Her first contemporary middle-grade novel THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE<\/a> was published in 2023 and was longlisted for the 2024 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0WILLOW BRIGHT’S SECRET PLOT<\/a> and DANGER ROAD<\/a> are out now.<\/strong><\/p>\n A multi-genre writer, journalist, creative writing teacher and\u00a0<\/span>speaker<\/a>, Allison is co-founder of the Your Kid’s Next Read<\/a> community and co-host of the top-rating Your Kid’s Next Read<\/a><\/strong> podcast and former co-host of the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast.<\/p>\n She lives on the south coast of NSW (Australia) with her family.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n A LITTLE BIT MORE…<\/strong><\/p>\n Danger Road<\/em> was published on 1 July 2025 (Scholastic Australia).<\/em><\/p>\n Willow Bright’s Secret Plot<\/em> was published on 1 May 2025 (Scholastic Australia).<\/p>\n For more information about Willow Bright’s Secret Plot<\/em> plus Teachers’ Notes and other resources, click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The First Summer Of Callie McGee<\/em> was published on 1 August 2023 (Scholastic Australia) and was shortlisted for the 2024 Davitt Awards<\/a> and longlisted for the 2024 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award<\/a>. For more information about The First Summer of Callie McGee<\/em>, plus Teachers’ Notes and other resources, click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The Fire Star (A Maven & Reeve Mystery) <\/em>was published in September 2020 (Penguin Books Australia), and was a Notable book in the CBCA Children’s Book Of The Year Awards 2021<\/a>. It was longlisted for the 2021 Davitt Awards.<\/p>\n The Wolf’s Howl (Maven & Reeve #2) <\/em>was published in August 2021 in Australia and July 2022 in the USA.<\/p>\n For more information about the Maven & Reeve Mystery novels, plus teachers’ notes and other resources, click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/allisontait.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/2.jpg” title_text=”2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”100%” custom_padding=”||5px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Race To The End Of The World<\/em>, the first book in THE MAPMAKER CHRONICLES<\/em>\u00a0series was published in October 2014 and was shortlisted for the Readings Children’s Book Prize 2015<\/a> and named a Notable book in the CBCA Children’s Book Of The Year Awards 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2016, it was shortlisted for the REAL Awards (Fiction for Older Readers) and, in 2017, it was shortlisted for the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Awards (Younger Readers).<\/p>\n Book #2, Prisoner of the Black Hawk<\/em>, was\u00a0released in April 2015, and was\u00a0shortlisted for the 2015 Aurealis Awards (Best Children’s Fiction<\/a>) while book #3, Breath of the Dragon<\/em>, followed\u00a0in October 2015, and book #4, Beyond The Edge Of The Map, in March 2017 .<\/p>\n THE MAPMAKER CHRONICLES series is available in Australia, USA, UK, Lithuania and Turkey.<\/p>\n For more information about\u00a0The Mapmaker Chronicles<\/em>, plus Teachers’ Notes and other resources, click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n The Book Of Secrets<\/em>, book #1 in the Ateban Cipher series, came out in September 2017 in Australia, with book #2,\u00a0The Book Of Answer<\/em>s, following in March 2018.<\/p>\n The series has been described<\/a> as\u00a0“the kind of thrilling adventure that has readers turning the pages as fast as they can devour the story along the way discerning many important themes about trust, loyalty, ingenuity and courage.”<\/span><\/p>\n THE ATEBAN CIPHER series is available in Australia and the USA.<\/p>\n For more information about\u00a0The Ateban Cipher<\/em>, plus Teachers’ Notes and other resources, click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”4.27.0″ animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”top” animation_intensity_slide=”10%” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AllisonTaitWriter” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#fb423a” 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global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”17px” text_line_height=”2em” header_font=”Raleway||||||||” header_3_font=”Lora|700|||||||” header_3_text_color=”#232323″ header_3_font_size=”40px” header_3_letter_spacing=”1px” header_3_line_height=”1.6em” text_orientation=”center” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true” text_font_size_tablet=”” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_3_font_size_tablet=”35px” header_3_font_size_phone=”26px” header_3_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_color_all=”#bfcddc” global_colors_info=”{}” border_radii__hover=”on||||” border_radii__hover_enabled=”on||||”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ make_equal=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ background_enable_color=”off” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|phone” max_width=”100%” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ admin_label=”Writing” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ background_color=”#bfcddc” custom_padding=”5px|5px|5px|5px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Community” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”||divi||400″ icon_color=”#ffffff” image_icon_width=”60px” image_icon_width_tablet=”45px” image_icon_width_phone=”40px” image_icon_width_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ header_font=”Lora|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font_size=”26px” header_letter_spacing=”1px” header_line_height=”1.8em” body_font=”Lato||||||||” body_text_color=”#232323″ body_font_size=”17px” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” header_font_size_tablet=”” header_font_size_phone=”22px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_line_height_tablet=”” header_line_height_phone=”” header_line_height_last_edited=”on|tablet” body_font_size_tablet=”” body_font_size_phone=”16px” body_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_color_all=”#ffffff” icon_font_size=”60px” icon_font_size_tablet=”45px” icon_font_size_phone=”40px” icon_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Allison Tait is a co-founder of the Your Kid’s Next Read<\/strong><\/a> (YKNR) community, and a passionate advocate for children’s literature in Australia.