On Sunday morning, at The Sydney Writers’ Festival 2012, Alison Lester and I had a great time with adults and kids, talking about Antarctica.

Alison’s latest picture book, Sophie Scott Goes South, is about a little girl who goes to Antarctica and will be published on 27th May. Her book is beautifully illustrated and explains everything from polar clothing to blizzards to the beautiful lights in the sky of the aurora australis. We invited a little girl onto the stage, whose name happened to be Sophia, and we dressed her in the outer layers of my Antarctic clothing, including bright yellow hooded parka, thick outer gloves and my faux-fur hat, complete with ear-flaps! Here is a picture of Sophia in her polar gear:

What struck me was that both Alison and myself share a passion for Antarctica and we tell stories set there for this very reason. Except, Alison creates picture books for children and I write thrillers for adults. My Antarctic thriller, Thirst, will be published in August. Here a photo of Alison and myself at the book signing: