The Chestnut Tree Bookshop is delighted to host an afterschool event for young readers (8+).

Local author Nean McKenzie will join us to talk about her experience imagining and creating a fantastical world in the Australian Bush filled with incredible creatures (both visible and invisible!) in her books Cryptosight and Xenoflight.

How did she come up with her ideas? What's her writing process like? What do you do if you want to publish a book? You can ask her all these questions at her Q&A!

Nean will also be running a short workshop with participants if they would like some help with their writing and ideas.

RSVP soon - spaces are limited!

Synopsis for Cyrptosight (published October 2019):

What if you could see what is hidden? Rafferty Kaminski is a 13-year-old who believes in facts. Not like his Cryptozoologist father, who searches for creatures not proven to exist. When their father disappears in the Flinders Ranges, strange things start happening to Raff and his younger sister Zara. They learn that their father belongs to a secret organisation and they are suddenly being pursued by bunyip hunters. Raff is drawn into the weird world of Cryptozoology as he and Zara follow 'sightings' of creatures around country Victoria. Will they find their father? And what is the ancient voice that only Raff can hear as they approach the Wombat State Forest?

Synopsis for Xynoflight (published May 2022):

Apart from the company of her flying pet ferret Fernando and her auntie Carla, 13-year-old Nessa Santiago is alone. Her mother died in a circus accident and she has never known her father. But when the day finally comes for Nessa to meet him, everything goes wrong. Her auntie unexpectedly leaves in a helicopter and a menacing Cryptid Hunter, who captures unusual creatures like Fernando, shows up instead. In order to keep Fernando safe, Nessa must run. With help from Kep, a boy from her school, Nessa embarks on a wild journey through rural Australia to find her father. Nessa, Fernando and Kep are pursued by the anti-cryptid organisation HARNESS and a mysterious giant bird in the sky. Along the way, they meet weird and wonderful creatures, but with each new encounter, more questions arise. What are the visions Nessa gets every time she closes her eyes? And what are they trying to tell her about her parents?

Nean's amazing bio:

Nean McKenzie is a children’s writer and optometrist who lives in western Melbourne with her family. Originally from Bendigo, Nean lived in New Zealand, Europe and North East Africa before returning to live in western Melbourne. She has a diploma of Professional Writing and Editing from RMIT.

Nean was awarded a Maurice Saxby mentorship for her first novel Cryptosight, which came out in 2019 with MidnightSun Publishing. Her second book Xenoflight is a companion novel to Cryptosight, set in the same world but with different characters. It was published in May 2022.

Nean’s third middle-grade novel Timefire will be out in 2023.