Steven Herrick is the author of twenty-four books for children and young adults. His books have twice won the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards and have been shortlisted for the CBCA Book of the Year Awards on eight occasions. He is widely recognised as a pioneer of the verse-novel genre for young adults. He is also the author of six travel books. He spends nine months of the year visiting schools in Australia and three months on his bicycle pedalling slowly and thinking about his next book.
To celebrate the release of his latest book, Zoe, Max and the Bicycle Bus, Steven Herrick is on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions – read on!
Steven Herrick
1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I was born in Brisbane and went to my local public school where I excelled at playing soccer and eating pies.
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
At 12, I wanted to be a soccer star. At 18, I dearly wanted to be a soccer star. At 30, I wrote about about being a soccer star. Why? Because I love soccer.
3. What strongly held belief did you have when you were younger that you do not have now?
That people older than me didn’t understand what it was like to be young.
4. What are three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – that you can now say had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?
‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ by Bruce Springsteen. Sometimes Gladness by Bruce Dawe. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
5. What made you choose to write a children’s book?
My wife and I had two children and I wanted to write for them.
6. Please tell us about your latest book!
Zoe, Max and the Bicycle Bus is about a bunch of primary school children who want to become just that little more independent; to go on adventures; and to explore their neighbourhood free from the constraints of adults.
7. What do you hope kids will take away with them after reading your book?
That childhood is a time of friendship, freedom and following your own way.
8. What do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
I like writing that inhabits the minds and feelings of ordinary people and makes those lives extraordinary.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
To bring happiness, joy and a sense of empathy to my readers.
10. What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Read. Write. Repeat.
Thank you for playing!
—Zoe, Max and the Bicycle Bus by Steven Herrick (University of Queensland Press) is out now.
Zoe, Max and the Bicycle Bus
From the master of free verse Steven Herrick comes this funny and uplifting middle-grade verse novel about a classroom of kids who get on their bikes to ride for change.
With their new teacher's help, the kids in Class 5D ride to school together in a bicycle bus. Olivia can fix a puncture in two minutes and Max can ride on one wheel. Lily wishes she wasn't quite so wobbly and Jordi's been waiting forever to ride on the road. Dylan has a speedy getaway from alley cats, Dabir's glad to be part of a group and Zoe's bike even has a...
What do we know about the Boy Swallows Universe Netflix show? 
Booktopia’s top thrilling fiction picks for Crime Month 
Booktopia’s Top First Nations Book Recommendations for 2023
Comments
No comments