Adults

After-dinner speeches

From lawyers to librarians to urban tunnellers, Nick Earls has produced entertaining and thought-provoking after-dinner talks for conferences, taking his own anecdotes and experiences and incorporating the event’s key messages and themes.

MCing conferences & awards nights, facilitating conference sessions

Since Mother’s Day at the Brisbane Sheraton in 1990, Nick Earls has put his MC and facilitating skills to good use at a wide range of events (way more than just the six times friends have called upon him to MC their weddings), working with organisers to ensure material is customised for the occasion.

This Writing Life

That time Nick had an Oscar winner as his publicist? The time his uni exam was saved by divine intervention? The canoe race when he partnered Mal Meninga? The test wicket he claims to have taken for Australia? One way or another, writing has taken Nick Earls to places he never thought it would, and he’s very happy to talk about it. He’ll even include some inside info on how some of his best-loved books came about, if you’d like him to.

Smallish But Perfectly Formed: the Novella (talk, masterclass or workshop)

From the author of ‘the most perfect novella in the history of the format’, an inside look at the crafting of mid-sized fiction, the features that can make novellas brilliant and an entertaining look at novella publishing across time. (needs data projection, can be done as a 45 minute talk for readers, or a 2-hour masterclass or all-day workshop for writers)

Reading in the 21st Century 

This century, publishing has changed, lives have changed and, for many of us, the place of reading in our lives has shifted. In a talk that manages to draw in K-Pop star Psy, the Kardashian-Jenners, the ancient videogame Pong and journals including Science and Neurology, Nick Earls reviews these changes, looking deeper than the headlines, and making the case for making reading time in all our lives. Drawing on his PhD and other research, and regularly updated to include new evidence and strategies, this talk somehow manages to be highly entertaining and evidence-based at the same time. Ideal for English teachers, teacher/librarians and any adults interested in the topic. Also can be customised for school events with audiences of both students and parents. (30-45 minutes, needs data projection)

Narrative Toolkit (workshop)

Nick Earls takes some of the things he’s learned about writing and, in a series of exercises, turns them into tools that can be used to push past writer’s block and create compelling stories. Learn how to use simple questions to generate ideas, how to find and use detail to reveal place and character, when to enter and exit your story, how to find your story’s voice, and more. (Standard version 60 minutes, but can easily be adapted into longer and even much longer versions, incorporating more tools and more writing.)

Secondary School

Why Reading Rates 

Why, when we have so many options, should we make room for recreational reading of fiction in our lives? Nick Earls takes a journey through his own reading history and its impact on his writing, and then looks at how reading works and why we should be doing it. Incorporating his own PhD research, K-Pop star Psy, the Kardashian-Jenners, cat memes and journals including Science and Neurology, Nick Earls pulls in everything to make an irresistible – and highly entertaining – case that reading is an excellent thing for us all to be doing. Updated to incorporate recent research and more strategies to help students develop reading habits. (available in 45 and 60 minute versions, needs data projection)

Narrative Toolkit (talk)

Advice about writing is common, but this entertaining talk adds tools to a student’s writing toolkit. Nick Earls has taken what he has learned about writing and turned it into tools that writers can use, consciously and deliberately, again and again, to take control of their writing and create compelling stories. From discovering and developing story and character ideas, to structuring a narrative, to using detail to maximum effect, to writing and editing, this talk provides tools to empower writers to take command of each step in the writing process, and gives them something to reach for any time they’re feeling stuck. This talk comes with a handout, so that students can keep a written version of the tools (and key writing prompts/questions) within easy reach whenever they’re writing. (available in 45 and 60 minute versions, needs data projection)

Narrative Toolkit (workshop)

Nick Earls takes some of the things he’s learned about writing and, in a series of exercises, turns them into tools that can be used to create compelling stories. Learn how to use simple questions to generate ideas, how to find and use detail to reveal place and character, when to enter and exit your story, how to find your story’s voice, and more. This workshop comes with a handout, so that students can keep a written version of the tools (and key writing prompts/questions) within easy reach whenever they’re writing. (Standard version 60 minutes, but can easily be adapted into longer and even much longer versions, incorporating more tools and more writing.)

Narrative Toolkit featuring Intertextuality (workshop)

With students often required to respond to other works when writing for assessment, Nick Earls has adapted his Narrative Toolkit workshop to include ways of turning intertextuality into an opportunity. Using his own short story Range as a case study of a response to an existing text, and bringing in the tools in his toolkit, Nick takes participants through that story’s development and then through a series of exercises to develop a narrative. Learn how to find the opportunities in stimulus texts, use simple questions to generate ideas, how to find and use detail to reveal place and character, when to enter and exit your story and more. Designed to send students into writing tasks with the tools they need to create imaginative and effective responses. (Requires pre-reading of Range, then 2-3 hours of workshop time which can be broken into two or three sessions, needs data projection)

Adaptations

You’ve read the book, now what did you think of the film? With five theatre and two feature film adaptations behind him, Nick Earls knows what can go wrong and right with adaptations, and why. He also has plenty of behind-the-scenes stories to tell ... (needs data projection, best with internet access to show YouTube videos).

This Writing Life

That time Nick had an Oscar winner as his publicist? The time his uni exam was saved by divine intervention? The canoe race when he partnered Mal Meninga? The test wicket he claims to have taken for Australia? One way or another, writing has taken Nick Earls to places he never thought it would, and he’s very happy to talk about it, incorporating material about books and writing, and themes relevant in the classroom and students’ lives.

Smallish But Perfectly Formed: the Novella

From the author of ‘the most perfect novella in the history of the format’, an inside look at the crafting of mid-sized fiction, the features that can make novellas brilliant and an entertaining look at novella publishing across time. Great for any students thinking of entering the Somerset National Novella Competition, or completing a sizeable piece of creative work for assessment. (needs data projection)

Years 4-6

Word Hunters

From the Word Hunters book series, comes this entertaining and energetic spin-off live show, featuring images, props, games and loads of audience interaction. Where do our words come from? Why do we spell them the way we do? Why is English the weird and complicated language it is?

This talk introduces Lexi and Al from the Word Hunters books, while at the same time making English and its story exciting, giving students the tools to be word hunters themselves and giving them a new way of thinking about our language and how it works, including the evolution of language and factors behind it, and applying conventions and patterns.

(Needs data projection, standard presentation runs 45-60 minutes, expanded version with extra etymology runs over two 45-minute sessions, relevant to ACELA 1487, 1779, 1500, 1513, 1526 and 1539, and ACELY 1686 [but fun])

New Boy and the Migrant Experience

Using his own childhood migration from conflict in Northern Ireland and his central character Herschelle’s experience in New Boy, Nick Earls weaves fascinating and entertaining stories into a talk that looks at the personal stories behind migrations to Australia, with many opportunities for student thought and input. Available as an extended session designed for Year 6 curriculum units ACHASSK136 and ACHASSK137 looking specifically at migration push and pull factors, migrant experiences in Australia (including dealing with language and cultural differences) and the impact of migrants and immigration on Australian society post-1945. (needs data projection, standard talk runs 45 minutes, extended session runs 60-75 minutes)