Siboney is a writer, editor, and teacher. She has been running workshops for children, adolescents, and adults for over 25 years, and is passionate about fostering creativity and encouraging writing.

Siboney’s workshops cover everything from creative writing skills to discursive writing to developing extended writing skills across the secondary curriculum. She offers sessions for students Stage 3-6, as well as Professional Development workshops for teachers (with most of her Teacher Professional Learning sessions being NESA registered).

Siboney has written extensively for educational institutions (including the Australian College of Applied Psychology) and publishers (including Blake Education). She has had numerous works of short fiction published, has been selected for the QWC/Hachette Australia Unpublished Manuscript Development Program, and has been long and short-listed for a number of writing awards.

Siboney has a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing (UQ) and is about to embark on her PhD in Creative Writing (Griffith University). She has presented at Teacher Conferences and Literary Festivals, and has been a HSC marker of both Extension 1 and Extension 2 English.

Duration: One full day
Suitable for: Extension 2 English students

Workshop overview

This full-day workshop examines each of the requirements of the Extension 2 English syllabus and provides a ‘plan of attack’ for ensuring students have all the information and strategies they need to create wonderful Major Works.

Elements of the Writing Process to be covered include:

• How to choose the form, themes, and voice for your Major Work.
• How to approach the writing process using a systematic protocol of creation, evaluation, and revision.
• Sophistication of ideas and execution are what score the highest bands in the HSC and this workshop shows students how to demonstrate deep engagement and create erudite work.

Key aspects of the Syllabus will be covered including:

• Viva Voce: What is involved and how to prepare.
• Literature Review: Why it’s important and how to do it.
• Critique of your Creative Process: What should the critique focus on and how to write it.
• Creative Work: How to make your writing shine.
• Reflection Statement: Crafting reflections that justify decisions and demonstrate a clear understanding of the syllabus.

Duration: One full day
Suitable for: Stages 3-5

Workshop overview

Completing the Creating Fearless Writers course will contribute 6 hours of PD addressing Standards 2.1.2, 2.5.2, 3.1.2, 3.3.2, 5.2.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

This course is designed to:

• inform teachers about best practice research regarding student writing
• show teachers how to inspire students to write, extending both student confidence and mastery
• help teachers organise and sequence lessons into effective teaching programs
• show teachers a range of strategies they can employ immediately to get students writing often and without fear
• build teacher confidence so that they feel inspired and competent in employing these strategies in their own classrooms and schools
• demonstrate the link between explicit, challenging, and achievable learning goals and student engagement, behaviour, and outcomes
• show teachers how to provide timely, effective, and appropriate feedback to students about their writing in ways that enhance student agency

Duration: One full day
Suitable for: Stage 6

Workshop overview

Completing the Telling Tales: How to Teach Creative Writing course will contribute 6 hours of PD addressing Standards 2.1.2, 2.5.2, 3.1.2, 3.3.2, 5.2.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.

This course is designed to:

• demystify the creative writing process, from initial idea through to final publication
• demonstrate the link between creativity and enhanced cognitive ability, drawing on research findings to validate the strategies taught in this course
• address the very common fears many adults (including teachers) have around their own creative writing ability and how this can (inadvertently) impact our teaching of creative writing
• give teachers classroom strategies for teaching all aspects of creative writing
• demonstrate a student-led approach to creativity that fosters lateral thinking, encourages empathy, and rewards students for stepping beyond their comfort zones
• equip teachers so that they feel able and inspired to take their teaching of creative writing to whole new levels

Michelle has illustrated 4 published texts for children and young teens. Her first book, ‘how WEIRD is that…’  (by Gyan), was nominated for the Crichton Award for Best New Illustrator, and another release, ‘Let’s Go To Sleep’ (by Margaret Wild), was selected by The Australian Publishers Association and Books Illustrated to participate in an exhibition showcasing Australian Illustrators at the prestigious 2014 Bologna Book Fair. Her most recent book, ‘Fluke’, written by Leslie Gibbes was released in August 2017.

Duration: 2-3 hours
Suitable for: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3

Overview

Uses text and verbal cues the students will create creatures/monsters based on myths and legends

Michelle will work with collage as a means for the students to create a creature based on a myth. Students will have a collage resource sheet of various animals and textures from which to construct their interpretation of the creature featured in the myth.

They will then be assisted to create a drawing based on their collage and place it in a setting.

Students will be encouraged to make the creature their own in terms of interpretation and embellishment and also to start developing an imagined life for the creature and to illustrate that, (ie its habitat, diet, likes and dislikes).

This workshop will encourage students to develop a character from a text and introduce them to using collage as both an illustration means in its own right and as a a catalyst for other artworks.

