By JONATHON HOWARD
PENGARI Press, the publishing house started at the Noosa Pengari Steiner School by students and staff in 2012, is excited to announce the launch of three new book titles.
They are A Branch of Time – a speculative fiction novella by Year 10 student Liam Cunnane; Write Minds, Volume 2 – an anthology of short stories by Year 10, 11 and 12 students, and Brightest Day Darkest Hour a graphic novel/comic by Year 11 students Curtis Locke and Valentino Koch. All three were launched at the Noosa Pengari Steiner High School Showcase evening last month.
Pengari Press features books by young people, for young people. The publishing program at the school has been at the centre of the high school English curriculum, giving students real-world experience with transferable skills in writing, editing and publishing.
Until now, Pengari Press has only published work by students enrolled at the school. In 2015 this will change, with Pengari Press working together with the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Creative Writing Faculty to run a coast-wide literary competition and publish an anthology showcasing the best young writing from around the area.
Previous publications include a hard-hitting play Cyberteen, written by students with the assistance of director (and local Noosa councillor) Frank Wilkie, illustrated children’s books like Frog, by Ebony Sloots and Looking for Long Ears by Chloe Bland.
“The publishing program has positively impacted our students. Motivation in lessons is high and student outcomes in English have improved significantly because kids are involved in the real-world aspect of writing, editing and proof-reading, so their enthusiasm goes beyond working just for the grade,“ English teacher and author Shelley Davidow said.
Hard work is also having real-world results. This year, Faith Thurnwald in Year 11 received a Highly Commended Award in the 2014 James Cook University/IEU Literary Competition for her short story ‘The Intensive Care Unit,’ which will be published by Pengari Press in their forthcoming anthology.
For more information visit www.pengaripress.com
