Reading with a chance of tacos

Monster Island with George Ivanoff

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

George Ivanoff has written over 100 books for kids and teens from non-fiction to fiction, including his latest Monster Island with Penguin books. Occa...

Andrew Daddo and Poo Face

12 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Daddo is an actor, a TV presenter, and a wonderful author of fun books for kids. Books such as Atticus Fantasticus, Good Night Me, Monster, Jus...

Football Fever with Kristin Darell

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Women's Football World Cup is fast approaching and the ideal book series for kids is FOOTBALL FEVER by Kristin Darell. Kristin Darell has always l...

Mr Impoppable with Trent and Brent

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Warning: This book is impoppable to put down! Today's guests are the impoppable dynamic duo responsible for one of the quirkiest books of the year. W...

My Giant Sea Shell

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Picture Book Author, Amanda Lieber pops in to chat about her new book, her author journey, the importance and fun of being in a writers group, and off...

Wylah The Koorie Warrior with Jordan and Richard

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Wylah is brave, clever and strong-willed, and her adventures have been 40,000 years in the making! Wylah is Co-Written by Jordan Gould a Proud Pee...

A Little Sprinkle of Courage with Jackie Case

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jackie Case is an artist with world renowned Rebecca Hossack Gallery. She began her career displaying her art in coffee shops in Melbourne Australia, ...

Neil the Amazing Sea Cucumber with Amelia McInerney

30 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Neil the Amazing Sea Cucumber. There's nothing boring about Neil. In fact, he's so amazing, he's already been Number One picture book on Booktopia and...

A Friend for George with Gabriel Evans

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gabriel Evans' books have been published in 12 countries and translated into 10 languages. They've been read on ABC's Playschool, reviewed in the New ...

Embracing Your Cultural Identity

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest believes exploring and owning your cultural identity cultivates happy wholistic people who are capable of mutual respect, empathy, and...

Neurodiversity in Kids Books

20 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Recognising the skills and strengths of neurodiverse children Author and publisher Rochelle Stephens and illustrator Em Hammond from Neurowild have ...

When I'm Big with Karen Blair

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Award winning author and illustrator, Karen Blair pops in to share her new book, offer up some tips on the process of creating a picture book and her...

Poppy, the Queen, the Seat and the Taco

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Vikki Marmaras is a picture book author with a brand-new book out, and two more in contract coming soon. She's a former news reader from Milton Keynes...

Huda was Here

14 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest enjoys exploring themes of being Australian, Muslim, and little bit mischievous. She grew up in Western Australia with six siblings, so ...

Build a career as an illustrator with Deb Hudson

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Deb Hudson is an illustrator whose passion has always been to draw happy and colourful things that evoke emotion and thought in the viewer – the d...

Tips on writing a graphic novel

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tips on Writing a Graphic Novel Sean E Avery is the international best-selling author of Frank's Red Hat. He's popped in today to share his proces...

The Bendigo Writers Festival

02 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join some of Australia's best loved kids authors and illustrators as they gather together in celebration in country Victoria as part of the 2023 Bendi...

3 authors who made it happen, and you can too!

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guests are 3 aspiring authors who have just signed their very first book contracts. They tell us what it's like working with a publishing team...

Grace and Mr Milligan

23 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Caz Goodwin is an award-winning author of picture books, short stories, poetry, and junior fiction for children. And has been published internationall...

Why we should write more diverse books

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's topic is creating space for diverse books in the market. And, we're focussing on cultural diversity.  We're going to hear two sides of pub...

Lian Tanner and Spellhound

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lian Tanner has been dynamited while scuba diving, arrested while busking. Spent a week in the jungles of Papua New Guinea hunting for a Japanese so...

Author and Illustrator share their journey

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Janeen Brian and Cherie Dignam are the author and illustrator of a new and wonderful book titled, The Fixit Princess. They've both popped in today t...

The Garden at the end of the world

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Visit one of the world's most amazing real-life places in Cassy Polimeni's brand new picture book, The Garden at the end of the World. Cassy Polimen...

