12 Curly Questions with children's author Brenton Cullen

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

When I was a kid, I had an acting agent – I auditioned for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie.

2. What is your nickname?
Too embarrassing to repeat here...

3. What is your greatest fear?
Losing my partner.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Julianne Negri

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

My natural hair colour is dark brown.

2. What is your nickname?
When I was little, my family called me Fizzgig.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Easy. Vampires. So scared of vampires!

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Don’t need ten, just one: chaotic. Although that’s six words...

12 Curly Questions with children's author Yvette Farmer

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

Sometimes when I’m bushwalking alone I like to have a chat with the trees and currawongs.

2. What is your nickname?
Vettie. When I was little my parents called me 'chops'. 

12 Curly Questions with children's author Dr Niraj Lal

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I really like rainbows. I have this special diffraction-grating film that makes rainbows when the sun shines through it, and I’ve got it up on the windows at home and it shines rainbows all through the house. I track the summer and winter solstices with them – I’m obsessed.

2. What is your nickname?
Nij

3. What is your greatest fear?
Becoming too enmeshed in our rapidly-spinning consumption economy that makes us all want to work more and buy more – but have less time to properly live and be human.

12 Curly Questions with author Maree Coote

1. What's your hidden talent?

Cooking

2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
Cruella de Vil of Hell Hall, from The Hundred and One Dalmatians, by Dodie Smith. Larger than life, stylishly evil, perverse, entitled, greedy, vain and shameless, Cruella is also graphically arresting — with hair half black and half white. She’s also a woman, and it’s time for more women villains.

3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which five authors would you invite? (alive or dead)
Tom Stoppard, Lewis Carroll, Dr Seuss, Edward Lear, Germaine Greer.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Renae Hayward

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I love musical theatre! My favourite musical is Matilda – I’ve seen it three times.

2. What is your nickname?
Naiz or Nae. My niece and nephews call me Aunty Nae.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Sharks and crocodiles – eep!

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
I love writing in rhyme and using humour and fun.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, dedicated, patient (sort of).

Guest Post: Joanne Sorley on How Colour and Metaphor Help Children Talk About Emotions

Joanne Sorley on How Colour and Metaphor Help Children Talk About Emotions

Children feel deeply long before they can explain what’s happening inside them.

As adults, we’re comfortable using abstract words like sad, worried or overwhelmed, but for young children, those words can feel fuzzy and far away. When emotions rise, asking a child to 'use their words' often comes at exactly the moment when words are hardest to find.

What children understand best is what they can see, imagine, and feel. This is where colour and metaphor quietly do their work.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Renae Hayward

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I love musical theatre! My favourite musical is Matilda – I’ve seen it three times.

2. What is your nickname?
Naiz or Nae. My niece and nephews call me Aunty Nae.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Sharks and crocodiles – eep!

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
I love writing in rhyme and using humour and fun.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, dedicated, patient (sort of).

12 Curly Questions with children's author Larissa Ferenchuk

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I once spent 10 nights out at sea learning to sail a tall ship.

2. What is your nickname?
I don’t really have a nickname. Everyone uses my actual name!

3. What is your greatest fear?
When a mouse sneaks into the house!

12 Curly Questions with author/illustrator Yvonne Low

1.Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I studied dance for many years including flamenco and was teaching myself to play the castanets.

2. What is your nickname?
Y-von. I guess since my name is spelt with a ‘Y’ instead of an ‘E’.

3. What is your greatest fear?
I’d say snakes, as I’m spending more time in the Blue Mountains bush.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Whimsical, often with a dash of humour, wordplay and rhyme.

12 Curly Questions with author Tim Winton

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

 That would be telling. Everyone would know!

2. What is your nickname?
My kids and my grandkids just call me Timmy. Not very special.

3. What is your greatest fear? 

Getting a job where I have to wear a suit and tie – and shoes.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words. 

It’s about ordinary people in extraordinary situations and amazing places.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Adelle Frittitta

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I don’t hate airplane food. I often feel like I have to agree with everyone else in the world who hates it, but I actually don’t mind it at all.

2. What is your nickname?
Most people call me Del.

3. What is your greatest fear?
I just celebrated a birthday and I can officially cross off ‘dying young’ from my list! It’s likely something so tragic now that I can’t even bring myself to put it into words. Closely followed by being forced to work in an office cubicle from 9-5!

10 Quirky Questions with author Amelia Mellor

1. What's your hidden talent?

I’m not really the type to hide my talents – I’m more of a ‘look at what I can do!’ kind of person. But people are often surprised to find that for someone so entrenched in the world of words, I’m pretty good at visual arts and crafts as well. I recently crafted a set of potion bottles as props to promote Oceanforged using old perfume bottles, epoxy resin and alcohol inks. I hand-paint wooden toys for the children in my life. Lately I’ve been collecting sea pottery from the beach to eventually make a mosaic.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Jess Horn

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I’m terrible at picking favourites and answering questions without context. Actually, that’s probably something people do know about me, but I felt the need to add it here to preface my answers to the remaining 11 questions. In more obscure news, I once created an incredibly long insult using my extensive Ghostbusters vocabulary to ward off bullies. Did it work? No. But it thoroughly baffled them
for a bit, which I consider a mild success. I can still recite it to this day, so if you ever end up in my bad books … consider yourself warned.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Olivia Muscat

1.Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

That I really Hate Mars Bars and I hate Mars Bar slice even more.

2. What is your nickname?
My close family and friends call me Oli or Ol … and many variations of those. To my sister, and only my sister, I’m known as Polly.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Jacinta Liu

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I have a double degree in Software Engineering and Finance, and after graduating, I worked in IT at an investment bank. In 2013, I left my job in search of something more and set off on a solo journey, travelling internationally for more than six months with no idea what might be waiting on the horizon.

2. What is your nickname?
My Chinese family calls me Chang Chang, which means happiness.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Rhonda Ooi

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I am a collector. I collect dolls. I have Blythe, Barbies, Pullip and many more. I collected many I remembered from my childhood and am currently coveting a felt doll on Sage and Clare. I also collect socks and picture books. People who follow my Instagram probably already know about the socks and books.

12 Curly Questions with poet and author Robbie Coburn

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

Believe it or not, I used to be a competitive swimmer in my childhood. My best event was the 100m butterfly and I went to the state level for it.

2. What is your nickname?
Technically, I use a nickname professionally. I’ve always been called Robbie. My birth name is Robert, but I’ve never been referred to as that, except maybe at school or work. There is this great photo of my third birthday and the cake has a toy horse on it and says Robbie. But some of my friends call me Rob, and one day I’m hoping to graduate to being called Bob.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Kristin Kelly

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I’m obsessed with origami. I think it’s genius. I love making things by folding paper, often pages torn from old map books. My house is full of paper cranes, boxes and butterflies, which I kick through on my way from room to room, like evolutionary leaves dropped from an origami tree.

12 Curly Questions with children's author Olivia Coates

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I don’t like touching the yellowy foam inside couch cushions or mattresses. It actually freaks me out. And foam body sponges in the shower? Hard pass.

2. What is your nickname?
I got called Charger by my soccer team. I’m not sure why.

3. What is your greatest fear?
It already happened and was worse than I could have imagined. The fear is 100 times worse now. It’s too scary to think or even write about so I’ll jump to the next question.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Evolving. Heart with a tentative toe dipped towards humour.