13 May 2026
On Wednesday 6 May, award-winning author Tristan Bancks spoke to Years 5 and 6 students in Memorial Hall. He shared parts of his books and explained how he turns ideas into novels and short stories.
Tristan has written many books, including Two Wolves, Raised By Wolves, The Fall, Detention, Cop & Robber, Ginger Meggs, the Tom Weekly series, and Scar Town, winner of the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book of the Year Award and Shadow Judging prize. He has also been awarded in the SA Literary Awards and the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.
Tristan takes inspiration from the world around him when writing. Scar Town is the story of three children who find an abandoned house floating in a lake. This story is based on Lake Jindabyne in New South Wales, a town that was flooded for a hydroelectric scheme. Tristan uses music to help him write books and creates soundtracks for his stories that he listens to when writing.
Here are some comments from the students:
“I loved how we got to see all the book trailers! It’s amazing to see how these books come together!” – Vinh, 6C
“I loved how we got to see part of the new book, Raised By Wolves.” – Brody, Year 5
“I thought it was really fun and interesting, and I learned a lot. It was really engaging and amazing what he did. My favourite part was when he talked about the flooded town. Overall, it was amazing.” – Huey, 6C
The boys are so keen to read Tristan’s books, there are currently 20 reserves for “Two Wolves”!
Lucas Peries
Junior School Library Captain
