When I read Di Bates’ call for someone to look after this wonderful site showcasing Australian children’s poets and their work I must admit I hesitated before putting up my hand. I love writing and reading poetry for children so I knew the role would be more pleasure than work, and after the brilliant job Di has done of making the site a success, I wanted to see it continue.

But the responsibility of maintaining the high standard she’s set along the way felt a tad daunting. Fortunately enthusiasm won out and it’s my pleasure to say hello to you all. With your involvement I know we can continue to encourage children to enjoy poetry in all its forms and support each other in our writing activities. I look forward to receiving your contributions to the Poem of the Day page, along with any poetry information, articles and interviews you care to submit.

My email address is traffa-m@bigpond.net.au

Happy writing!

Teena

After investing so much time (and money) getting the Australian Children’s Poetry blog up and running, I have now decided to hand over the reins to Teena Raffa-Mulligan whom I’m convinced is just the right person for the job. Thank you, Teena, for doing so and good luck!

Thank you, too, for the many ACP supporters, especially my dearest husband, Bill Condon, a marvellous children’s poet (and author).  The hugest thanks of all goes to Helen Ross who has been amazing with all of the energy and enthusiasm she’s given to her job of creating the blog and continuing to support me with many technical glitches. Without her invaluable help the blog would not have picked up the nearly 65,000 hits it’s had in the past 12 months.

I am now going to focus on my own creative writing and to continue compiling and editing Buzz Words, the twice monthly online magazine I founded in 2006 for those in the children’s book industry. You can check out the Buzz Words’ blog on http://www.buzzwordsmagazine.com and if you send me an email to dibates@outlook.com, I will send you the latest issue to see if you’d like to subscribe.

Cheerio!

Di