a thing flashed inviting me to download a new Pages app - how awesome! I've been on there ...

I have been extremely fortunate that I've been meeting all the authors who have written my favourite books over the past few years.

I have five top favourite books (they all swirl around the top equally; there is no specific order) - and when you consider one of those authors is deceased (Richard Yates), another hasn't put out a book this year and therefore unlikely to tour (Tom Perrotta) - I'm doing pretty damn well when I say can I've seen the other three in the flesh: Michael Cunningham, Liane Moriarty and now I can joyfully add Jeffrey Eugenides to that list.

It was a special event, a coat-tail ride-off from Sydney Writers Festival: 10 Writers, Five Double Bills.

Joshua Cody and Jeffrey Eugenides

It’s nice to be surprised as a reader. You open the pages thinking you know how the story goes, but instead you’re ambushed ...

Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers is one of my favourite children's books.I have a little stuffed toy of the Penguin, a promotional toy that came out with the hardcover book.

It sits on my dresser, watches me, and I watch it.

I love it, and I love the book.

So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw the he was going to Sydney Writers Festival.

It only dawned on me on Thursday that if he was coming all the way to Australia for SWF, then surely he'd be in Melbourne!

I was in luck: one session at a Melbourne CBD bookstore.

(Can someone explain that to me, by the way? That an international author would fly all the way to Australia, bother to come all the way to a state, and only do one half an hour public event?! I just don't ...

I got a curious DM (direct message) on Twitter about a week ago, inviting me to a social media night at SLV.

Originally, I was to finished work at six when it started, so I was going to be late. Then I had to work late, and told them I couldn't come. Then, one of the girls I nanny got sick and the mother decided to pick her up, thus telling me not to worry about work.

So I could go, and on time!

I didn't know what to expect - I half had a vision of about ten people sitting around a table discussing Twitter and its relation to SLV - but when I got to Mr Tulk all the tables and chairs were cleared and it was a full-on fancy affair (so glad I decided to dress-up a little!!).

The night was ...

Tonight I had the pleasure of going to Chalk and Talk, YA author Penny Tangey and Christina Adams' Melbourne International Comedy Festival show.

Put your mobile phone on silent, bring a packed lunch, and join Christina Adams and Penny Tangey as they talk about teaching and education.

It's got lesson plans, it's got UREJs (Useless Recycled Educational Jargon) and it's got more teaching clichés than you can poke a chalk stick at.

It really had everything a good school lesson should have, including a slide-show, loud-speaker announcements, stickers, (fake) people climbing out windows and a talk about Phar Lap.

I loved their witty observations, the layout, the acting, and, above all, the truthfulness of it.

At one point, Penny is a new teacher paired with Christina and Penny's talking about lesson plans and Christina's all, "I usually make it up while I'm doing the roll, ...

I deemed it appropriate to wear my Very Hungry Caterpillar jumper to a children's book festival, and so I did!

Much like last year, the festival managed to bring together fantastic children's authors and illustrators, entertainment, petting zoo, face painting, talks, launches and much more!

I did pretty much the same as last year and wandered around the various venues, taking it all in.

Huge crowds wherever you went; people clutching books and dodging each other as they went to stand in the book signing line.

Some happy snaps:

  
Petting zoo:

Publishers tents (Hardie Grant):

 Drawing on the road:

Authors and illustrators in The Wheeler Centre:

Hazel Edwards in Experimedia:

 Today was also the first day ...