ASLA is pleased to be joining with British-Australian children's author Kate Foster and international children's and young adult author Dee White to promote the Author Pen Pals initiative.

Author Pen Pals has been inspired by the UK initiative, BookPenPals, and also the Productivity Commission's inquiry and report that found Australia is failing to make progress on literacy levels.

Author Pen Pals has been created for 2023 to connect Australian authors and illustrators with Australian schools, in particular those that rarely have the opportunities to host or meet authors due to a lack of funds or their remote location. Building connections between authors and schools encourages and supports children to read and write. 

Kate writes: "The idea is simple and the costs minimal. Authors and illustrators pair up with a class or classes for an entire school year and commit to sending at least four postcards throughout that year, one per term. Classes pair up with one author or illustrator for that entire school year and commit to replying to them at least twice throughout that year, once per semester. Any author will tell you that receiving letters from children is a highlight of the job!"

More information can be found on the new Author Pen Pals website: https://www.authorpenpals.com/ and you can sign up there too.

ASLA is excited to encourage our members and contacts to participate, as we all know the importance of encouraging children to read, and the need to promote improved literacy for educational outcomes.

For further information, please email us: asla@asla.org.au or Kate Foster: contact@katejfoster.com