If you attended the AATE/ALEA National Conference in Hobart/Nipaluna in July, you may have seen some friends of Reading Australia on the program. Among them were Alex Wharton, the 2019 Reading Australia Fellow, and Karys McEwen, a school librarian, author, and Reading Australia’s Secondary Resource Consultant.
Karys and Alex co-presented a workshop on teaching ‘difficult’ literature, and Karys delivered an additional presentation on spring cleaning your booklists. They have kindly shared the slides from both sessions, as well as a PDF summary of their workshop, so that anyone who was not able to attend can still access the information and recommendations therein.
Contact details for both presenters can be found at the end of their slides, should you wish to connect with them. We’ve also provided a list of Reading Australia titles referenced in these sessions, both current and upcoming.

Teaching ‘Difficult’ Literature: Engaging Minds and Hearts
by Karys McEwen and Alex Wharton
A toolkit to more thoughtfully consider the opportunities presented with ‘difficult’ literature, fostering thoughtful engagement while maintaining a respectful, inclusive learning environment.

Teaching ‘Difficult’ Literature
by Karys McEwen and Alex Wharton
As above.

Spring Clean Your Booklists
by Karys McEwen
Contemporary alternatives from the Reading Australia catalogue that can be added to diversify your booklist.
Reading Australia titles referenced in these sessions
- The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot
- Becoming Kirrali Lewis by Jane Harrison
- The Boy from the Mish by Gary Lonesborough
- The Coconut Children by Vivian Pham
- Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee
- Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
- The F Team by Rawah Arja
- Future Girl by Asphyxia
- Ghost Bird by Lisa Fuller
- Ghost Book by Remy Lai
- Grace Notes by Karen Comer
- The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba Clarke
- How to Bee by Bren MacDibble
- Inkflower by Suzy Zail
- It’s the Sound of the Thing by Maxine Beneba Clarke
- Kindred by Kirli Saunders
- Limelight by Solli Raphael
- The Little Wave by Pip Harry
- Metal Fish, Falling Snow by Cath Moore
- Nona and Me by Clare Atkins
- One Hundred Days by Alice Pung
- The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis
- The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
- This All Come Back Now ed. Mykaela Saunders
- This Is How We Change The Ending by Vikki Wakefield
- Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim
- Tracks of the Missing by Carl Merrison and Hakea Hustler
- The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon
- The Year the Maps Changed by Danielle Binks