Bill Condon – July 21 2019

Stress Down Day (Lifeline) – July 24

Bill is an author, playwright, poet and for a period of time was a newspaper journalist. He left school at the first opportunity and worked in several jobs, including general hand in a milk depot, forklift driver, grocery deliverer and tree lopper, prior to taking up writing full time. He now has more than a hundred titles to his name, including several collections of plays and poetry, as well as short stories, novels and works of non-fiction. Bill’s other young adult novels include Dogs, No Worries, Confessions of a Liar, Thief and Failed Sex God and A Straight Line to My Heart. His other young reader books include Miss Wolf and the Porkers and The Adventures of Jellybean, co-written with his wife, Di Bates. Bill has co-written the Creepers tales series with Robert Hood. When not writing, Bill plays tennis, snooker, and Scrabble, but hardly ever at the same time.

Dare Devils
University of Queensland Press, 2007; ISBN 9780702236242
Young adult
Jack’s life changes dramatically from the moment the friendly new boy, Tony Thornton, sits next to him in class. Jack and his single mother are still grieving for his sister Jodie, who died in an accident. ‘Thorns’ soon has Jack involved in daring deeds such as challenging the school bullies, taking a day off school, climbing on the school roof instead of completing the cross-country… Jack agrees because Thorns has a list of things to do before he dies, and he could die at any time from an untreatable heart condition. As he tries to be a good mate for Thorns, Jack starts a list of his own and starts to draw again for the first time since Jodie died. There is no magical cure for Thorns, but in the end the two boys are going for a holiday with their parents where they hope to swim with dolphins, another item on Thorns’ list.

The Simple Things – Illustrated by Beta Norling
Allen & Unwin, 2014; ISBN 9781743317242
7-9 years
Stephen has never met his great aunt Lola, and he doesn’t want to. She sends him money twice a year and he always writes back, but Lola is almost 80 – what will they have to talk about? When they arrive at her house, Stephen discovers she’s grumpy, scary and really, really old. He wants to turn around and go home, but his mum says they have to stay until Lola’s birthday – three weeks away. Left to his own devices, Stephen learns about the simple things in life – like fishing, and cricket, and climbing trees – and the importance of family. Soon Lola entrusts Stephen with a great secret, and he realises that Lola has become more important to him than just an aunt who sends him money – she’s now a friend.