Ken Spillman

Book Therapy Conference, New Delhi, February 2012
Promotional tour of India for the ‘Jake’ series, October/November 2011
Launch of Ken’s new Daydreamer Dev series for Puffin, October 2011
Promotional tour of Malaysia for the ‘Jake’ series, August 2011
Children’s Book Week, Australia, August 2011
Asian Festival of Children’s Content, Singapore, May 2011
Promotional tour of India for the ‘Jake’ series, April 2011
Promotional visit to Vietnam for the launch of the Vietnamese language version of the ‘Jake’ series, March 2011

- Premier's Summer Reading Challenge, Western Australia, January 2011 - presenter
- Held each year during January, the Premier's Summer Reading Challenge gets kids reading books for prizes and takes authors out into the Western Australian community. Ken flew to Kalgoorlie and Geraldton for appearances, and also visited libraries in Perth including Clarkson, Kwinana and South Perth. The message was clear... Kids can't get enough of the Jake series!
- Promotions for Scholastic in Singapore, December 2010 – presenter
- With Christmas just around the corner, Ken appeared on two days of the Popular Bookfest at Suntec Convention Centre, giving a lively reading to small groups of kids and handing out balloons promoting Jake's Balloon Blast. Thanks once again to Scholastic for organising the sessions and providing the giveaways!
- Bookaroo – the Delhi Children's Literature Festival, November 2010 – presenter
- Ken at the American Embassy School, New Delhi, as part of 'Bookaroo in the City'. This was Ken's second time at Bookaroo after being a guest at the inaugural festival in 2008. Held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the 2010 festival was fantastic, giving children a wide range of sessions and activities to choose from – and the weather was just perfect. Ken was involved in a storytelling session on the Friday night, joining English author Cindy Jefferies and his good friend from Chennai, the wonderful Anushka Ravishankar. On the Sunday, Ken entertained a lively audience at the amphitheatre, reading from Jake and speaking about the importance of imagination in all walks of life.
- Promotional tour of Indian cities for the 'Jake' series, November 2010
- From Delhi to Kolkata, Mussoorie, Dehradun, Lucknow, Kanpur... and then back to Delhi... What a wonderful journey – in every sense! On this promotional tour of the Jake series for Scholastic India, Ken made presentations to 15,000 school children at many wonderful schools. The kids were attentive and enthusiastic, and very articulate when it came to the time for asking questions. After Ken's readings, he was often mobbed for autographs, high-fives, and handshakes, and he was sad to leave such wonderful schools with so many keen readers.
- Schools tour, Muscat, Oman, October 2010 - presenter
- Ken was a guest at The American International School Muscat (TAISM) for two days, and at the American British Academy School (ABA) for three days. The welcome by students and the hospitality of teachers was great, and Ken enjoyed his presentation sessions with the younger students as well as his writing workshops with secondary school students. The work produced in the writing workshops was outstanding, and it was very heartening to see the young authors enthusiastically sharing their work with peers. At ABA, Ken also ran a professional development session for staff, speaking about the place of books in today's world and their relationship to the digital environment. At the end of Ken's visit to Oman, he spent a day at the Sultan's School, a top school for Omani children that provided quite a contrasting experience with the multicultural, multinational groups at TAISM and ABA. The Omani kids were fantastic, with the younger children falling in love with the Jake series instantly!
- Promotions for Scholastic in Kuala Lumpur, September 2010 – presenter
- Held at Eid-al-Fitri (Hari Raya), the Popular Bookfest at the KL convention centre is HUGE. Five halls, wall to wall books, thousands of people passing through... and a stage set up with balloons and a big cardboard cut-out of Jake! Ken ran sessions on two days to introduce kids to the new Jake book, Jake's Balloon Blast. There were balloon blowing competitions and giveaways – all compliments of Scholastic. The atmosphere was festive and both Ken and Jake had fun!