How to be a children's author when things just aren't happening

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Wilson was, until recently, a frustrated author, who'd achieved success early in her writing career with a terrific picture book, but then c...

Jo Panckridge CBCA President

26 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jo Panckridge, Vic Branch CBCA President, shares a very exciting program that gives kids a real voice in Australia's premier book of the year awards...

How to go from Self-published to Traditional

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

You Two, You Two was a self-published picture book, and has been picked up by Hachette and is now a traditionally published book. To tell us all abo...

Gavin Aung Than interview

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gavin Aung Than is a New York Times bestselling cartoonist and creator of Zen Pencils, a cartoon blog which adapts inspirational quotes into comic st...

An introduction to Bonus Episodes

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Get published! Be an author!  Write the next big kid's book!  For those people who want more on the process of writing for kids, for those who want...

The Challenge and Reward of self-publishing

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There are so many things to consider when self-publishing a book, from the quality of paper to finding the right illustrator to editing for the best ...

Ky Garvey Easy Peasy

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Ky Garvey is an author and mother of two sons who inspired her to write fun and engaging stories that turn challenges into triumphs. She is also the ...

Ratbags and Tim Harris

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Harris is a multi-award winning author of several laugh-out-loud books for kids, including Toffle Towers series, Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables, Expl...

Hello Emma Memma

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Emma Watkins   is a dancer, filmmaker, and picture book author. Her career began at the early age of three with Irish, ballet, hip hop, tap and co...

Rebecca Fraser Sea Glass

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rebecca Fraser is an award-winning author, with a solid career of writing across a variety of mediums. Her latest middle grade novel is titled, Sea G...

Secret Agent Mole James Foley

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

James Foley is one of Australia's favourite Author/Illustrators with books such as The Last Viking and the amazing Stellaphant.  He's popped in today...

The Nerd Herd 5

18 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nathan Luff is a handstand extraordinaire, a playwright, and one of Australia's favourite children's authors. His latest series, The Nerd Herd has ta...

Sue Whiting On Writing

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sue Whiting has been in the children's book industry for over 20 years. She was Senior Commissioning Editor and Publishing Manager of Walker Books Aus...

Zooniverse

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nova Weetman and Chris Kennett are the author and illustrator of one of the most incredible books on the market for kids today.  It's called Zooniver...

A Taco Writers Group

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to our first Taco Writers Group Podcast. We chat away to three aspiring authors about their dreams and goals for the future, our shared love o...

Bottoms Up. Creating story ideas and writing them

27 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Anastasiou is the author of the successful 'I want to be…' series of picture books. As well as the Creative Director of Larrikin House Books. ...

Finding your Story Spark

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dannika Patterson began as a copywriter for small business before finding the courage to follow her dream and become a children's author. She now has ...

The Process of Writing Amazing Books for Kids

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Molly Burnham was the 2016 winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for Humour. She's popped in to talk about her latest book, The Infinite Questions of Dot...

A Teacher's Promise

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guests share the most amazing story of how they got together as author and illustrator. One was a primary school teacher and the other was a p...

What is Reading with a chance of Tacos?

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Reading with a chance of Tacos is a brand that's all about promoting kids books and the community of kids books. It's the ideal podcast for authors an...

A Best of Tacos for 2022

01 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2022 we aired over 70 episodes full of amazing kid lit creators sharing thier creative journeys, offering up awesome writing and illustration tips,...

A Very Rory Christmas

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author Rory H Mather drops in for a festive eggnog or two, and shares his favourite Christmas Picture Books both new and old. Over 15 Christmas Pictur...

How to pitch to a publisher

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Middle grade author, Julie Grasso has popped in today to discuss the craft of pitching your story. How to pitch to a publisher? What makes a good pitc...

How to be an illustrator of picture books

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Invaluable for anyone, author or illustrator, who wants to create kids books. Award-winning illustrator, Evie Barrow shares her process of illustratin...

The Process of Self-publishing Picture Books

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is a picture book author, with three books out in the world under her own publishing brand KLJ Publishing. She's popped in today to talk...

