The Byron Bay Writers' Festival session titled 'The Future of Reading' featured James Cowan, Andy Griffiths, Rhoda Roberts and Vikki Wakefield.

Andy Griffiths believes that "all text stories still have their own appeal, and win!" By all text stories Griffiths is talking about children's books that don't contain pictures. He believes that this is because 'all text stories' "allow for imagination!"

I was startled by the figure shared in this panel - "46% of Australians literacy skills are not high enough for daily activities like reading the newspaper".

Vikki Wakefield said "I want people to develop a love for reading. The ability to read is not just a life skill, it's a life saving skill".

Wakefield is a young adult writer and talked about the 'terrible teens' - "teenagers try to find the unoccupied space in their family, by dressing in black, etc, because it is normally that dark role that is available". She said how empowering it is to look back and realise that your family was always there. Wakefield hopes that important messages are conveyed within her stories, such as 'don't run off'.... read more...