After two long years, Australia recently had it's first trade show - AGHA's Sydney Gift Fair - and we were there for it! It was our first retail trade show and boy, did we learn a lot. It was wonderful to get the product validation we had gone looking for - but the unexpected love from strangers was what really bowled us over! And yes, we also made some rather costly rookie mistakes... Here's a download of all that we learnt and loved. The preparation Trade shows are a costl

Introducing an #UnlikelyHero with industry-first initiatives 21st October 2021 Debut title Wise As Stories is thrilled to announce the launch of their debut title, Willow the Wonderer , an enchanting tale about the search for happiness written by Reeta Dhar and Illustrated by Darren Pryce. The new picture book is written in rhyme with beautifully crafted imagery that draws young readers in to seek out and count the many creatures Willow encounters on his adventures. It's perf

Creative owned and led publishers, creating beautiful stories that plant seeds of wisdom 11th October 2021 After an 18-month incubation period, Reeta Dhar and Darren Pryce are excited to announce the launch of Wise As Stories , a hybrid publisher, distributor and bookseller. The inspiration for Wise As Stories came at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 when Reeta and Darren realised they shared a desire to ' create stories that they wish they'd grown up with - quirky o

It's almost three decades since Amazon was founded 'out of a garage' to sell books online and - it's still too early to say the rest is history. As both a lover of books and a strategist specialising in digital disruption, I find that the tale of the book industry has plenty of lessons for those who are feeling, fearing and driving disruption. There are some who will take comfort in the knowledge that disruption takes time. There are others who will be bemused to find that di

Two weeks ago I was invited to participate in the ' Churchill Club Debate ', a Silicon Valley tradition where people with interest in the world of technology are invited to pitch and debate the 'tech trends' that will explode in 3-5 years time but is not widely known in the mainstream as yet. I took up the challenge with relish and battled it out with five other panelists! The winner was decided through the very democratic process of the audience voting. I came a close second

Darren and I have been workshopping ideas to promote our new picture book, Willow the Wonderer , to indie booksellers around Australia - there's well over a thousand of them! The 'whackiest' one thus far (and hence our favourite) has been to ... buy a campervan, pack everything in, drive around Australia, visit all the independent bookshops, sell our books whilst checking out all that our beautiful country has to offer and working on our next book. It will be our home and off

Just as we thought we were over the worst, the next wave of COVID starts and we find ourselves in another indefinite lockdown or in my case lockout... The impact of health orders being issued on the largest population and business centres of our county has widespread social and economic impacts - where one lives almost doesn't matter. Getting restless and agitated at times like these is unavoidable it seems, and as I saw the launch plan of our new business and picture book go

Reported by the Macleay Argus The Macleay Argus covered our first ever 'Willow the Wonderer' story-time with the beautiful community at the Crescent Head Playgroup a few weeks ago. The playdate came about rather serendipitously. We contacted our first customer - ever - Susan Snape to see if we could hand deliver her two advance copies of Willow the Wonderer. Much to our delight the delivery turned into story time at the Crescent Head Playgroup where Susan is the secretary.

I grew up in the Fiji Islands - and yes, it was as idyllic as it sounds. Balmy climate, ripe mangoes straight off the trees, fresh fish, prawns and lobster ... I could go on. But if I had to choose, my best childhood memories revolve around the time when school holidays were ending and it was time to return back to school! Why? Because that was the only time in the years when we'd receive new (well newish) books. Here's a look back at those wonderful times and an ode to the w