Author Archives: Jesse Blackadder

Some book ideas bang on the door. Some tap gently. In Big Magic, author Elizabeth Gilbert says that when ideas come knocking, they don’t hang around forever – you need to commit to them or they’ll move off and find … Continue reading →

In 2014, Dave Eggers – author, storyteller, publisher and radical ambassador for kids’ creativity (not to mention mind behind the best book title ever: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) visited Sydney and spoke about his work on youth literacy … Continue reading →

Two thirds through my journey home and wildly disoriented already. It’s late afternoon Wednesday in Honolulu, 26 degrees, and I’m sipping a cup of tea in bed, feeling zombie-ish and between time zones… In San Francisco where I spent the … Continue reading →

Arrived in Sitka late on Friday 17 Feb, after a slow three-flight island hop around southeast Alaska –  enlivened by some superb Alaskan views from the plane. Tottered up the frosty midnight path to our home for (nearly) a month – … Continue reading →

Ketchikan Airport (after leaving Wrangell) – whiling away a few hours between the short island hops needed to get from place to place in South East Alaska. A stuffed bald headed eagle watches me from a nearby glass case and … Continue reading →

Out of Australia’s sweltering February, a day’s skip through Honolulu’s temperate winter, and into the snowy landscape of Anchorage… yes, I find myself (along with aunt  Carol) back in Alaska – my third trip in ten years. The plan: to make … Continue reading →

Picnic is packed, lashings of ginger beer at the ready, Timmy the dog is waving his tale and barking madly, and Julian tells everyone to buck up and hurry, it’s time to go down to the sea. Yes, the school … Continue reading →

A very nice Bloody Mary – my drink of choice at airports – has gone down a treat and I’m whiling away the final hour until Andi, Ruth and I board the flight from home. Having covered the entire series … Continue reading →

Well, we only made two thirds of the Southern Upland Way, but please don’t let this hold you back in donating to the kids’ literacy charities we are supporting through our hike – Room to Read and the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. … Continue reading →

Midsummer night’s eve and I’m in a cosy seaside flat in the town of North Berwick, about an hour of Edinburgh, watching the clouds scudding against the sky and the seagulls wheeling around outside the window. There’s some late afternoon … Continue reading →