A FORMER primary school teacher of 15 years, "accidentally" becoming a best-selling children's author is how Tim Harris' writing journey started almost a decade ago - but it's one of the best accidents that's ever happened to him.
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"Interestingly enough, it all happened by mistake and it's a pretty funny story actually," Mr Harris laughed.
"I wrote a book for a Year 1 class I had as a Christmas present and it got into the hands of a parent who worked with the Children's Book Council of Australia. He contacted me and said 'this is a really great story ... I think you should keep writing'."
"I started writing just when my eldest son was born and he's 10 now, though [being an author] is absolutely still quite exciting," Mr Harris said.
"My children also read my books. They're often my sounding board, too," he laughed.
Now, having just launched his 12th book in Orange on Tuesday, and the fifth book in the Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables series, students at Kinross Wolaroi Junior School will get to have the author as their very own sounding board, as Mr Harris begins a writer-in-residence program.
"It was a really lovely book launch and it was nice to be at Kinross to celebrate that," Mr Harris said.
"They opened up the glasshouse which was a light-filled area with posters on the walls and my books on display - and I got to do some of the very first public readings of [the book] there."
My children also read my books. They're often my sounding board, too.
- Father-of-four and author, Tim Harris on his pre-publishing audience at home
Head of Kinross Wolaroi Junior School Denise Hayward said Mr Harris' books made students' "tummies hurt" from laughter, with the school welcoming the great opportunity.
"We are so thrilled to have him as Writer-in-Residence this year," Mrs Hayward said.
"And we know he will inspire our students to really get excited about reading and creative writing."
Throughout 2022, the Sydney-based author will travel back and forth to run literary sessions with students from years three to six.
"I'll be back in two weeks - getting into the classroom and working alongside teachers and primary students for writing projects," Mr Harris said.
"As a special focus, Year 6 students will write and publish their own novel this year, so for the 18 days of the year - we'll really be rolling up our sleeves to do the nitty gritty and students are really looking forward to that."
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