Hi Everyone,
Hope you’re all doing well at this very strange time. I’m going to be uploading lots of things in the coming weeks and the next newsletter will be full of awesome activities but when I saw this I thought of all of you – my fierce fans and readers – who are perfectly placed to write about fierce girls. It’s a writing competition with the ABC – details below and there is a link to the page as well. So while you’re working from home (as we mostly are) this is a fantastic boredom busting activity.
Keep well everyone – and speak soon,
Jacqueline xx
The ABC’s Fierce Girls podcast wants YOU to tell them about a fierce girl you admire!
They’re looking for stories of adventurous girls, girls with guts and spirit, girls who dare to do things differently.
Submit your story and it could be made into a podcast episode!
The challenge:
To enter, write an original story (500-800 words) about an Australian girl or woman that you admire. They could be from your town or city, or anywhere in Australia. They could be famous, or maybe they’re your neighbour! It’s open to all kids in Australia between 7 and 16 years of age (inclusive).
The prize:
The five best stories will be selected as prize winners. Winners will receive the opportunity to have their story recorded as a podcast and published as an episode of ABC’s Fierce Girls podcast!
The Prize includes:
- A 1 hour personalised scripting session (via phone) with the writer of Fierce Girls.
- A personalised studio recording session at an ABC studio.
- Your story crafted into a podcast with music and sound effects and published as an episode of Fierce Girls!
Entries are due by midnight 5 April 2020 (in any Australian timezone)
- Prize winners must be accompanied by an adult
- Prize winners will be responsible for all costs of travel and accommodation associated with participating in the prize
- ABC will endeavour to have a recording session at your closest ABC location
Thanks so much Jacqueline! what a great idea!
from Miriam
cool story
Hi I’ve been re-reading the series during his strange time and still enjoy it despite being in year 8. I’ve always wondered though, how old is Lucas (and Sep) meant to be in the second book. Is it Jacintas age or more like Jaspers age?
Ella
Hi Ella,
Lucas and Sep are about the same age as Jacinta. Sloane is a little bit younger – the same as Millie who is three years older than AM.
I’m glad that you’re still enjoying the books. Stay well.
Best wishes,
Jacqueline
i love your story and my sister also loves it
Thanks Isabella 🙂
Cool! I’m in
I wish I could but I am in NZ
I love all of Jacqueline Harvey’s books, especially Alice Miranda in China. My favourite character is Jacinta. I am just like her!
Hi Emily,
Thanks for your kind words 🙂
Happy reading,
Jacqueline
Hey Jacqueline Harvey! I was wondering which book did Aunt Charlotte have the twins? I am very happy to meet you! I am only 9 and I still love Alice-Miranda!
Hi Ziyan,
Oh you’ve challenged me on this one. I’ve just checked and it’s in Alice-Miranda at the Palace that Aunt Charlotte has just given birth to ‘bouncing babies, Marcus and Imogen.’
They are mentioned in every book after that I think.
Best wishes,
Jacqueline
I am looking forward to having something to do that will keep me occupied!
🙂
Wow!
My favourite podcast of theirs is definitely the one about Jackie French 🙂
I love how she writes for everyone and anyone! Also how she still continued to write books even though people told her that you cannot make much money being an Australian author!
(The part about the wombat poo was pretty funny as well!)
Hello! I love Alice Miranda, it’s very interesting and I’ve got the whole set and watched the movie! Since it is the holidays, everyday I’ve been spending hours reading ‘Alice Miranda’. Are there any other comps like this one (I love writing stories)? I only just noticed this
Hi Aliy,
I’m so happy that Alice-Miranda has been helping you get through this strange time (and entertaining you in the holidays). I’m planning on having a writing competition on my newsletter but that will be next month (the May newsletter). For the April one there’s a pet competition (you don’t have to own a pet you can invent your own!). But you’ll need to be signed up to receive the newsletter to get the details.
Best wishes,
Jacqueline
Jackie is a great storyteller. We write because we love it – and she’s right that it’s hard to make a living as an author (though I suspect Jackie sells a lot of books and is probably doing better than a lot of people). I feel very blessed to write books that are popular too.