- CBCA Book of the Year Awards, Brisbane, August 2010 - donor
- On Friday 20 August, Ken travelled to Brisbane for the Book of the Year Awards ceremony organised by the Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA). The event at Brisbane's historic Customs House was officiated by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Ken's was present at the invitation of the CBCA in recognition of his gift of royalties from Jake's Gigantic List, which are the founding donation for a new CBCA gift fund to enable it to undertake projects that engage more children with more books.
- Children's Book Week, Perth, August 2010 - presenter
- As part of Children's Book Week, Ken made presentations to inclusive learning students of Ballajura Community College, to Year 6 students at Mary McKillop Catholic Community School, to Years 5 and 6 at Illawarra Primary School, and to a majority of the students at Edgewater Primary School. Phew! It was fun!
- Promotional tour of SE Asia for the 'Jake' series, July 2010
- With the release of Jake's Gigantic List and Jake's Monster Mess in SE Asia, Ken threw himself into a round of school and bookshop appearances in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Highlights included teaming with the lively Readers' House team at St Andrews College in Singapore, talking to more than a 100 kindergarten children at Ascension, and visits to Sri KL and Sri Sedaya schools in KL.
- Rosalie Children's Literature Festival, Perth, Australia, May 2010 – Presenter
- This festival coincided with the launch of Jake's Monster Mess, and Ken thoroughly enjoyed returning to Rosalie and running a day of readings and author talks on the Jake series.
- Asian Festival of Children's Content, Singapore, May 2010 - Presenter
- As a member of the advisory board for this festival, Ken had a busy time with a range of meetings and was also involved in moderating sessions. With Hong Kong based American writer, Holly Thompson, he presented a session on directions in Young Adult fiction, and he also ran a 3 hour workshop on writing for teenagers. On the last day of the festival, Ken also enjoyed chairing the first Asia-Australia Writers and Illustrators Dialogue, a lively and successful event with panellists Sharon Flindell (Australia), Clive Newman (Australia), John Danalis (Australia), Shamini Flint (Malaysia/Singapore), Daphne Lee (Malaysia) and Fong Hoe Fang (Singapore).
- All Saints Literature Festival, Perth, Australia - March 2010, Presenter
- After arriving back from China on the eve of the festival, Ken launched himself into a series of seven presentations over three days, addressing groups of students from Year 1 to Year 10 from schools in regional and metropolitan Western Australia. This festival is a credit to the All Saints community and to festival director Kris Williams, and Ken has enjoyed many appearances since the time of its inception. In 2010, highlights were a reunion session with zany co-author and friend Jon Doust, and sessions with illustrators Chris Nixon (of “Jake” series fame!) and James Foley (currently working on a graphic novel based on a story written by the Ken-Jon combination).
- Bookworm International Literary Festival, Suzhou and Beijing, China - March 2010, Presenter
- This was Ken’s first visit to China – and what an experience! With five sessions for school children in the beautiful city of Suzhou, near Shanghai, and another five in Beijing, it was a busy time and also an enjoyable one. His sessions covered early readers (with the Jake series) and teenage students (speaking on writing, creativity and his book Love is a UFO). Wonderful festival organisation, engaged kids, generous hospitality, amazing accommodation and a fantastic gala dinner in Beijing… what more could any author ask for? For Ken, the experience of mingling with a diverse range of writers including Scottish poet Liz Niven, hugely popular YA writer Cathy Cassidy, literary hero Amitav Ghosh, rap poet Benjamin Zephaniah and British novelists Zoe Heller and Jill Dawson was memorable indeed.
- International Conference on Children’s Libraries, New Delhi, India - February 2010, Presenter
- Ken’s speech was rather provocatively titled – “Blyton and Biggles to the Bonfire: The Role of Libraries in Shaping Literary Culture” – but very well received. Organised by the Association of Writers and Illustrators (Indian branch of IBBY), this was a marvellous conference bringing together an eclectic mix of people committed to a single goal: taking books to children and ensuring that the experience brings them back to books in the future. Speakers came from diverse places – Iran, Mongolia, Korea, the Netherlands and Poland among them. In his speech, Ken argued that it was time for libraries to be more proactive in the foregrounding of stories of contemporary relevance drawn from national, regional and local contexts. He urged librarians to bring living authors into the worlds of today’s children and reduce the dominance, in many countries, of dated colonial literature.
