A short and sweet update to let you all know that we've been working like busy bees, packing and unpacking boxes to get all the pre-orders for the new Willow Plush Toy and Premium Gift Set shipped. Glad to share that all pre-orders have now been dispatched or awaiting pickup. Our sincere thanks to all of you who have supported us from the get-go by buying the first editions of our picture books, plush toys and premium giftsets for your little ones. We've loved reading every

Willow the Wonderer is an enchanting picture book about the search for happiness. It has been wonderful to see the warmth with which our readers have embraced the picture book since it was first published in 2021, with Willow the Wonderer maintaining a near perfect five-star rating since. A question that has come up a number of times in reviews and conversations though is, 'what is the right age to talk about happiness with children? Is it too deep and philosophical a subject

After months of searching we finally took the leap last October and bought a van! The plan was to embark on a series of book tours around Australia to meet some hardy booksellers and learn the book trade, whilst promoting our new picture book series, Willow the Wonderer . The trip soon morphed into a fantastic lifestyle where we not only got to connect with great local businesses but also get a taste of a free bohemian lifestyle of yester years. We had not even converted our

It's the height of winter but we are basking in the warmth of the reviews we are getting for our debut picture book, Willow the Wonderer - 'Beautiful' is how most of our readers describe the book. It seems that everyone, from great grandchildren to great grandparents, are falling in love with Willow - our hearts could not be more glad. As we countdown the final copies of the first print run, we thought we'd share some of the highlights from the reviews and the 'backstory' in

The festivals are back and last weekend we welcomed the return of Bellingen Readers & Writers festival in the Mid North Coast of NSW. What a lineup: From Thomas Keneally to Peter Carey, David Williamson, Bryan Brown, Kevin Rudd, Dick Smith, Fran Kelly, Jane Caro, Norman Swan, Professor Doherty, Costa ... the list goes on. Amongst all the literati of Australia, Darren and I found ourselves running a midday session on our debut picture book Willow the Wonderer - We may very wel

Teachers and early childhood educators who have recently bought our Willow the Wonderer picture books are telling us they love using it in class! Encouraged by their feedback we are developing a series of teaching guides to accompany the books. These will cover the basics like developing literacy and numeracy skills to more advanced subjects such as creative writing, art, folk literature, poetic rhythm and meter, and of course explore the philosophy and wisdom of happiness.

Teachers and early childhood educators who have recently bought our Willow the Wonderer picture books are telling us they love using it in class! Encouraged by their feedback we are developing a series of teaching guides to accompany the books. These will cover the basics like developing literacy and numeracy skills to more advanced subjects such as creative writing, art, folk literature, poetic rhythm and meter, and of course explore the philosophy and wisdom of happiness.

Teachers and early childhood educators who have recently bought our Willow the Wonderer picture books are telling us they love using it in class! Encouraged by their feedback we are developing a series of teaching guides to accompany the books. These will cover the basics like developing literacy and numeracy skills to more advanced subjects such as creative writing, art, folk literature, poetic rhythm and meter, and of course explore the philosophy and wisdom of happiness.

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

It's a lazy, rainy Sunday and although the country is out of lockdowns, it seems the habit to stay at home has stuck. On days like this when the motivation to do one's own work is non-existent, lying back watching an inspiring creation from another is usually the best fix. Something thought provoking, artistic and endearing is what the soul needs on days like these. The problem is that finding quality content can be a pain ... I can personally attest to having spent more time

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