Best wishes,
Jacqueline
Cool! I am already writing a book so that will keep me occupied.
By the way Jacqueline Harvey I love your Books!
Thank you Freya 🙂
Dear Mrs. Harvey,
I have been reading your books for around 4 years now! since AM in China was released. I didn’t exactly start at 1, but at 4, and about a page in I was already hooked because your writing style is so friendly . I got through the series pretty fast and have read all of the AM books (I just made a start on K&M). They really help me get through this tough period. This decade so far has been a hot mess. Only a couple of days in we already had world war 3 predictions, Australia quite literally on fire, and covid-19 which has us all indoors, confined within our homes. I just wanted to thank you because in an era where the first thing we do when we have nothing to do is grab our phone or laptop, a book is quite a life saver because constant eyes on a screen really ruins a person’s ability to visualize, imagine and live in reality. Not to mention there are some really shady people out there on the net, and everyone seems to be online these days.
With mocks, GSCEs and just about all exams cancelled or delayed, us teenagers really had nothing to do. So, I took to reading my younger brother the Alice-Miranda series and he loves it! At first I was a bit hesitant because the whole reason I started reading to him was because he was rough and outdoorsy, and could barely handle it inside. I was under the impression that the books might be too ‘girly’ for him and that he might get bored, but I was wrong! he loves the gang and roots for AM and her friends and boos at the baddies. So far we are on book 6, and he thinks Bony is a laugh riot. Looking back, I realize that we really need to break the stereotype of what girls and boys can or cannot read (or even watch!) because I was obsessed with Harry Potter (which really doesn’t classify as girly at all) and people took it as a step up, but if a boy reads a book with a girl as the main protagonist it’s all of a sudden a step down? really, the quality and the action, mystery and fun is all the same to me. Did you know J.K Rowling kept a specific pen name just because the publishers were trying to disguise that she was a female so that boys would read her books too? insane.
All that aside, I have some questions I was hoping you could answer for me 🙂
1. Can we get an Alice-Miranda update? What’s happening in the outback (I already have it pre-ordered on my kindle) and how many Alice-Miranda books are you planning to write? I hope you won’t stop at 20, but if you do I really hope that you could give us a sort of glimpse in the future of each character at the very end, or even write a story set in the future to give everyone a satisfying conclusion. I personally want to know what career AM eventually settles for because she seems to love just about everything! I also would want to know if Lucas and Jacinta (lucinta?) end up getting married because that would be adorable.
2. I hear that a second AM movie is on the way! will we get to see it this year or wait till 2021?
3. Seeing as Clementine Rose has been put to rest, and AM (may or may not) be approaching its conclusion in the future, do you have a new series on the horizon or will you stay strong with AM and K&M?
thank you
Hi Jessica,
I loved reading your comment and must apologise for taking a while to reply. I’ve been super busy working on new Kensy and Max books and some other new material too. You’re so right about the prejudices against girl characters for boys and it does my head in that as a female author, many boys won’t read my stuff because they think it will be ‘too girly’ and yet girls (very sensibly) don’t seem to have any problem with reading books written by men and which have boys as main characters. I think boys are missing out on a lot – I’ve written a few articles on this exact subject! Thank you for reading my books to your brother and I am so thrilled to hear that he’s enjoying them.
I hope you’ve managed to read AM in the Outback by now. I loved writing that story – it was heaps of fun to think of her and her friends on this adventure. My favourite character is the mad miner, Sprocket McGinty – who has a fair few unusual traits but the kindest heart.
I’m writing AM 20 to be released next year and then I think I will take a little break from AM. I’m not finishing the series but I want some time to write other things. I’ve actually been playing with some picture book texts lately and I have a new series that I’m planning – which I can’t talk about yet. I also have a couple of stand alone novels percolating away. Suffice to say I’m busy and lock down has given me a wonderful gift of time to be able to explore a lot of new things. I’m about to sign on to do more Kensy and Max books too.
Hope that you’re well and things are starting to return to normal.
Best wishes,
Jacqueline x