Topics covered

• Mythical Creature collage to the description
• Drawing/painting a creature based on the collage
• And/or using a combination of collage textures and draw features
• Placing the creature in a setting.
• Character development

Note: The duration and complexity of this workshop can be adapted to the age group of the intended students.

Duration: 2 – 3hrs
Suitable for: Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6

Workshop overview

This workshop will address translating a set text/narrative into a series of illustrations.

Complexity and length of text can be adapted to the proposed duration of the workshop and the age of the students.

Michelle will take the students/participants through the process of creating a rough, initial visual storyboard, from which they will select at least one rough draft to work up as a final illustration so a set size ratio.

The set text teaches participants the specific requirements of professional illustration where the artwork is invariably working with subject matter which may, at least in part, require them to draw elements/objects they would not consider by choice.

They will also investigate working to a set size across several drawings and having to adjust their compositions/ideas accordingly, taking into account text placement, scale issues and centre lines of double page spreads. We will also address issues of keeping of continuity across a series of drawings

I will also address the importance of the artist bringing their own visual contribution/subtext to the narrative.

Students will be encouraged to work images/illustrations up in their own choice of materials, ie Collage, pen and ink, watercolour, paint, colour pencil or a combination of media.

Topics covered:

• Translating text to image
• Storyboarding
• Mockups
• Drawing to scale
• Composition
• Continuity.
• Use of materials.

Writer, teacher, performer and StoryBoard founder, Jesse Blackadder, sadly passed away earlier this year. Jesse will be sorely missed by all who knew her, including the thousands of children she has inspired through her creative writing workshops.

Jesse entertained audiences aged four to 94 in Australia and internationally with her tales of writing, researching, and unusual creatures. Passionate about becoming a vet from childhood, she ended up becoming an author instead and wrote a junior series about friendships between humans and animals.

A fibreglass seeing eye dog sets sail for the frozen south in Stay: The Last Dog in Antarctica. A young rider tries to save a wild horse in danger in Paruku The Desert Brumby, and a city kid has to draw on all her courage to save a koala from a cyclone in Dexter the Courageous Koala. Jesse was also an international award-winning author of historical and contemporary fiction for adult readers.

Míša Alexander is a mother of three boys, one of whom is on the Autism Spectrum. Inspired by the need for more inclusive schools and communities, she co-created and illustrated Fergus & Delilah, a children’s book changing a generation’s view on disabilities.

Míša is Canadian born, but has lived on the Northern Rivers of NSW since 1997. She has worked as graphic designer & illustrator for over 20 years in various studios around Australia as well as internationally for the United Nations as part of the Electoral Commission in East Timor & Afghanistan.

As workshop illustrator for the Byron Bay Writers Festival StoryBoard, Míša has had the opportunity to work with many students with a diverse range of skills and age.

Míša has opened up her private studio in Bangalow for children and adult art classes. Drawing, painting, exploring and creating; Míša’s art classes are packed with fun, inspiration and encouragement.

Duration: 1 hr
Suitable for:  Stage 1, Stage 2

Workshop overview

Author, Erin Knutt and illustrator, Misa Alexander present a dynamic workshop where they use their picture book, Fergus & Delilah, to explore diversity and inclusion. Students will have the opportunity to explore the similarities and differences of the characters through life –sized props, discussion, illustrations and a bit of dance and music thrown in the middle. Students will then work alongside Misa as they draw their own characters and reflect on how they can be inclusive of others. Finally participants will make their own block head craft, complete with wires for hair, that they can take home or showcase at school!

Topics covered

• Differences and Similarities
• Character choices
• Inclusion
• Storyline
• Power of Illustrations

Curriculum outcomes

• Examine Literature
• Recognise similarities and differences in individuals and groups, and explore how these are celebrated and respected.
• Understand that people use different systems of communication to cater to different needs and purposes and many people may use sign systems to communicate with others.
• Explore ideas, experiences, observations and imagination to create visual artworks and design.

Duration: 1hr
Suitable for: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3

Workshop overview

Míša is passionate about art and loves to inspire and encourage students of all ages. In Portraits with a Twist, students will first explore and discuss art portraiture in history and the evolution of style. This will then be followed by learning a practical guide to proportions of the facial structure and how to create a face.

Students will then learn to think outside the box with a continuous line drawing of an object (ie. A pear) followed by another continuous line drawing of themself using the right side of the brain to look at the light & shadows as well as the details in the their faces. They will then turn this base drawing into a masterpiece with colour, texture and collage.

Each art session is tailored to specific age groups and is always a fun creative.

