Aleesah Darlison is an internationally published, award-winning author. She has written over fifty books for children including picture books, chapter books, novels and series. Aleesah has won or been shortlisted for numerous awards including the Environment Award for Children’s Literature, the CBCA Eve Pownall Award and the Speech Pathology Book of the Year Awards. Many of Aleesah’s books champion the cause of animals, the environment, and child self-empowerment.

Travelling throughout Australia and overseas, Aleesah delivers talks and workshops to children and adults at preschools, schools, libraries, bookstores, literary festivals and writers’ centres.

Aleesah’s new talks and workshops are based on her books and are targeted to encourage reading and support improved literacy outcomes and the Curriculum, specifically Science, English, and Literature. Her sessions are always popular and book out quickly.

Aleesah has limited availability in Term 2, 3, and 4, so please contact us ASAP

New Session Topics include:

Author Talks

Write from the Heart: Life Ingredients for the Perfect Story Recipe (Y3-Y6)

From guinea pigs to magic. From friends to frayed family dynamics. From sparkling red shoes to quiet hugs with Dad and everything in between. Aleesah Darlison’s latest middle grade novel, Grace the Amazing, has it all … and it all originated from Aleesah’s own childhood and the special relationship she had with a beloved teacher. In this session, students will discover the keys to writing a narrative from the heart. How do authors pick the juiciest life experiences for their fictional story making? How can writers invoke memories – both good and bad – to create the perfect story recipe? What messages of hope, love, or redemption can be sprinkled into the story pie?

The Super Sloth Show (Y2-Y6)

Romeo Fortez is an irresistibly cute pygmy sloth … and a daring super-hero. What more could a kid want? In this energetic session that features Aleesah Darlison’s Super Sloth Series, we’ll look at heroes and villains and the key aspects of effective story settings. Includes loads of sloths, a sloth naming game, superhero antics, and a story plotting exercise.

Endangered Animal Tales with Aleesah Darlison (Prep-Y2)

Do you know what a woylie is? Have you ever seen a handfish? Learn all about the rare and remarkable critically endangered Australian native animals featured in Aleesah Darlison’s Endangered Animal Tales Series. Packed with fun facts, interactive book readings, and a character drawing exercise, this session is perfect for Prep-Y2 students.

Laugh Out Loud Llamas Comedy Show (Yr2 – Yr6) 

Everybody loves llamas and in this LAUGH OUT LOUD session you’ll see why! League of Llamas (aka LOL) is Aleesah Darlison’s new 4-book comedy series featuring llama secret agents. Fun, hi-jinks, games, audience participation, and loads of laughter feature in this hilarious interactive show. 

Let's Explore Space: The Final Frontier (Yr3 – Yr6)

Blast off into outer space with Aleesah Darlison’s new book, Space Kids: Sabotage! Learn about space travel, design a space station, and draw your own alien. Includes readings from Aleesah’s book, plus lots of fun, interactive opportunities. 

Fun, Fantasy and Fractured Fairytales (Yr3 – Yr6) 

Aleesah Darlison’s popular books and series Little Good Wolf, Unicorn Riders and Ash Rover are action-packed adventures that readers take to their hearts. Explore traditional and fractured fairytales, participate in group character creation and world building exercises as well as hilarious role play. Includes loads of audience participation. Students and teachers LOVE this one!

Writing Workshops

Crank It Up - Techniques for Developing Exciting Narratives

In this inspirational and interactive workshop, Aleesah Darlison shows students how they can source and develop ideas for fresh, original stories. Delve into memories, dreams, the imagination, and life experiences to create plans for fictional stories. Plus, explore the fun new concept of ‘Story Lottery’ created by Aleesah where students participate in a lucky dip style game to select Characters, Settings, and Problems in preparation to write a short story. 

Mastering Literary Devices

Students will explore and experiment with a wide range of literary devices to take their writing to the next level. 

Next Level Writing - Sensory Descriptions

Students will study the concept of 3-Dimensional writing, learning how to use their senses to create evocative scenes and descriptive passages. They will also learn how to ‘paint a story picture’ via the use of vivid imagery that feelings, places, and things can invoke. At each stage of the process, students will be able to test their knowledge and skills by practising the techniques and sharing their work with the class. 

Bring It On - Writing Games (Yr 3 – Yr6)

It’s like the Olympics, only loads more fun! Join Aleesah Darlison for an exciting session of writing games. Enjoy Word Association, Rhyme Time, Alliteration, Character Creation and more in this fun, past-paced session. Laughs and prizes included! 

Fantasy Characters & Worlds

Explore the fantasy genre and learn how to create new worlds and unusual characters.

In this wonderfully creative session, Aleesah Darlison shows how she developed her exciting fantasy series, Unicorn Riders. Students will design a hero or villain to star in their own adventure. Participants also build a brand new fantasy world for their next story. Aleesah shows students how to create otherworld characters and build fantasy worlds. 

Turtle Dreaming - Alliteration and Haiku (Prep – Yr 3)

Using her turtle picture books Poppy, the Punk Turtle and Emerald: The Green Turtle’s Tale as springboards, Aleesah Darlison helps children create an animal inspired haiku poem and drawing.