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Greetings! Welcome to my website.
I am a writer who is extremely fortunate to live on Millowl Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. Having been involved in the writing community here for decades, I am using this website to tell the world about my own writing, and the writing of other Bass Coast area writers. Hop on to the About page to find out more about me. Read on below to see news of writing and writers in Bass Coast, and visit my blog for my essays on a variety of local topics. I'll also be posting interviews with local writers there, link posted here.
Scroll down further for writing events and news from around Bass Coast....
Out Now! My picture story book for children - "The Lost Blanket"
Written and illustrated by Christine Grayden.
Late at night, tired from the long drive home from their holiday, the family discovers they have left their favorite picnic blanket behind.
Now it’s dark, and the park is too far away to go back. What will happen to their lovely blue check blanket? How long will the lost blanket stay lost?
Through story and colour pencil drawings with added clock faces and digital clock screens, we discover just how many adventures a lost blanket can have over two days!
The green beetle that befriends of lost blanket is to be found on each page and is a story within the story – but the beetle story is for the children to make up for themselves! Includes four bonus pages of simple wildlife sketches and story-writing space after the story, for young artists to create their own picture story.
Paperback, 32 pages, 25 x 25 cm. 100% recycled and FSC paper. Printed in Bass Coast.
$20 AUD + Postage where applicable
Available through Turn the Page Bookshop, 40A Thompson Avenue Cowes, 3922:
https://turnthepagebookshop.com.au/
Or to order through Christine, contact: info@christinegrayden.com.au (Only shipped within Australia)
$2 from the sale of each copy of The Blue Blanket is donated to UNICEF.
Coming soon…
A book for primary school children
Exploring some minibeasts on Millowl Phillip Island
Written by Christine Grayden, with full color photographs of minibeasts and interesting information about their lives and their habitat on each page.
We often see insects, spiders and other ‘minibeasts’ in our parks and gardens, but do we know where they live, hunt, go to rest and hide away from danger?
In this colorful children’s book, author Christine Grayden uses photographs to show the usual habitat of some Millowl Phillip Island land-dwelling minibeasts, plus close-up images of each.
Every crack and leaf can become their habitat — their home.
Includes a double page nature scene and fully compostable sticker sheet of 15 minibeasts photographs for children to create their own minibeast picture.
Paperback, 25 x 25 cm. 100% recycled and FSC paper. These photos by Will Hurst.
Writing around Bass Coast....
Local author talk - Wonthaggi Library:
Held on Saturday, 2 Sep 2023 with about 50 people present.
Well-known local historian Sam Gatto spoke about his latest book, A sort of history of me, my family and a cow named Gina, a memoir of being an immigrant to Wonthaggi and all of the characters and happenings in his family's and his own early life. Sam's wife Claire Renee Gatto, to whom the book is dedicated, assisted with the i.t. and book sales for the afternoon. Sam's talk was by turns moving, humorous, amazing and beautifully nostalgic.
He read excerpts from his 419 page book which took us into the hearts and minds of firstly, his father, who made the decision to emigrate to Australia, and then the agony of his mother, who, left at home in the village in Callabria, struggled with indecision, traditional family pressure to always follow her husband, and an acute awareness of her illiteracy and lack of English to finally follow him with their children, including Sam. I have known Sam for years, and we have encountered each other in lots of contexts to do with local history and museums. I have purchased a copy of the book, which Sam kindly signed for me with "To Christine, with respect and best wishes. Sam." So looking forward to reading it now!
Ibis Writers monthly September meetup :
Next Tuesday, 5th September 2023, Ibis writers - community writing group established in the late 1980s and still going well - will meet at the education room, National Vietnam Veterans Museum, Newhaven, Millowl Phillip Island. With members writing poetry, fiction, memoir, history, plays, children's books, and a range of other genres, they're a welcoming group for any writer from "hoping to start my novel", to beginner, through to published writers. They meet at the museum cafe for lunch prior to getting down to sharing their writing. For further information contact Ian Robinson: gurdies@australiaonline.net.au
Bass Coast Writers meet weekly on Thursdays:
Local passionate environmentalist's poetry book:
Congratulations to local writer Meryl Tobin Brown for her book of evocative and thought-provoking poems: Changing Landscapes, by Meryl Tobin Brown. Published by Ginninderra Press, Picaro Poets. You can purchase the book here: https://www.ginninderrapress.com.au/store.php?catalog/search/Meryl+Tobin+Brown/date/1
Here’s a sample, published this month in the "Waterline News". This online and printed newsletter contains more local writing and news. Check it out here: https://www.waterlinenews.com.au/
Philliip Island Festival of Stories will happen in a few months!
Originally scheduled for August 2023, this brilliant festival has been postponed, because the Festival committee has decided to wait until 'Berninneit', the new Community Cultural Centre is open. Meanwhile you can check their website here: https://www.pifestivalofstories.com/ Sign up via their About page to be kept informed. The previous festivals have been sensational, and although knocked down by Covid, the new festival will no doubt arise bigger and better than ever in a brand new venue!
The Centre's name was voted on from a choice of four names gifted to the community from the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, the Recognised Aboriginal Party for the Bass Coast area. The Bass Coast Shire Council website explains:
"Following Council endorsement in March, 2023 of a proposal to name the new cultural centre facility in Cowes with a First Nations word, community engagement was undertaken to determine the most popular naming option....
On 16 August, Council endorsed the name ‘Berninneit’ (meaning: "gather together") to be submitted to the Registrar of Geographic Names for consideration as the name for the new cultural centre building at 60 Church St, Cowes."
You can read more about this, and hear a pronunciation of the name here: https://engage.basscoast.vic.gov.au/firstnationsnaming