Educational background – Virginia started out as a primary school teacher, working for a number of years in newly multicultural inner-city Sydney and then the north coast of NSW. On travelling overseas, she ended up in the Maldives where she co-published the first Dhivehi–English dictionary and her passion for publishing was born. Virginia went on to self-publish travel guides to the Maldives and Sri Lanka and, on returning to Australia, continued travel writing under the Gadabout Guides imprint for CIS-Heinemann, resulting in the award-winning Vanuatu: Ten Years of Independence.
After starting a family, Virginia was keen to combine her teaching background with her newfound publishing talents. She accepted the position of Education Editor for the Publishing Division of Scholastic Australia, working on groundbreaking titles such as Core Library, Bookshelf, Upbeat and Timesavers. While freelancing after the birth of her second child, Virginia continued writing teacher resource materials for Scholastic and other educational publishers.
Virginia returned to Scholastic in 1996, accepting the role of TBS Editor.
Favourite children’s authors/illustrators – Kate DiCamillo, Sonya Hartnett, Dr Seuss, Rosemary Wells
Favourite children’s books – The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo; Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr Seuss; and Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells
Interests – Reading, travel, music, education, human nature
What is fun about selecting books for TBS? I believe the old adage 'whatever you do, do it well' has stood me in good stead no matter where life has taken me—be it selecting the very best teacher resources on behalf of Australian teachers, creating innovative educational materials, or sailing into the sunset on the turquoise waters of a far-flung atoll. Selecting titles for TBS takes me places, be it liaising with publishers around the world or seeing firsthand the wonderful work being done by Australian teachers.