In 2024, Langwarrin-based author Jodie Fitzsimons realised she’d hit an unsurmountable wall when it came to the publishing industry.
She’d spent years navigating the kind of obstacles every aspiring writer knows all too well. There were the submission windows that open and close before she’d blink, the refusal to accept unsolicited manuscripts, the blanket bans on rhyming stories, and theme-specific callouts that never seem to match what she’d written. None of that, though, was what finally compelled her to act.
“The real turning point was when I found out I wasn’t being considered by a publishing house because I wasn’t ‘a name’ and when, around the same time, author friends of mine were being told by industry professionals to write ‘something else’ as it was too hard for debut picture book authors,” Jodie says. “That was my line in the sand. I had to try another way.”
That other way became Bold Author, Budding Artists, a picture book and YouTube series that pairs Jodie’s writing with illustrations by Australian primary school students. Filming herself reading children’s books on YouTube, however, was never the whole plan.
“It didn’t seem viable without illustrations,” Jodie says. “Something I always wanted to do, though, was work in schools teaching creative writing and spreading my love of books and writing. That’s when I thought maybe I could go to schools for help.”
Two of those early schools were on the Mornington Peninsula. Baxter Primary School students illustrated No Sniffs or Butts, a tale of a confused new pup learning the social norms of her canine community. Pearcedale Primary School students drew A Kids-Only Christmas, about two siblings who get exactly what they wished for and quickly realise they didn’t actually want it.
There was a solid strategy behind starting local.
“I want to build something,” Jodie says. “If I’m ever going to try to take this further, I want to have something to show. I didn’t want to start too big before I knew I could actually do it. I also worked previously as a casual teacher and I went to some great local schools. It was nice to be able to work within my own community again with some familiar faces.”
Jodie also found that working close to home has another upside.
“This makes it easy for me to meet the teachers in person and also meet the students later so they can sign my copy of the book like little rock stars!” she says.
The collaboration itself runs through art teachers, who receive Jodie’s manuscripts and divide the illustrations among their students. Once the artwork comes back, Jodie assembles the book and films a reading for her YouTube channel (@mrsfitzbooks) where she goes by her teacher name, Mrs Fitz.
Kids are online constantly these days and I recently heard there’s been a major decline in that same demographic reading for pleasure
The YouTube readings, like the program itself, are free, which was a conscious decision.
“Kids are online constantly these days and I recently heard there’s been a major decline in that same demographic reading for pleasure,” Jodie says. “Why not go online then and encourage children to read? If I can offer kids an easy way to access books while showcasing the creativity of the next generation, it feels like a pretty cool thing to do.”
A percentage of every book sale goes to the Literacy Foundation for Children, a cause that’s personal.
“I’ve always been a reader, since I was very young. I remember my parents reading to me and my dad doing silly voices and making reading fun. I remember the excitement of new Baby-Sitters Club books or Point horror books arriving at my school library, because that’s what I loved reading to myself. Everyone deserves to have a joyful experience reading books.”
These days Jodie is a stay-at-home mum, and her writing life and family life have become inseparable.
“My creative work has meant more to me since having kids,” she says. “It’s important to have an outlet for yourself when most of your life becomes about caring for other humans. But they’ve also been a huge inspiration. Nothing beats making kids laugh.”
The next chapter involves more author talks and workshops in schools, libraries and childcare centres around the country. Schools in WA have already come on board, with Canberra next on the list. And Jodie isn’t shy about letting anyone know what the bigger dream is.
“I’d love my series to be picked up by a publishing house one day,” she says. “I’d love one to see the potential this has for being a big national program, where aspiring and emerging Aussie authors and talented school kids are getting the opportunities they deserve.”
To find out more about Bold Author, Budding Artists, visit Jodie’s website.