Topics covered

• Inspiration & history of art
• Defining spatial awareness
• Exploring abstract thinking
• Overcoming failure
• Learning new things

Curriculum outcomes

• Use materials, techniques and processes to explore visual conventions when making artworks
• Thinking imaginatively, creatively and interpretatively
• Expressing themselves
• History

Duration: 1 hr
Suitable for:  Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3

Workshop overview

Míša’s Dynamic Still Life workshop explores a wide variety of artistic techniques and skills. Dynamic Still life is taking one object and exploring it in several ways. Misa will introduce students to different techniques on how to visually interpret one object. Students will begin with continuous line drawing and move to pastel scratching, pen and watercolour painting and finally a layering approach with acrylic paints.

Topics covered

• Inspiration
• Anaylsing still life
• Application of varying techniques
• Defining spatial awareness
• Explore abstract thinking
• Overcome failure
• Learn new things

Curriculum outcomes

• They demonstrate different techniques and processes in planning and making artworks.
• Thinking imaginatively, creatively and interpretatively
• Expressing themselves

Sarah grew up in a family with no television, which meant she was a voracious (if fairly indiscriminate) reader, and she was determined, from an early age, to be a writer. This led her to study journalism, and she joined ABC Radio Current Affairs where, in 1993, she won a Walkley Award for a story on diggers returning to Gallipoli. Later she became a researcher and field producer on ABC TV’s ‘Foreign Correspondent’ program. 

In 1997 she resigned from the ABC and moved to the hills outside Byron Bay to devote herself to writing fiction. 

Her first novel Salt Rain was published (Allen & Unwin) in 2004. It was shortlisted for the 2005 Miles Franklin Award, the Queensland Premier’s Literary Prize and the Dobbie Literary Award. Salt Rain was published in the United States by MacAdam/Cage. 

Her second novel His Other House was published in March 2015 by Pan Macmillan and in Germany in August 2015. Her third novel Promise was published by Pan Macmillan in June 2016 and in Germany and the Netherlands in late 2017/2018. Audible audiobooks produced Promise and His Other House in 2016. 

She lives in Mullumbimby with the writer, Alan Close, and their young daughter.

Duration: 2 hours
Suitable for: High school. Works best with a year group (eg year 8 or year 11) or a mixed group of particularly keen writers, drawn from Years 7 – 12.

Workshop overview

Sarah draws on her years of experience as a novelist and journalist to teach techniques to get students’ creativity flowing, as well as concrete, practical tools to create narrative tension, deepen character, and create a sense of immediacy for the reader.

She gives comprehensive handouts, with examples from others’ writing, and illustrates with anecdotes from her own writing experience. She gets the students writing straight away, and they’ll do lots of writing throughout the workshop.

Topics covered:

• Free-writing as a brainstorming tool and fast, effective way to write a first draft.
• The drafting process – how a first draft is different to the final draft.
• Exercises to flesh out character.
• Using detail to show rather than tell.
• Writing a ‘sensory brainstorm’ to generate material to bring a piece of action alive.
• Student Q and A.

Duration: 3 hours
Suitable for: High school. Best for year 9 and up, unless students are focused, keen writers.

Workshop overview

Sarah draws on her years of experience as a novelist and journalist to teach students techniques to get their writing flowing, as well as concrete, practical tools to create narrative tension and to deepen character. She explains how students can write ‘scene’ to create immediacy for the reader and to show rather then tell. Most students write in summary and find it a revelation to learn about writing in scene.

She gives comprehensive handouts, with examples from others’ writing, and illustrates with anecdotes from her own writing experience. She gets the students writing straight away, and they’ll do lots of writing throughout the workshop.

Topics covered

• Free-writing as a brainstorming tool and fast, effective way to write a first draft.
• Fleshing out character using free-written character histories
• When to show and when to tell.
• Using scene to show and create immediacy
• Writing a sensory brainstorm to add effective detail to scene.
• Student Q and A

Tristan Bancks is a children’s and teen author with a background in acting and filmmaking. His books include Two Wolves (recognised as an Honour Book in the 2015 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards, as well as winner of the YABBA and KOALA Children’s Choice Awards), the My Life series (weird-funny-gross short stories featuring Tom Weekly) and Mac Slater, Coolhunter. His short films as writer and director have won a number of awards and have screened widely in festivals and on TV. Tristan is excited by the future of storytelling and inspiring others to create.

Duration: 30 minutes to 1 hr
Suitable for: Stages 2-6 and adult. (NB: can be adapted to include stage one in small schools.)

