TALKS, PANELS AND WORKSHOPS
Carla is an experienced speaker and presenter who loves delivering writing workshops and presentations for students, teachers, parents and emerging authors. She shares practical strategies and writing tips that help participants draw from their personal experience, expand ideas through research and trust their creative instincts to craft meaningful stories.
Whether at festivals, conferences or in schools, Carla tailors sessions to suit the needs of her audience. Her goal is always to ignite excitement and to entertain – while also delivering practical, memorable takeaways participants can return to long after the session ends. Select from the talks and workshops below, request a combination or ask Carla to create something specific for your audience.
You can also download Teaching Notes for We Saw What You Started and Carla’s Letter to Readers.
For bookings, contact Tamara Hewson at Speakers Ink
2026 ETAQ STATE CONFERENCE
If you attended our session on Disrupting Reading Disengagement Through Novelty, we hope you enjoyed it! You can download a copy of our presentation slides below.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
‘Carla Salmon was excellent yesterday - as one of my SOAR students said, the best author workshop they have been to. I would agree. It was very interactive, engaging and full of interesting writing tips and stories of how she developed her novels. She is a very professional presenter.’
— St John’s Anglican College, May 2026
‘Carla was so engaging and warm. She easily connected with the audience of both adults and students and ensured that the presentation was interactive, fun and informative.’
— St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, May 2026
“Carla was the guest author at our annual Read With Your Dad event. This involves students and their Dads all reading the same book then attending an author evening. Feedback from all was that they really enjoyed Carla's book, We Saw What You Started and found the action, characters and setting all drew them in. From my perspective as a teacher librarian, I loved that I could easily recommend this book as both suitable and enjoyable to our readers aged 12 - 15. On the evening of the event, we couldn't have asked for a more engaging presenter than Carla. The audience loved hearing about her writing and publishing experience.”
— Mount Alvernia College, August 2025
“Carla Salmon is a dynamic presenter who expertly tailored her creative writing workshops to engage both Middle and Senior School students. Her full cohort sessions consistently held students' attention, keeping them on the edge of their seats with a compelling cliffhanger promotion for her Book 2 storyline. Additionally, she demonstrated a remarkable ability to inspire creativity, as evidenced by the enthusiastic and energetic responses from Year 7 students to her interactive 'what if' prompts. Carla is guaranteed to inspire and leave a lasting impact on your students.”
— West Moreton Anglican College, August 2025
“What a joy Carla Salmon is! Her genuine delight at being able to share the love she has for her novel spills over into every aspect of her presentation. Students walked away brimming with ideas for character, setting and story. Carla’s passion is contagious! My highest recommendation comes with all the exclamation points!!”
— Our Lady’s College, October 2025
AUTHOR TALKS
Stories you can’t escape
What makes a story impossible to put down? In this interactive presentation, Carla reveals how she creates suspense, raises stakes and keeps readers turning pages in her gripping mystery thrillers for young teens. Packed with anecdotes, photos and videos, she shares the real-life writing strategies behind compelling characters, high-stakes plots and unforgettable settings.
Students will experiment with the "what if?" questions that inspired We Saw What You Started, Carla's debut novel that was shortlisted for the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year Award for Older Readers. They'll also go behind the scenes of We Did It Anyway, the next standalone mystery in the Red Sands series, to discover how authors hook readers from the first page, build momentum and write with confidence.
Combining practical writing tips with humour, storytelling and audience participation, Carla delivers a high-energy presentation filled with memorable takeaways that students can immediately apply to their own writing.
Every author talk is tailored to suit the age, interests and size of the audience. Sessions can be adapted from 30 to 60 minutes. Longer presentations may include a reading from one of Carla's novels or a fun Surf Life Saving-themed Heads or Tails quiz as requested.
WRITING WORKSHOPS
Creating Bravely
Great stories make the small things big, and the big things small. In this interactive workshop, Carla reveals the techniques behind compelling stories and shows participants how to apply them to their own writing. Through quick-fire challenges, creative prompts and engaging activities, students will learn how to hook readers, raise the stakes and create characters readers genuinely care about.
Drawing on examples from her own writing process, Carla explores each stage of the creative journey, from generating ideas to refining a final draft. Participants will discover practical strategies they can use immediately and leave with greater confidence to take risks, experiment and create bravely.
Topics may include:
Character development and theme
Finding story ideas in everyday life, current events and the news
Crafting compelling inciting incidents
World-building and creating a strong sense of place
Using descriptive language that shows rather than tells
Receiving and applying feedback to strengthen a piece of writing
Editing strategies used by professional authors
Throughout the workshop, Carla will share autobiographical anecdotes (including the time she worked as a fourteen-year-old television journalist intern and went undercover to chase a story in a police station). She will also provide behind-the-scenes insights into her research, drafting and editing processes, demonstrating how skills used in novel writing can be applied to short stories and other narrative forms.
Expect photos, videos, fun games, short quizzes, collaborative challenges and visible learning activities with outcomes participants can measure immediately.
This workshop can be tailored for students in Years 5 to 12 and can suit a single 40-minute session, multiple workshops or a full-day writing experience.