<\/p>\n YKNR is now a thriving Facebook group of nearly 40,000 members, a podcast, a newsletter and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Allison, along with YKNR co-founder and podcast co-host Megan Daley<\/strong><\/a>, and Allison Rushby<\/strong><\/a>, the third member of Team YKNR, is available for comment and interview, as well as presentations and discussions at events and festivals.<\/p>\n Allison Tait was a board member of the Shoalhaven Readers’ and Writers’ Festival<\/strong>\u00a0and was the director of the children’s program for 2018 and 2019 festivals, and the COVID-cancelled 2020 event.<\/p>\n In January 2019, Allison was honoured to receive a Shoalhaven City Council Australia Day Award<\/strong> for Outstanding Contribution to Arts and Culture.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ admin_label=”Speaking” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#548689″ custom_padding=”5px|5px|5px|5px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”Speaking” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”||divi||400″ icon_color=”#ffffff” image_icon_width=”60px” image_icon_width_tablet=”45px” image_icon_width_phone=”40px” image_icon_width_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ header_font=”Lora|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font_size=”26px” header_letter_spacing=”1px” header_line_height=”1.8em” body_font=”Lato||||||||” body_text_color=”#ffffff” body_font_size=”17px” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” header_font_size_tablet=”” header_font_size_phone=”22px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_line_height_tablet=”” header_line_height_phone=”” header_line_height_last_edited=”on|tablet” body_font_size_tablet=”” body_font_size_phone=”16px” body_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_color_all=”#ffffff” icon_font_size=”60px” icon_font_size_tablet=”45px” icon_font_size_phone=”40px” icon_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In recent years, Allison Tait has shared her passion for writing and creativity at numerous events for children and adults, including Sydney Writers’ Festival, Somerset Storyfest, Once Upon A Festival, Writing NSW Kids & YA Festival, Whitsunday Voices,\u00a0 South Coast Readers’ & Writers’ Festival, Singapore Writers’ Festival, Brisbane Writers’ Festival, Sydney Writers’ Festival,\u00a0 among others.<\/p>\n She is an informative and entertaining presenter of author talks in schools.<\/p>\n You will find more details about school visits, workshops and other presentations here.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ admin_label=”Writing” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#2763a5″ custom_padding=”5px|5px|5px|5px|true|true” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”education” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”l||divi||400″ icon_color=”#ffffff” image_icon_width=”60px” image_icon_width_tablet=”45px” image_icon_width_phone=”40px” image_icon_width_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ header_font=”Lora|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font_size=”26px” header_letter_spacing=”1px” header_line_height=”1.8em” body_font=”Lato||||||||” body_text_color=”#ffffff” body_font_size=”17px” custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true” header_font_size_tablet=”” header_font_size_phone=”22px” header_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_line_height_tablet=”” header_line_height_phone=”” header_line_height_last_edited=”on|tablet” body_font_size_tablet=”” body_font_size_phone=”16px” body_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” border_color_all=”#ffffff” icon_font_size=”60px” icon_font_size_tablet=”45px” icon_font_size_phone=”40px” icon_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Allison Tait’s weekly podcast<\/a>, Your Kid’s Next Read<\/a><\/span>,<\/span><\/strong> co-hosted with Megan Daley has become an integral part of the Australian children’s publishing landscape.<\/p>\n In 2026, the Your Next Read junior fiction serie<\/strong>s<\/a><\/span>,<\/span> developed in partnership between YKNR and Affirm Press, will offer a curated wide reading experience for young Australians.<\/p>\n As former co-host of the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast, Allison spoke to hundreds of authors and honed a clear, articulate interview and podcast style.<\/p>\n Her courses for the Australian Writers’ Centre reflect that style, including\u00a0 Make Time To Write<\/a><\/span> and the Creative Writing 30-Day Bootcamp<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Allison’s online creative writing course for children, the Creative Writing Quest For Kids, is always open for bookings! Find out more about it here.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Quote Section” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”rgba(191,205,220,0.37)” background_image=”https:\/\/allisontait.