Workshop overview

Autobiographical talk using anecdotes, images, video and the web to trace how Tristanʼs books relate to his life story. From schoolboy in Sydneyʼs Blue Mountains to teen TV actor and presenter in Australia and London, through travel and university to film making and life as an author. Discover the books Tristan loves to read, how he finds inspiration and how he makes a living telling stories for page and screen. Along the way, have lots of laughs, gain valuable tips on using your own life to inspire your stories and help create a weird, funny, gross short story for the next My Life book.

Topics covered

• How to find story inspiration
• Top 5 writing tips
• Making writing an active, contact sport

Duration: 1, 2 or 3 hrs
Suitable for: Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4

Workshop overview

How can you use all the odd, boring, funny stuff that happens to you and turn it into excellent stories? Author Tristan Bancks used bits from his life to inspire his short story collections My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up and My Life & Other Stuff That Went Wrong. Like the time his sister made him eat Vegemite off her toe and the time he had his appendix removed just to get out of school detention. Learn how to mine your own life for cool, weird, funny stories that your friends and teachers will love.

Topics covered

• Using memory for story inspiration
• Mashing truth and fiction to create authentic, entertaining stories
• Freewriting practice to discover untapped story ideas

Duration: 1-3hrs
Suitable for: Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5 to adult.

Workshop overview

Participants observe, experience and let the world around them rush onto the page. The forward-motion and physical exercise bring the writing experience alive, forging new and unexpected stories. Can be done in the school playground! https://www.tristanbancks.com/2018/01/byron-bay-writing-safari-2.html (Inspired by Tristan’s writing process on his book Two Wolves.)

Topics covered

• Writing outdoors for story inspiration
• Present-moment awareness as a storytelling tool
• Discovering character inspiration from the people and spaces around you.

Duration: 1-3hrs
Suitable for: Stage 3, stage 4

Workshop overview

In-depth writing workshop for very keen / talented writers aged 10+ wanting to take their work to the next level and excavate the stories locked inside them. This workshop goes beyond ʻgetting startedʼ and plunges into voice, setting, character development, conflict, plotting, analysis of great writersʼ work and saying more by saying less.

Topics covered

• Writing outdoors for story inspiration
• Present-moment awareness as a storytelling tool
• Discovering character inspiration from the people around you.

Duration: 1.5 – 2 hours or full-day TPL workshop
Suitable for: High school teachers

Workshop overview

Teachers across all faculties are aware of the importance of developing student writing as a means to both enhance analytical and communicative skills, as well as fostering self-confidence. The research is clear – “Writing is a core literacy skill that all students need to master to be able to function effectively in school, the workplace, and the community. It is also a major focus of national educational bodies.” (Students’ motivation and engagement in writing: Do they have the ‘write’ stuff?, Education Matters (journal), 2016); Professor Andrew J. Martin and Dr Rebecca J. Collie (School of Education, University of New South Wales, Australia) and Dr Jen Scott Curwood (Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia).

The research is also clear that the best outcomes are possible when students are engaged and motivated to write.

So how does a teacher engage students to write often and in a manner that is rewarding and enhances student proficiency and confidence? Moreover, how can we as teachers create opportunities for regular writing within a classroom context and provide students with timely feedback in a way that is sustainable?

This Professional Learning session will:

• briefly review the evidence regarding the efficacy of regular writing opportunities to ALL students across ALL subject areas;
• show how an integrated approach to writing (combining both creative and information-based modes of writing) can engage students across all subjects;
• provide teachers with a range of approaches for increasing student writing in the classroom, ranging from quick and easy game-based strategies to note-taking to ways of using scope and sequence planning to foster writing skills.
• show how to structure extended writing tasks so that teachers can provide feedback in a sustainable manner. This final point is of particular importance as the ultimate aim is to ensure student mastery in writing extended responses, and as any Stage 6 English teacher will tell you, it takes time to read multiple draft essays and provide timely feedback without ending up exhausted.

Duration: 1.5 – 2 hours
Suitable for: Teachers of Stage 2 – 6

Workshop overview

This 1.5 – 2hr session is designed specifically for teachers looking to expand their knowledge, understanding, skills, and confidence when it comes to teaching creative writing.

The session is full of practical tips, useful classroom strategies, and assessment suggestions for creative writing tasks (and their rubrics).

Suitable for teachers of Stage 2-6, this TPL session builds on both the English Textual Concepts model and the Syllabus requirements across secondary English. In short, you’ll learn how to scaffold the teaching of creative writing across Stages (and when transitioning from primary to secondary school), as well as how to ensure students are engaged, encouraged, and building on prior learning.

This Professional Learning session will:

• outline the core elements of the English Textual Concepts model
• align creative writing complexity with cognitive development
• provide numerous strategies for teaching creative writing
• demonstrate how best to assess creative writing tasks