Cirrus@Austlit

'Traditions of oral storytelling exist across the world. Predating written language, these stories entertained, educated, and delighted families. Listening to a story-teller was often a communal activity, yet at the same time, through the power of imagination, it could also be completely unique for each participant. With the advent of screen-based communication, the act of listening to a story and imagining the events in one's own head has diminished. Even though we now have written language which can be mass printed, eliminating the need to recount stories from memory, there is less and less of this ancient tradition.'  (Introduction)
 

'Ripping yarns have always been a part of life for Pamela Rushby...reading, discovering, imagining and writing tales of adventure, history and beyond seem, quite simply, to be a way of life. Authoring over two hundred books throughout a stellar writing career is and extraordinary accomplishment - not that Pamela would ever concede to the use of 'extraordinary. Yet Pamela possesses an enviable skill to weave magic with words, create engaging plots, imagine characters and to master-fully place them in historical events and periods of time. Remarkably, and to the benefit of Australian children's literature, this talent is one that Pamela has passed on and nurtured in her own daughter, Allison. In this article, I explore and discover the genesis and development of the writing careers of multi-award-winning mother-daughter duo. Pamela and Allison Rushby.' (Introduction)