In celebration of the release of the rhyming verse novel Sagittarius Rising (a rollicking tale about new puppy Sagittarius Rising, and his adoring human, Tip) by local author Maxine Beneba Clarke, we are holding a school holiday workshop for young poets aged 8-13, run by Maxine! Come with ideas and stories about the pets you have, the pets you’ve met, and the animals you hope to one day meet. Think dragons or dinosaurs, capybaras or kittens, axolotls and orangutans! Arrive with your imagination, and leave with a notebook full of fun illustrated pet-poetry, written in rhyming couplets just like Sagittarius Rising! Booking price includes a copy of Sagittarius Rising (or alternatively, one of Maxine's poetry collections for young people).

Ticket price includes a copy of the book! (RRP 17.99)

The Author

Maxine Beneba Clarke is the author of the ABIA and Indie award-winning short fiction collection Foreign Soil, the critically acclaimed bestselling memoir The Hate Race, the self-illustrated picture book When We Say Black Lives Matter, which was longlisted for the UK’s Kate Greenaway medal, and the CBCA Honour Book The Patchwork Bike (illustrated by Van T Rudd), which won the 2019 Boston Globe Horn Prize for Best Picture Book.

Her poetry collections for young people include It’s the Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for young people, which won the 2024 ABIA for Book of the Year for Younger Readers, and Stuff I’m (NOT) Sorry For: 99 more poems for young people. Her latest book for children is the verse novel Sagittarius Rising. Maxine was the inaugural Peter Steele Poet in Residence at the University of Melbourne (2023-2025).

Contact the host of Pet Poetry Workshop with Maxine Beneba Clarke