Will Kostakis is a passionate advocate for young readers and writers. He released his first novel, Loathing Lola, when he was just nineteen. There's a typo on the first page. It's equally a source of pride and shame. His second novel, The First Third, won the 2014 Gold Inky Award. It was also shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year and Australian Prime Minister’s Literary awards, among others. The Sidekicks was his third novel for young adults, and his American debut. It went on to win the IBBY Australia Ena Noel Award. Most recently, Will has applied his trademark style to the fantasy genre, with Monuments and its sequel, Rebel Gods. Will was awarded the 2020 Maurice Saxby Award by the School Library Association of New South Wales for service to children’s and young adult literature.

Will is presenting his keynote "Embracing diversity re-engages readers" at the next SLANSW Professional Learning Summit. To find out more visit: Professional Learning Summit: Representation Matters (19 March 2022)

Dr Kay Oddone has over 20 years of experience in the fields of education and information management and has taught at all levels from Prep through to Post Grad. She has experience as a Classroom Teacher, Assistant Principal, Teacher Librarian and Learning Designer. Currently she holds the position of Lecturer in the MEd: Teacher Librarianship at Charles Sturt University. You can find Kay on Twitter as @KayOddone, and read more about her work on her online portfolio at www.linkinglearning.com.au

Kay is presenting her keynote "Active, Informed and Critical: Creating an Environment of Digital Inclusion" at the next SLANSW Professional Learning Summit. To find out more visit: Professional Learning Summit: Representation Matters (19 March 2022)

Katya Johanson is Professor of Audience Research at Deakin University. She researches the ways that the work of creative industries impacts on people’s lives. This includes the impact of transnational productions on audiences’ cultural and political beliefs, the impact of publishing on teenagers’ reading behaviour, and the impact of arts production on local economies and community wellbeing. She is an editor of the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Audience Research and the Performing Arts, and The Audience Experience (Intellect 2013). Her work is published in the International Journal of Cultural Policy, Poetics and Cultural Trends. Katya often works with Federal, state and local government arts and cultural policy agencies to develop strategies that increase inclusivity and diversity amongst creative producers and audiences.

Leonie Rutherford (PhD, Australian National University) is Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University where she leads the Teenagers Reading and Digital Practices research program. In addition to textual criticism in print and media, her work is intensively engaged with interdisciplinary investigation of youth cultural participation, with a special focus on media (including print and book culture), digital literacies, media policy, and audiences. Her current research project – ‘Discovering a “Good Read”: Pathways to Reading for Australian Teens’ — partners with stakeholders in the library and book industry sector, investigates the ways in which traditional and new cultural intermediaries and the digital ecology in which books are embedded enable young people’s participation in reading cultures.

Katya and Leonie are presenting their workshop "Negotiating the Challenges of Diversity in YA Publishing and Bookselling in Australia " at the next SLANSW Professional Learning Summit. To find out more visit: Professional Learning Summit: Representation Matters (19 March 2022)

Helen Caple is Associate Professor in Journalism at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her research interests centre on visual representation and diversity, news photography, text-image relations and discursive news values analysis. Helen has published in the area of diversity in children’s picture books, photojournalism and social semiotics. Her latest monograph with Routledge is Photojournalism Disrupted: The View from Australia (2019).

Ping Tian is an Honorary Associate in Linguistics at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research centres on the application of linguistics and semiotic theory and analytical framework in various contexts. Ping has taught and published in the areas of children’s picture books, multimodality, discourse analysis, media studies and business communication (organizational studies).

Helen and Ping are presenting their workshop "Building a Diverse Picture Book Collection" at the next SLANSW Professional Learning Summit. To find out more visit: Professional Learning Summit: Representation Matters (19 March 2022)

Currently working as Liaison Librarian: Education for the University of Southern Queensland, Liz has worked as a teacher, teacher librarian and Young People’s Librarian in a large public library and a lecturer in teacher librarianship. She was awarded the QSLA Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award in 2019 and in the same year presented her IBSC action research project Diverse Stories: A Pathway to Developing Adventurous Year 8 Readers in Montreal, Canada. Liz has written and taught children’s literature courses for undergraduate and postgraduate university study and was a judge for the CBCA Book of the Year awards in 2007 and 2008. Liz is a reviewer for Magpies magazine and occasionally blogs at https://lizderouet.wordpress.com/.

Liz is presenting her workshop "Access Matters: Exploring Lenses of Inclusion and Diversity" at the next SLANSW Professional Learning Summit. To find out more visit: Professional Learning Summit: Representation Matters (19 March 2022)

Angela Kerr is the Henry Parkes Equity Centre Librarian and Project Officer supporting equity programs in NSW DoE schools. With experience in Western Sydney schools as a qualified class K-6 teacher, EAL/D Consultant, Head Teacher Literacy National Partnerships, EAL/D, French LOTE and Reading Recovery teacher, she enjoys curating resources and providing quality resources and advice for DoE staff. As a lifelong learner, Angela is committed to keeping abreast of innovation and reform in education to access the most cutting-edge resources for schools. As a daughter of refugees and migrants she is an advocate for informed and compassionate treatment of newly arrived people to countries around the world.

Angela is presenting her workshop "The Henry Parkes Equity and Resource Centre – Resources and Services" at the next SLANSW Professional Learning Summit. To find out more visit: Professional Learning Summit: Representation Matters (19 March 2022)

Mrs Pooja Mathur is a teacher librarian at the King’s School Senior Library. She is the coordinator of their Reading Club and an active member of the school’s Wellbeing Committee. Additionally, Pooja is the Secretary of School Library Association of New South Wales (SLANSW), and a member of the International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC) Action Research Team for 2022-23, researching “Shattering Stereotypes: Helping Boys Cultivate Healthy Masculinity.” 

Pooja is presenting her workshop "Walk in my shoes: Representing all students in your school" at the next SLANSW Professional Learning Summit. To find out more visit: Professional Learning Summit: Representation Matters (19 March 2022)

This first SLANSW professional learning summit for 2022 provides participants with the opportunity to engage in a number of workshops, closely linked to the keynote presentation themes of understanding the need to provide students with access to diverse and inclusive resources, how to develop diverse and inclusive programs, services, and collections to improve student literacy outcomes. Participants will reflect on their learning and practice in the topic area through discussion with academics, colleagues, and expert practitioners.

To explore more about our Professional Learning Summit or to register, please visit:  Representation Matters

In this first session of the year Megan Light (K.O.A.L.A.) and Management Committee members Rhonda Creasey and Melanie Walker will share their experiences and ideas on innovative ways to effectively recommend books to students across K-12. The content of this webinar will assist participants to provide informed reading recommendations to their students through consideration of the knowledge and strategies offered by the presenters and through discussion with colleagues.

Register now at: How do you recommend books to your students?

The dates for the SLANSW Professional Learning Calendar are set and the presenters are being finalised. Term 1 events are confirmed and you can register for these in the new year on the SLANSW website via: https://www.slansw.net.au/events

The Professional Learning Subcommittee members are very excited about our new professional learning format, which is a self-paced Flexible Blended Learning Course. Courses will be offered over a seven-week period in Terms 2 and 4, and will provide our members with a PL opportunity that can be undertaken at a time that works for you. The courses will provide approximately six PL hours and include video, required readings, optional readings and the posting of a learning reflection.