Australian Author Visits
On Monday 15 March, three Harrisdale Secondary classes had the incredible opportunity to hear from celebrated and award-winning Australian author A.J. (Amanda) Betts.
With our Year 10’s, Amanda discussed what makes a dystopian novel and dove into the process of world-building, using her acclaimed dystopian duology Hive and Rogue as an example. Students were also treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how a book can be adapted and interpreted for screen, as was the case for Amanda’s book Zac & Mia, now an Emmy winning US Netflix series.
Our Year 8 students were treated to an engaging creative writing workshop based on Amanda’s own methods of throwing herself into writing by starting with a setting, usually with a photograph as a stimulus. She showed the students how the same setting can change completely depending on the use of mood and tone, and encouraged students to think of the ‘unexpected’ when writing.
It was fantastic to have Amanda visit Carey again, with staff and students alike full of praise!
