four years ago…
What a fabulous day I had on Sunday, when I visited Paula Mazur in Sydney, nearly four years to the day since she first emailed me to ask about the film rights. I quoted the email back to her – okay, we were both feeling a bit soppy about it all, but it was such a beautiful email that I’d have loved it even if a film hadn’t come out of it. (Though even happier that it is!) Because she didn’t just ask for film rights, she painted a picture of picking up the book from the library for her son to read, and then just starting to read it to start him off, and then not wanting to stop, till all the family came in, and over the course of a few nights, they all read the book. But maybe it was when she added the line about the two fat cats listening to, that clinched the start of the friendship…
Wendy Orr is a Canadian-born Australian writer. Her books for children and adults have been published in 27 countries and won awards around the world. Nim’s Island and Nim at Sea have also become feature films, starring Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin (Nim’s Island) and Bindi Irwin (Return to Nim’s Island.) Her latest book is Cuckoo’s Flight, a companion to the highly acclaimed Bronze Age novels Dragonfly Song and Swallow’s Dance. Read full bio