Jacqueline Harvey Interview

03 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest talks to thousands of people around the world on the topic of writing books for kids, so we know what she has to say is always such awes...

You are Loved!

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

You are Loved is the wonderful picture book by Liv Downing. A book that's all about helping children, and indeed adults, understand that no matter wha...

How to create art and make a living

29 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Find your niche, know who you are as a creator, and learn to weave it all together to become a formidable artist. Today's guest is an author, illustra...

Dangerous Business of Writing Books

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat is the new book from Author Kate Temple. She's popped in today to share her writing journey with us, alo...

It's Time For a Revolution!

06 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

"Australia needs a financial revolution, and it needs to start with our kids!" Scott Pape (OAM) Today's guest wrote Australia's number 1 bestselling b...

Worst Week Ever Wednesday

04 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Creator of Macca the Alpacca and Worst Week Ever series of books, Matt Cosgrove and Eva Amores pop in to talk all about the Worst Week Ever series tha...

Jane Godwin Interview

31 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How to write great characters. Today's guest is a highly acclaimed author of over thirty books for children, across all styles and ages. Her work is p...

Writing about Diversity, Inclusion and Acceptance

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A new series of memorable, funny and diverse stories on First Nations Lands. Stories to help kids accept each other and themselves. Author and Editor ...

The Naked Sheep

21 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest was shortlisted as a Rising Star of Australian Publishing at the Australian Book Industry Awards. She's been on several conference panel...

Andrea Rowe Interview

15 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Children's Book Council of Australia voted her book the number one in Early Childhood for 2022. The book is titled Jetty Jumping and was inspired ...

Furball. Sid Furball

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we look at a day in the life of an author. Get some writing tips, look at the writing process and share some great ideas. You might know today'...

Violin and Cello

06 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For every child practicing their new instrument and the parents and teachers helping them along the way, this picture book celebrates the joy of unexp...

It's not too late to find your passion

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is a Melbourne based artist and now author, whose story demonstrates to us all that it's never too late to nurture your life-long passio...

What is Writing?

04 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ingrid Laguna shares her writing journey as we discuss what writing is. What it means to us. What we can acheive through writing. And how to go abo...

More Self Publishing Tips

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

On today's show, we discuss self publishing a picture book and using Kickstarter to get it out into the world. Today's guest has always loved picture ...

voice is everything and how to find yours

17 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author, Lian Tanner talks about how to use voice to talk to the reader and to build your characters.  Lian also shares her author journey and Liv rev...

How to self publish a children's book

10 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is an indie author with a real go-getter attitude. Her debut chapter book is Looking for Lily, about a group of awesome headbanging litt...

We are all made of Stories

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

No matter where we come from, how old we are, and what stage of life we are in, today's guest believes we all connect through story. In fact, she has ...

An Author's Journey - turning negatives into positives

23 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Deb's journey is as much an interview on how to turn a negative into a positive as I've heard. From the idea for her amazing book, to the writing proc...

Tune in please, it's Zanni Louise

19 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author, Zanni Louise pops in to share her author journey, along with her latest picture book Pigasus, about a young pig who wants to fly.  Zanni give...

Storytelling – many ways to tell a story

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is drawn to storytelling - the history of stories, the magic and the way stories are told, and taking moments in history and sharing it ...

Words have power

01 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Words have power. Use them correctly, and your story can change someone's life.  Today's guest is a screenwriter and playwright who loves creating sh...

A process for writing great kids books

31 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Do you want to write great kids books? Today's guest is an author with more than twenty years' experience in writing award winning books and televisio...

Process of Writing - research, language, accents, dialogue

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is an award-winning author and illustrator.  Her current series is the popular Detective's Guide Series. She's popped in to share her j...

Crossbones – an author and Illustrator collaboration

15 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guests offer up some awesome tips on writing and illustrating books for kids. As well as giving insight into the publishing world and how they...

Dani Vee Interview

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How to Build a Community through Social Media

27 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How can authors grow their communities through social media? Our special guest is Scott Stuart. Scott's empowering messages have been seen over 100 m...

Editor Assessments with Crystal Corocher

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Children's Book Editor Crystal Corocher, shares her industry journey and offers up some great tips and behind the scenes information for aspiring auth...

