Alison McLennan is a Queensland children's author. Her debut picture book, Hotel For Bees, was published by the State Library of Queensland in 2020 as part of the First Five Forever Stories for Little Queenslanders series. Her second picture book, Growing Pains, was published by EK Books in 2021. Another two are on their way - Great and Small with Storytorch Press in 2022 and Birdie Lights Up The World with EK Books in 2023.
Alison's graphic novel, A Flood in the Village, was published by Library for All in 2020 as part of their natural disaster education series. Her short stories have appeared in the School Magazine and the Spooky Stories Anthology. When she's not writing, Alison works as a voiceover artist and content writer. She is also a mother of two teenagers and two fur babies.
WHAT CYA CONFERENCE DID FOR ME
I attended my first CYA conference in 2018 and met with Anouska Jones from EK Books for a manuscript appraisal. She gave me such incredible and insightful advice on how I could improve my manuscript. I went home and did a re-write, then sent Anouska the completed manuscript via EK’s submission process.
After two acquisitions meetings, a revision request and months of finger crossing, I received the amazing news that my debut picture book “Growing Pains” had been accepted and would be released in November 2020. Then Covid hit, and the release was moved to April 2021. CYA made my dream of becoming a published author a reality. Being able to build relationships with publishers and get expert advice on my work was an incredible experience and I’m so happy I made the decision to go to the conference. I haven't missed a year since.