- Premier’s Summer Reading Challenge, Perth, Australia - January 2010, Presenter
- With appearances at the Manning and Riverton libraries, Ken spoke about his new Jake series, reading from Jake’s Gigantic List and giving readers a sneak preview of Jake’s Monster Mess. At Riverton, the librarian reported that “He was a man on a mission bent on connecting children with the magic and power of imagination and writing. His laconic understated humour struck a chord for many in the audience and the children were very responsive in answering his questions.”
- Launch of The Footy Almanac 2009, Perth Australia - November 2009, Speaker, official launch function
- Ken was honoured to launch The Footy Almanac 2009, edited by Paul Daffey and John Harms and published by Malarkey in association with Penguin. He referred to his experience of co-compiling The Greatest Game in 1986-87, now considered a groundbreaking collection of writing on Australian football. Ken congratulated all involved with The Footy Almanac, which includes contributions from footy fans Australia-wide, from the very young to the very, very jaded. Thankfully, West Coast supporters were thin on the ground at the launch, and Ken was able to speak his mind!
- “Writers on the Road”, tour of the Western Australian goldfields region - September 2009, Presenter
- As part of WritingWA’s “Writers on the Road” program, sponsored by Healthway, Ken toured the goldfields for two weeks, visiting Boulder Primary School, Coolgardie Primary School, North Kalgoorlie Primary School, Kurrawang Christian Aboriginal Parent-directed School, Eastern Goldfields College, Southern Cross Primary School, John Paul College, Kambalda West District High School and St Mary’s Catholic Primary School. What an experience! The lasting memory for Ken was fun classes, committed teachers and great writing output from kids eager to tell stories in their own way.
  - See article
- Aranmore College, Perth, Australia - August 2009, Presenter
- Ken made an informal presentation to a talented English class, speaking about his journey as a writer and the process of creating imaginative writing. The visit was a particular pleasure because it was facilitated by one of his former teachers. As Ken’s history teacher, Mr Frank Egan gave him great insight into the study and writing of history, and a lifelong passion for understanding the present in terms of the past.
- Book launch: Jake’s Gigantic List, Perth, Australia - August 2009, Speech as author
- This was almost a launch without an author! Ken’s flight back from Malaysia was jinxed, with the first plane he boarded almost involved in a runway collision and the replacement plane forced to turn back and prepare for an emergency landing because of engine failure. Plane number 3 turned out to be okay, however, and Ken got back with an hour to spare. The launch went off well, with Ken telling the crowd about his airline adventures and Jan Nicholls, the President of the Children’s Book Council of Australia (WA Branch) showing her real passion of books as the official ‘launcher’. As a bonus, the father of illustrator Chris Nixon gave a great reading from the book – and, as another bonus, The Lonely Brothers played a few tracks from their very cool self-titled album. (Tip: find The Lonely Brothers on the net and track down their music!)
- Read! Singapore Forum, National Library, Singapore - July 2009, Panel member
- At the spectacular Pod atop the Singapore National Library building, Ken spoke of the importance of recreational reading and his own evangelical passion for this activity in a world increasingly obsessed with fast-paced exchange and reading for study. A wonderful mix of panellists presented personal viewpoints and responded to lively discussion initiated by audience members.
- Society for Reading and Literacy Conference, “Multiliteracy in the New Millennium”, National Library, Singapore - July 2009, Keynote speaker and workshop presenter
- Ken’s keynote speech was titled “New literacies in an interactive world”. He pointed out that we are all creatures of our environments – and rapid change in information and communication technologies has dramatically transformed the environment in which young people grow up. An often overlooked consequence is that an increasing number of people can read books but choose not to – i.e., they employ only functional literacy in their lives. He posed the questions: What are the implications of an interactive world, in which the visual seems paramount? How can we preserve the place of word pictures, and why should we bother?
