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• Author • @jacintadimase agent • creative writing teacher • @danielle.binks is my other account • @reprouncensored are my angels 🙏

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And we are released! ‘Shakespeare in the Orchard’ is out now!

And - as has become my tradition - I visited my local indie, @farrells_bookshop who surprised me with flowers, dessert, and a little crochet darling 🧶 ! Let me tell you - this is also why you #LoveYourBookshop, because they’re the coolest and loveliest people and so supportive of local authors (Amazon would *never*!) this is why we support @ausindiebooks 👏👏👏 the community ❤️

Thank you thank you thank you

Signed copies now also at #FarrellsBookshop

#ShakespeareInTheOrchard - which has already had some of the loveliest endorsements from Alice Pung & Kelly Gardiner too 🙏;

‘Danielle Binks brings a small country town to life, during the First World War, and it is a marvel of wonder and experience ... a gripping book about friendship and burgeoning knowledge, never shying away from the realities of conflict, faithfully delivering us the wisdom of the Bard in Langwarrin through a child’s eyes’ —ALICE PUNG

‘A thoughtful, timely novel about a community deeply affected by a distant war, and the ways we find peace in ourselves over conflicting loyalties - it’s set in the past but very much a story for today’ —KELLY GARDINER

Out now ☺️ go forth!

#AusBookstagram #Bookstagram by @dbinks

I know Christmas is right around the corner, but I’ve already received the best gift this year - from darling @biffy_james, a sticker that is now proudly displayed on my laptop.

Rainbow fish + Twilight = be still my beating heart

🐟 🧛🏻

#Twilight #RainbowFish #StephenieMeyer #ThisIsTheSkinOfAKillerBella by @dbinks

I finally have the chance to collect my thoughts and share this very special moment that I was honoured to take part in: an in-conversation with the indomitable Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah at @newcastlewritersfestival, talking about her bestselling and award-winning @uqpbooks novel, ‘Discipline.’

Thank you so much @randaafattah, for choosing me talk to you about this beautiful and important book. There was so much goodwill and love in that Hall for you, I felt it and I heard it around the festival too.

I quoted a section from ‘Discipline,’ one of many that gave me goosebumps - “Jamal had learnt to compartmentalise his rage and grief, had learnt a level of self-restraint that can perhaps only come from living through slow-cooked trauma.” - I felt the audience catch their breath, as you spoke of Palestine, Gaza, Israeli occupation and genocide. I felt their anger and deep well of sadness. But I do believe we all came together as an act of resistance and hope too.

I’m going to share what I said in closing;

‘The fact that you’re here at this Writers Festival, feels like no small feat. Another line in your acknowledgements seemed relevant to me; “I acknowledge you for speaking and acting despite the personal costs, and I acknowledge your courage for taking the moral path, not the safe one.” That’s you thanking others, but I think on behalf of everyone here I’d like to thank you too. Another powerful line from Discipline goes; “Solidarity in the shadows isn’t solidarity, it’s cowardice.”’

#RandaAbdelFattah - you show us the way, constantly. @rosemariemilsom and @thatamylovat did too - and those attendees and volunteers of #NWF2026 who refused to cower and capitulate, but celebrated you and your story - I cannot thank them all enough. They wouldn’t seek to silence us, if our words and solidarity didn’t matter so much.

I do believe this closing night session of #NewcastleWritersFestival will be available on their podcast eventually.

And here’s some photos I took from attendees’ socials (🙏) and a collection of others I quoted in the session.

Thank you.

Love you, Randa ❤️

#FreePalestine 🇵🇸 #ReadersAndWritersAgainstTheGenocide by @dbinks

Day three of Travel on Purpose was the busiest one yet!

We visited five temples in Angkor Archeological Park, had a delicious lunch at our hotel, then made our way to HHA. Our travellers learnt all about the important work of our local program partner and the impact they are having in the community. Then, HHA’s co-founder, Salin, took us on a tour of the local pagoda. We finished the day with dinner at Footprint Cafes!

#cambodia by @dbinks

Day two of our Travel on Purpose tour, and what a busy one it was!

We were guided by Pisey through Wat Damnak and Wat Preah Prom Roth temples, tried local snacks at old market, shopped up a storm, ate lunch at New Leaf Eatery and visited Artisans Angkor.

We also learnt about the history of the Khmer Rouge genocide and paid our respects at Wat Thmey.

#travelonpurpose by @dbinks

Travel on Purpose: Day One

Today was the first day of our Travel on Purpose tour!

We picked Mel, Celeste, Bree and @humanandhope ambassador @dbinks up at the airport, then took the scenic route to lunch on the lake. Travellers met HHA’s co-founder, Santepheap, who shared his inspiring personal story.

After a short rest at the hotel, we headed out for a sunset picnic with homemade Khmer food, where travellers met HHA’s honorary board member, Sreylin.

It’s an early night in anticipation of a walking tour tomorrow!

#humanandhope #travelonpurpose by @dbinks

“Love-in-a-mist” (Nigella damascena), a charming hardy annual flower in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), easily recognized by its bright blue star-shaped blossoms nestled inside a fine, feathery “mist” of green bracts and foliage