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/pages-divider.png” background_size=”contain” background_position=”top_center” custom_padding=”80px||80px||true|” top_divider_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.3)” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb use_icon=”on” font_icon=”{||divi||400″ content_max_width=”800px” _builder_version=”4.16″ body_font=”Lato||on||||||” body_text_color=”#232323″ body_font_size=”26px” body_line_height=”1.4em” text_orientation=”center” background_layout=”dark” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Part fantasy quest, part peril on the high seas,\u00a0Race to the End of the World\u00a0is rollicking fun. Not since Emily Rodda\u2019s\u00a0Deltora Quest\u00a0series has there been such an exciting adventure tale from an Australian author \u2026 perfect for readers aged 8 to 12 who are looking for some escapism in the sea of contemporary stories.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_4_font=”Lora|700||on|||||” header_4_text_color=”#232323″ text_orientation=”center” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”3px|||||” animation_style=”fade” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" About Allison TaitBestSelling children’s Author My StoryAllison Tait (A.L. Tait) is the internationally published bestselling author of 11 middle-grade novels, including fantasy adventure series\u00a0The Mapmaker Chronicles \u00a0the\u00a0Ateban Cipher novels, and the Maven & Reeve Mysteries. Her first contemporary middle-grade novel THE FIRST SUMMER OF CALLIE McGEE was published in 2023 and was longlisted for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30363,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" A multi-genre writer, teacher and speaker<\/a>\u00a0with many years\u2019 experience in magazines, newspapers and online publishing, Allison is the co-host of the So You Want To Be A Writer podcast.<\/p> She lives on the south coast of NSW (Australia) with her family.<\/p> Books<\/strong><\/p> Race To The End Of The World<\/em>, the first book in THE MAPMAKER CHRONICLES<\/em>\u00a0series was published in October 2014, and was shortlisted for the Readings Children's Book Prize 2015<\/a> and named a Notable book in the CBCA Children's Book Of The Year Awards 2015<\/a>.<\/p> Book #2, Prisoner of the Black Hawk<\/em>, was\u00a0released in April 2015, and was\u00a0shortlisted for the 2015 Aurealis Awards (Best Children's Fiction<\/a>) while book #3, Breath of the Dragon<\/em>, followed\u00a0in October 2015, and book #4, Beyond The Edge Of The Map, in March 2017 .<\/p> The Mapmaker Chronicles<\/em>\u00a0series is available in Australia, USA, UK, Lithuania and Turkey.<\/p> For more information about\u00a0The Mapmaker Chronicles<\/em>, plus Teachers' Notes and other resources, click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p> The Book Of Secrets<\/em>, book #1 in the Ateban Cipher series, came out in September 2017 in Australia, with book #2,\u00a0The Book Of Answer<\/em>s, following in March 2018.<\/p> THE ATEBAN CIPHER series is available in Australia and the USA.\u00a0Read more about it here.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p> Speaking<\/strong><\/p> In recent years, Allison has shared her passion for writing and creativity at numerous events for children and adults, including Singapore Writers' Festival, Brisbane Writers' Festival, Sydney Writers' Festival, Somerset Celebration of Children's Literature, Emerging Writers' Festival (NSW Writers' Centre),\u00a0and Romance Writers' of Australia Conference, among others. You will find more details about school visits, workshops and other presentations here.<\/a><\/p> Writing community<\/strong><\/p> Allison's\u00a0podcast So You Want To Be A Writer<\/a><\/strong>, co-hosted with Valerie Khoo of the Australian Writers' Centre, has been\u00a0rated by iTunes as the #1 Literature\/Writing podcast in Australia, and her on-demand course, Build Your Author Platform<\/a>, is a popular addition to Australian Writers' Centre program.<\/p> Other courses include: \u00a0Make Time To Write<\/a>, which will show you how to fit writing into your life NOW, or the\u00a0Creative Writing 30-Day Bootcamp, <\/a>which will\u00a0add a guaranteed 10,000 words to your current draft or a new manuscript.<\/p> Allison's online creative writing course for children, the Creative Writing Quest For Kids, is open for bookings right now! Find out more about it here.<\/a><\/p> Local contribution<\/strong><\/p> Allison is a board member of the Shoalhaven Readers' and Writers' Festival<\/strong>, and was the director of the children's program for 2018 and 2019 festivals, a role she has undertaken again in 2020.<\/p> In January 2019, Allison was honoured to receive a Shoalhaven City Council Australia Day Award<\/strong> for Outstanding Contribution to Arts and Culture.<\/p> For more about Allison, updates on her latest books<\/a>, writing tips, reading notes, and more, sign up for her monthly newsletter<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-153","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/em><\/em><\/p>\nDiscover books by A.L. TAIT<\/h3>\n
BEYOND WRITING<\/h3>\n
–Holly Harper, readings.com.au<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/allisontait.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/04-Allison-Tait-Author-Headshot_websize-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>Allison Tait (A.L. Tait) is the internationally published bestselling author of middle-grade adventure series The Mapmaker Chronicles<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and the new Ateban Cipher<\/em><\/a>. Her new novel THE FIRE STAR (A Maven & Reeve Mystery) is out on 1 September, 2020.<\/strong><\/p>