But Why?

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest, Elizabeth Pulsford entered a competition and is now a published author. Listen to her incredible story of her new book baby, But Why? H...

Want to be published? Make a commitment!

31 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

find what works for you – with Trent Roberts Whether you have a thin skin, are nervous to show your work, don't have enough time, or have anything a...

Must have news for all authors and illustrators

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author, Rory H Mather is here to give us all the news of what's happening in the world of kids books - new releases, upcoming events, and tips on how ...

Writing for TV and Award-winning Kids Books

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is a multiple CBCA Award-winning author. She's been a script writer for such amazing TV shows as The Secret Life of Us, The Baby-sitter'...

Writing makes me happy

13 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is an author, an educator, and environmental scientist with a long-term love of wild places and outdoor adventures.  She's popped in to...

Why do you write books for kids?

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is an author / illustrator who is constantly inspired by the natural world.  His debut picture book, Fly, was shortlisted for the World...

Getting a picture book published

06 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's special guest has just published her first picture book with Larrikin House Publishing, titled Mr Price's Pet Emporium. It's a hilarious tale ...

Adventure and finding interesting subjects

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's special guest was awarded the Maurice Saxby Mentorship for her first novel Cryptosight which was an amazing adventure set in the weird world o...

Tips on getting published

28 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's special guest is the author of the successful 'I want to be…' series of picture books. But the best thing about today's guest is that we're ...

Teaching and Communicating Language

25 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Teacher and author, Sharon Giltrow shares her author journey and her new picture book, Get Ready, Mama! Sharon also discusses teaching and communicati...

Exploring Your Creative Journey

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest has a passion for writing fun picture books, with messages that uplift and empower. She is the author of a new picture book titled, Joy'...

Journey of the Rat-catcher's Apprentice

15 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is a Macedonian born and Melbourne based writer.  Her first novel is The Rat-Catcher's Apprentice which is not only in stores now, it's...

Worst Week Ever! Tuesday

11 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Cosgrove and Eva Amores stop by for a fun chat about their new series that's taking the world by storm: WORST WEEK EVER! TUESDAY. Hayley in the L...

Author and Illustrator Collaborations

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guests have become an author / illustrator team, with 3 amazing picture books together. The Fixit Man, At the end of Holyrood Lane and This is...

Developing a series with Matt Stanton

04 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest lives in Sydney Australia, has a studio in his backyard, which is ten minutes from the beach, gets to spend heaps of time with his kids ...

Adrian Beck and James Hart

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guests are the creators of an amazing Easter themed picture book, out just in time for Easter published by Puffin Books titled, The Unfunny Bu...

What Books Are Kids Reading?

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hayley, our school librarian, pops in to discuss what kids are reading. Our special guest, Katie Flannigan discusses her new book: A Boy, HIs Bear, an...

Turning your book into a stage show

15 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Screenwriter and playwright Maryam Master drops in to discuss turning a book into a stage show.  She has adapted three of David Walliams' books for t...

What makes a good pitch and why everyone should write one

10 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Author, Amelia McInerney drops by to discuss pitching to a publisher and why writing your pitch is important.  The amazing Caz Goodwin shares her wri...

Picture books - process of getting published

04 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Mary Anastasiou, Creative Director of Larrikin House, discusses the process of being published, tips on submissions and making sure your story the bes...

How important is creating a positive reading culture in our kids?

24 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is a teacher librarian who is doing such incredible work getting kids excited about books. Often as writers, illustrators and creators o...

Rebecca Cobb Interview

21 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's guest is one of the world's most popular and in-demand author-illustrators, working with the likes of Julia Donaldson, Richard Curtis and man...

James Foley - what you need to create books for kids

18 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Today's first guest is one of Australia's favourite creators of books for kids, with books like Chickensaurus, The Last Viking and The Toffle Towers s...

Collaborative Storytelling to inspire communities

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For anybody who has ever wanted to collaborate, or is in collaboration, with another creator on a book for kids, this episode is a must! CBCA Book of ...