- Ken also presented two workshops at this conference, the first entitled “Imagineering: why books build success and resilience in children’s lives”, and the second entitled “Short and sweet? Quality vs. quantity in communications”.
- Australian Boarding Staff Association (WA) seminar, Perth, Australia - March 2009, Presenter
- At a seminar hosted by one of his favourite Perth schools, Christ Church Grammar School, Ken talked to directors and staff of student residential facilities about the importance of recreational reading in the development of what he calls “people literacy”.
- Bookaroo! The first Delhi Children’s Literature Festival 2008 - November 2008, Workshop Presenter
- Ken was proud to be the only Australian writer represented at this first children’s literature festival in India, and made an impact with his workshop titled “Brains are wild places!’ Drawing upon his long interest in the nature of creativity, Ken delivered a simple and inspiring message addressing the question inherent in Pablo Picasso’s statement that “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist.” He emphasised that storytelling is part of our nature as human beings and that creative thinking is a key to individual success and wellbeing.
- Mussoorie International Writers’ Festival 2008 - October 2008, Guest Speaker
- In October 2008, Ken journeyed north from his Delhi hideaway to appear at the second Mussoorie International Writers’ Festival. The festival was hosted by the historic Woodstock School and the wonderful Stephen Alter – an accomplished and versatile writer in his own right – and began a day early for Ken when he left a welcome luncheon to present toa large audience of students from the Doon and Welham schools at Dehradun.
- The ensuing days at Mussoorie were enjoyable in every way. A wonderful range of writers gave lively and stimulating presentations, and provided great company. All participants were deeply appreciative of the magnificent location and the camaraderie at the festival was wonderful.
- Ken conducted a number of press interviews during the festival, resulting in articles in both English language and Hindi newspapers. He also conducted an interview for local television (in which the final question was about Australia’s prospects for the Test cricket series in India – he answered diplomatically!).
- Asialink Arts Residency Program 2008, September - December 2008, Fellowship Recipient
- Funded by the Australia-India Council and ArtsWA, Ken commenced a 12-week Asialink residency at Sanskriti Kendra in New Delhi in September 2008. He devoted more than nine weeks to work on his new YA novel and a number of other writing projects, with the balance of the time spent attending writers’ festivals; conducting location research in Delhi and Agra; and travelling.
- Ken took opportunities to read his writing to a number of audiences during the residency, including:
- • Classroom visits at Woodstock School, Mussoorie, during the week of 6-11 October 2008.
- • A presentation of work-in-progress by residents at Sanskriti Kendra on 6 November 2008.
- • A visit to the Mirambika Free Progress School in Delhi on 3 December 2008.
- He was also a guest presenter at the Mussoorie International Writers’ Festival and Bookaroo, the first Delhi Children’s Literature Festival.
- St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School, Creative Writing Camp 2008 - September 2008, Guest Presenter
- Just prior to leaving for India to take up his Asialink residency, Ken presented a workshop to a large and enthusiastic audience of budding writers from St Mary’s, a school which places a great emphasis on creative development. He talked about creativity, inspiration and the power of story, telling the girls: “Creativity is linked to self esteem. If we know our ideas have value, we know that we are worth something!”
- Book launch: Fifty and Counting: Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital’s First Half Century - July 2008, Speech as Author
- Ken stated:
  “This book is my 25th, and coincidentally it is 25 years since I began writing my first. Sixteen of the books I’ve written have been on aspects of Western Australian history. I did a rough calculation the other day, and those 16 books add up to approximately 1.2 million words. In a very real sense, Western Australian history has been my bread and butter – but it has also been so much more. I have always believed that narratives about a community’s past are important, that people’s stories define place. I can tell you that, if making a living was only objective, I would have been crazy to persist. I have persisted because I believe in the worth of story, and in the value of research, and in the responsibility to be just in the construction of a narrative based on that research. I have always hoped that my narratives on aspects of our history would add up to some sort of contribution, beyond the numerical figure of 1.2 million words. That’s a lot of words to fall into cracks. But, on the one hand, we have a situation where local history is thought to have little literary value because the subject is close to home, and the work is most often commissioned. On the other hand, we have a situation where local history is thought to have little academic value because it attends too little to the construction of argument, and too much to the construction of story. And that leaves a gap in the middle, somewhere between literary recognition and academic respect, that I have come to know well over the last quarter of a century. With the publication of this book, I am stepping out of that cleft.”
