Nathan Luff is a children’s author, primary school teacher, playwright and the Children’s and Young AdultManager at the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

In this episode, Nathan shares his Between the bookshelves pitch for Jungle escape, the Family disasters series and the Nerd Herd series, along with his top recommendations for what readers should try next if they enjoyed his titles.

Nathan shares how his often chaotic and unlucky holidayshave inspired many of his stories. He reflects on how his childhood as the smallest of 5 brothers often left him feeling powerless, and how this inspired him to explore inner strength and stories that focus on the underdog in his writing.

He also discusses the importance of demonstrating resilience to young readers and allowing them to encounter experiences where they are able to fail in order to learn from their mistakes, and how he incorporates this into his storytelling.

Nathan also provides us with a deep dive into the SydneyWriters’ Festival programs focused on primary and secondary students, Russ the story bus and the senior student sessions for Year 11 and 12 students.