Author Talks & Workshops

With a previous life in fishing sustainability, I wandered into the creative world a little “late”… but honestly, that might be my superpower. I lead with intuition, enthusiasm, and a slightly chaotic love of storytelling. I might not always know where the commas go, but I can whip up thirty story ideas before breakfast — and I’ve turned a lot of them into books.

I’ve now self‑published five spooky middle‑grade books, plus a traditionally published standalone mystery, and I’ve shared my love of writing everywhere from cosy library workshops with fifteen kids to buzzing school halls with over 150 students. I’m casual, friendly, and genuinely obsessed with watching young writers have that “ohhh I get it” moment when a story clicks into place.

There’s nothing better than a room full of pens scratching across paper and kids discovering they have more ideas than they ever realised.

Below you’ll find a range of author talks and workshops I offer — from spooky storytelling to choose‑your‑path chaos to pure imagination mayhem.

Got an idea for something different that would suit your school or library?
Send me a message and let’s make it happen.

Contact ME

The Idea Imaginarium

Target Audience: Kids 8+

Time: 1 hr

Cost: $380

The Idea Imaginarium is one hour of joyful, creative chaos - the good kind.

Upon arrival into the Imaginarium, kids are supplied with a brand new, empty page, full of potential notebook (we all know the kind…). This is their treasure chest, their brain‑dump vault, their future story machine! Over the course of the hour we’ll dive into an array of games, prompts and interactive activities that will massage those brains and squeeze all that tasty imagination juice out.

It’s fast, silly, and wonderfully messy - the whole point is to get their minds running wild without worrying about “doing it right”.

We’ll finish off the hour, spending 15 minutes decorating their notebooks. Think stickers, drawings, titles, doodles, whatever chaos their heart desires - anything to make it ‘theirs’.

It’s loud, it’s fun, it’s creative mayhem in the best possible way - and it guarantees no kid ever says “I don’t know what to write” again.

Write with the lights off…

Target Age: 8+

Time: 1 hr

Cost: $380

Goosebumps was a phenomenon for a reason right 🧟‍♀️? Write With the Lights Off… is one hour of spooky storytelling fun.

What makes stories spooky? Why do we love them? And how do we write them?

Because I also write stories for the Micro Terrors podcast, a spooky podcast for kids 8 and up, we’ll dive into a few snippets from some of my favourite episodes to hear exactly how short, sharp, spooky stories can come alive in your ears! After that, we break spooky stories down into their secret ingredients: strange settings, eerie characters, rising tension, and twisty endings.

After a few spooky prompts and games to get our brains pumping… it’s writing time!

Kids spend the second half of the workshop crafting their own mini horror story - or the beginning of one - with plenty of support, encouragement, and the occasional boo along the way.

Every kid goes home with a spooky story (or a strong story start), a toolkit of tricks for writing creepy, atmospheric tales, and clear instructions on how to submit their story to the Micro Terrors Podcast so they might be able to hear their own story told on the Pod!

Micro terrors Podcast

Author Workshop: How to Write an Interactive Story (Choose Your Path)

Target Age: 10+

Time: 1 hr

Cost: $380

Choose your own adventure - Pick your path - non linear - you choose - so many names for the same thing - an Interactive story!

What are they? Why are they so awesome? And how do you write one?

The first half hour will be a run through of my plot and plan hand outs as I explain how I approach writing an interactive story, including how to avoid time slips, plot holes and too many ‘dead’ ends. Whilst the second half hour will be a hands on workshop as the audience carves out their own interactive story!

Author Talk: My writing journey.

Target Age: 8+

Time: 45 min - 1 hr

Cost: $380

A fun presentation on how and when I discovered writing, where I find my inspiration, how writing short stories gave me motivation to finish my first manuscript and why middle grade horror is totally my wheelhouse.

I’ll also chat about why I self published my first spooky series for kids, and how I ended up with a traditional publishing contract for yet another spooky kids book!

Contact me

Testimonials

  • Fionna's workshop "How to Write an Interactive Story" was a huge hit at our library! Fi brought great materials to guide the kids through the planning and writing process, and her delivery was so fun and inspiring. The workshop received rave reviews from the kids and their families, and every single survey result rated the session as "excellent!" We can't wait to have her back soon!

    Rosie, South Perth Library

  • “The kids were so engaged and it was fantastic to see them realise they CAN write a book if they want. I love that Fionna's talk showed tehm that, and that it was clear that they can start literally any time!"

    Annie, Bindoon Library

  • Fionna’s workshops are amazing, with an accessible and wonderfully interactive session to help kids on their journeys as creators! Fun and inspiring, the kids really enjoyed it. Will have you back again (very) soon!

    Trent, Piara Waters Library

  • I enjoyed using my imagination and being able to choose my own genre. I enjoyed the mystery game and choosing my character, setting and object. Thank you.

    Emerson, Child Library Member

  • I liked the ice breakers at the start. I really enjoyed writing my "You Choose Your Path" story. I really liked reading the stories. Thank you!!!

    Madison, Child Library Member