  After the launch, Ken conducted a live to air interview with Graham Maybury from radio staion 6PR.
- Christ Church Grammar School, Staff Development Day 2008 - July 2008, Workshop Presenter
- Ken presented two workshops to Christ Church staff, one titled “Creativity for Life” and the second titled “Personal Histories”. In the latter workshop, he reminded that “Personal histories are not made up of facts alone. They are narratives we hear or tell, to ourselves or to others.” Therefore, “The themes we see in our own lives might be quite different if we attach events either less or more significance.”
- Tim Winton Awards for Young Writers 2008 - July 2008, Judges’ Meeting
- This marked Ken’s final meeting as a judge of the Tim Winton Awards – ending an enjoyable 12-year involvement as sole judge of the Years11-12 category and panellist for the overall prize.
- Christ Church Grammar School, residential students’ program – July 2008, Workshop Presenter
- In June 2008, Ken made an informal presentation to the residential students of this prestigious Perth college, who had all been reading his book Love is a UFO. The discussion led into a broader conversation about resilience for teenage boys, to which the students made wonderful contributions.
- Asian Children’s Writers and Illustrators Conference - June 2008, Keynote Speaker
- Following Ken’s keynote speech in Singapore, he presented a workshop introducting participants to the practice of writing scripts for theatre and film. The workshop highlighted the fundamentals of scriptwriting as well as the particular constraints of the medium for presentation. Emphasis was on ‘The Art of the Possible’ – a vital concept in the collaborative media and for young creators especially.
- City of South Perth – Poetry Park Official Opening – May 2008
- The opening of the Poetry Park in South Perth was the culmination of a lot of hard work by Ken, who conceived the project and coordinated it. Ken’s aim was simple – to create a quiet and contemplative place in which the work of Western Australia’s poets was prominent and their achievements celebrated. Poets included in Phase I of the park were Alec Choate, Dennis Haskell, John Kinsella, Andrew Lansdown, Roland Leach, Miriam Wei Wei Lo, Rod Moran, Tracy Ryan, Phillip Salom, Andrew Taylor, Barbara Temperton and Fay Zwicky. The opening of the park was a double celebration, with the launch of a collection of poems from Singapore and Australia, co-edited by John Kinsella and Alvin Pang.
- Tasmanian Writers’ Centre, Island of Residencies Program – March/April 2008, Writer-in-Residence
- Ken regarded it as a privilege to be selected to participate in the Island of Residencies program for 2008. The Writers’ Cottage in Battery Point, Hobart, provided a cosy home environment perfect for writing, reading and reflection. The primary purpose was the commencement of a new novel for teenagers, and a number o chapters were drafted by the time he left.
- Ken conducted a workshop in Hobart on writing for children and young adults, following which he conducted daily consultations with local writers. He gladly accepted an invitation to read some of his work at the Republic Hotel – where the strength of Hobart’s poetry scene was evident – and was fortunate to be in town for two book launches at the Hobart Bookshop. He was also glad to be able to promote
- Creating Communities Australia - Commencing February 2008, Writer-In-Residence
- In the first week of February 2008, Ken was honoured to take up this part-time appointment at Creating Communities Australia. The position entails being ‘at large’and available to produce high-impact writing as required. Ken was proud to become formally associated with this outstanding community development and facilitation company, which had previously project-managed his work on Tales of a Singular City: Subiaco since the 1970s.
- Albany Summer School – January 2008, Workshop Presenter
- At the invitation of the Albany Summer School, Ken ran a week-long workshop on the writing of memoirs in the first week of January, followed by another week-long workshop on writing fiction for children and teenagers. Both workshops produced many friendships and sent participants away with new confidence about writing.