XMediaLab Perth and more...

Gosh, it was a heck of a conference this 'ex-media-lab' (shock, horror I was calling it the wrong name in my head - thank goodness I heard someone say 'cross-media-lab' before I made a fool of myself!) The theme of the conference was 'Storytelling in a Digital Age'. The State Theatre of WA is a great venue, and it was a really well catered event. Quite the 'day off' - I really felt like a grown-up! Check out the XML website here.

Photo courtesy of XMediaLab

I was all ablaze with new ideas after listening to some really interesting speakers and some creative conference-goers. Loved hearing about what is possible with today's technology. I was particularly inspired by the raw media being produced by 'average' people and, in particular, marginalised groups. Apparently you don't need a lot of money or resources to share a message with the world these days. It was so refreshing to hear people talk about projects for the 'greater good' and I met quite a few community-focused people with interesting projects to talk about.

There are some crazy youtube videos I need to check out - I was really blown away by what was presented. I had not considered that creativity could be expressed in so many ways. I feel kind of overwhelmed! Now it seems there's no end to the possibilities. It's really great.

I was really pleased to meet Perth illustrator, Chris Nixon after the event. I recognised him after seeing him at The Children's Book Council of Australia WA Branch's A Night With Our Stars last month. He illustrates the 'Jake' series by Ken Spillman and has a real knack with a pencil and paper (okay I don't know if that's his preferred medium, but that's as far as my art training goes!) Check out his website here.

In super-exciting news, I am booked for the 40th SCBWI LA Summer Conference. Hooray! I am very much looking forward to being there again. It is such a brilliant event. I have a round-table critique booked as well as a picture book intensive. After hearing about some very technological ways of interacting with others, I feel comforted in the knowledge that I am simply a writer of picture books! Just dealing with pieces of paper bound together that you can read and enjoy - even when the power is out or the Internet is down :)

Oh, and did I mention that I'm also visiting Rottnest Island in June for the annual SCBWI WA writing retreat? I'm booked for a critique and cannot wait for some Rocky Horror Picture Show and karaoke action. Yes, life is like that when you're a 'pre-published' author.

Caz