Just taking pics to remind myself to look for some seeds and grow them 🩵

#Loveinamist #Nigelladamascena #flower #flowers #pretty by @dbinks

$‘Life Out of Order’ by #AudreyNiffenegger … did you know that there was a sequel to ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ out this year? Because I feel like I’ve been waiting for this News for 20-years (back when it was rumoured to be titled; ‘The Chinchilla Girl in Exile’?), and then it just kinda popped into existence out of nowhere?! 🕰️ BLURB;⏰ Discover the long-awaited sequel to the bestselling phenomenon, #TheTimeTravelersWife. Alba DeTamble is a time traveler, slipping unpredictably through decades like her father before her. But the hardest thing she carries isn’t the burden of futures she can’t understand, or pasts she cannot change – it’s a secret: she is in love with two different people. Each of them offers a different life. Zach lives in the present and can’t follow her when she disappears. Oliver can travel through time, just like she can. As Alba careens from time to time, moving from the riot-torn Chicago streets of her present to the eerie, timeless Yellow House, and into the digital corridors of the Museum of Lost Souls and a flooded future London, she must face a question she can no longer avoid: how is it possible to love, and live a meaningful life, in an increasingly troubled, fractured world? Intimate and expansive, #LifeOutofOrder is a kaleidoscopic story of love, resilience and hope when time is running out. 🕰️🕰️🕰️ Sooooooo … I think this was a book of big ideas that are never properly corralled, and keep falling short. Maybe especially because Niffenegger tries to elevate this beyond a love story into something complex and political (I mean … that’s admirable to a degree, but it leaves little room to care for these characters the way we did the first time round when time-travel was bought down to the most human and lovelorn levels). Apparently she started writing this during the Obama years, and then Trump happened and did what he does best - warped and ruined everything. Figures. Gah! I don’t know how I feel … probably much like Alba and Henry I almost wish I never ventured into the sequel and the future. I wish I never found out what came next. 🕰️ 2.75/5 #bookstagram #book by @dbinks$

I’m so in love with this new middle grade novel from @uwapublishing - not least because it was a Spiers Prize winner when I was one of the judges! ☺️

🐎 BLURB; 🦓

Orphaned, angry, and refusing to go to school, 12-year-old Roo wishes on a shooting star for a horse. The next day she wakes to find not only a horse but also a zebra outside her bedroom window! Her nan says she can keep the horse as long as she returns to school. When her horse gives birth to a zorse, Roo finds herself at the centre of world attention and with more chaos than she could have imagined.

Warm, funny and full of heart, #AGirlABoyAHorseAndAZorse is an unforgettable story about friendship, courage, anxiety, and finding where you truly belong, from #SpiersPrize winner, #RebeccaGreen.

🦓 💚 🐎

And I did have the honour of providing an endorsement quote for this remarkable book, which is: “A heartfelt and healing children’s book about embracing difference, resilience, and kindness. Necessary in every classroom, library and family bookshelf!”

It’s out on November 1 - pre-order it now, and HUGE congratulations to @rebecca_green_author and UWAP!

💚💚💚 #LoveOzKidLit #AusBookstagram by @dbinks

Hey! Let’s mandate teacher-librarians and see investment in school libraries, so that every child has access to their life-changing benefits!

I just emailed my local representatives and Minister for Education Jason Clare MP - have you?

Here’s a little run-down of what’s been happening, and for more check out 📕 https://daniellebinks.substack.com/p/mandate-teacher-librarians 📕

#StudentsNeedSchoolLibraries #TeacherLibrarian #JasonClareMP #SchoolLibrary #AusBookstagram @studentsneedschoollibraries @asla.org.au @jasonclaremp by @dbinks

Welp. As Jennifer Lopez once sang; “LET’S GET LOUD!”

@alia_schools, @studentsneedschoollibraries and @katejoltemple have been banging this drum but now they need us to all tap into our communities and keep the choir singing out to those in power 👉

From the #AustralianSchoolLibraryAssociation —

Grassroots advocacy is a powerful force for change, and every voice matters.

Every voice adds pressure and advocacy is most powerful when we sing as a choir.

Every kid in Australia deserves a school library and a teacher-librarian.

It’s time for our governments to mandate libraries and teacher-librarians. In fact, It’s well overdue.

Fifty-eight teacher-librarians have just lost their jobs (or been redeployed to classroom positions) in the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese schools in NSW.

These losses are just the latest in what has been a steady and devastating cutting of teacher-librarian positions all around the country. Many schools do not have a teacher-librarian and some do not even have a library.

Many people and organisations are campaigning for teacher-librarians and school libraries to be mandated. For instance, the recent petition started by author Kate Temple, and the work being done by this organisation ASLA (Australian School Libraries Association), SNSL (Students Need School Libraries) and ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association) and Australia Reads, among others.

Please join us and ask your state and federal MPs to support the mandating of teacher-librarians and a library in every Australian school

📚 @jasonclaremp @paulmercuriomp @alianational 📚

#AusPol #StudentsNeedSchoolLibraries #JasonClareMP #TeacherLibrarian by @dbinks

From @asla.org.au — and with thanks to @katejoltemple for helping lead the charge:

It’s time for our governments to mandate libraries and teacher-librarians. In fact, It’s well overdue.

Fifty-eight teacher-librarians have just lost their jobs (or been redeployed to classroom positions) in the Maitland-Newcastle Catholic diocese schools in NSW.

These losses are just the latest in what has been a steady and devastating cutting of teacher-librarian positions all around the country. Many schools do not have a teacher-librarian and some do not even have a library.

Many people and organisations are campaigning for teacher-librarians and school libraries to be mandated. For instance, the recent petition started by author Kate Temple, and the work being done by this organisation ASLA (Australian School Libraries Association), SNSL (Students Need School Libraries) and ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association) and Australia Reads, among others.

Please join us and ask your state and federal MPs to support the mandating of teacher-librarians and a library in every Australian school

📚 📕 Jacinta & Danielle are proud to add our names to this call-out, and we encourage all of our followers to join the choir and write to their local MPs, discuss this issue with their school communities, family and friendship groups … let’s get LOUD!

@alianational @studentsneedschoollibraries @jasonclaremp

#StudentsNeedSchoolLibraries #JasonClareMP #TeacherLibrarian #AusBookstagram #AustralianSchoolLibraryAssociation by @dbinks

Danielle Binks

@dbinks