On the weekend of 3 & 4 October, I attended my first Storylines hui, hosted at Dilworth School in Auckland. It was an absolutely packed agenda with an abundance of high-quality workshops, panels, keynotes, and opportunities for someone willing to grab them (like pitch slams and networking)! Highlights included the brutally honest and incredibly entertaining keynote by artist and writer extraordinaire Donovan Bixley; the generously practical and very funny novel planning works

For three days in mid-September, Jessica (and her wings!) visited 7 schools in and around Timaru in Canterbury, South Island, as a Reading Role Model for Duffy Books in Homes. Twice a year, Duffy school students get to choose 2 brand new books of their very own, which are celebrated at Duffy assemblies. Role Models around NZ visit for these assemblies to talk about the importance of reading and to promote reading for pleasure as an enjoyable and important literacy practice. C

On Thursday 30 July, Jessica presented the keynote presentation to the Wellington branch of the School Librarians Association of NZ Aotearoa during their recent PD day at the stunning new Wellington central city library. Jess has been working since 2022 on her PhD in Education, researching practical learning strategies for secondary teachers to encourage reading for pleasure among their teen students. While she has given multiple workshops at national conferences over the las

Master Mariner Chard Pawley is blogging his way across the high seas. Check out his nautical news and maritime musings over on his dedicated Captain's Log.

Chard has launched his book's publicity campaign with his first interview with Kathryn on Nine to Noon on RNZ! Follow the link below to listen to the podcast recording of the interview, and learn a little more about Chard's work and inspiration for his book. Sea captain's book imagines NZ 60 years after devastating war

It was just like any other day at school – and then Ellie Hapstead found a lost baby unicorn behind her classroom! Recruited by a time-travelling animal rescue agency, 12-year-old Ellie steps through a glowing portal into the year 2361. Here she learns the truth about mythological animals from all over the world: Bigfoot, unicorns, flying monkeys and more – they’re all real! But they aren’t supposed to be… and the STARR Agents must sneak into the past to rescue as many as cre

Nearly a decade after I had the first spark of an idea for the story, The Knowledge Keeper has launched online! Now available in paperback and Kindle ebook exclusively on Amazon. For New Zealand and Australian customers, please click here. For US customers, please click here. For UK customers, please click here. For all other Amazon store territories, please search "The Knowledge Keeper Arid Earth" and let me know if it doesn't pop up! For the full back story of the series, s

Thanks to Storylines for taking J L Pawley on tour round the Thames/Coromandel/Hauraki area with fantastic fellow authors Glyn Harper, Sandra Morris, and Elaine Bickell, 21-25 October 2019. For more peeks at J L Pawley's last tour for 2019, check out the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust's Facebook page. #schoolvisits #tour #GenerationIcarus #publicappearance

Generation Icarus #2: Take Flight has won a Notable Book Award from the Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust, identifying it as one of the 10 best books published for teenagers in NZ in 2018. Congratulations to the other worthy winners! #TakeFlight #review #award