World Of Nancy Dagostino

12/11/2025

Bringing joy through storytelling is a precious honour above the achievement and the achievement, by far takes precedence over any success the books will have both in my lifetime and beyond. Some things matter more than others and for those of us who have made it this far, you will know exactly what this means. As seen here in this moment with Karina the joy on her face is priceless and for me…this was my first signed book as an author!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ9PkTtkgaF/?igsh=MWVkd251cjQzeXNwcg==

12/11/2025

Books & Literacy Matter! Literacy and the performing arts for kids who love the sing, dance and act and for parents, grandparents, educators & librarians who value literacy and the importance of language development skills.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ9NKx9km3V/?igsh=MXF6NXkyb2ttN2EzaQ==

10/11/2025

Are you Living the life that aligns with you? Check out these kids filled with music and makeshift instruments reenacting one of the hottest songs at the moment. What makes this short reel phenomenal is not the fact that they are singing along and reenacting Taylor Swift Global hit but more so because of the awesome vibe and energy they put into the reenactment of this song they’re singing along to. This can only happen when you are doing what you love and align. The energy they are pouring into this performance is infectious and I just really wanted to share it with you all this morning. Have an awesome day and find something in your life that makes you want to dance sing and even fly.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQly65lDFtO/?igsh=dnhzbXA3aDE3Nmc=

09/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BxHbNC6y7/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🍀𝑳𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓!📚

The 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 entries close in one week.

The annual 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 aim to promote quality literature for young Australians, support and encourage Australian writers and illustrators of children’s books and celebrate contributions to Australian children’s literature.
There are 6 categories of Awards.

Enter at https://cbca.org.au/awards/

09/11/2025

Do you have a dream about becoming an author? Do you ever wonder if your drawings or creative talents could be packaged up and turned into a children’s walk. Have you self published a book but not really worked towards building your own brand? Do you write song lyrics and just don’t know what to do next with them? Can you sing naturally but know you would be better with some vocal training? These are just a few examples of questions you may have. Now there is a way to move forward as Nancy has freed up some time in her weekly teaching schedule and sessions can be booked direct from her website and you can get the ball rolling and finally move forward. What are you waiting for?
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ1G2OPEuYu/?igsh=MXFjZXVuZWV5b2psdg==

09/11/2025

There’s one thing that is certain about Artist and anyone with a creative background and that is that they do their best work at night. Normally if you look at a building with lots of windows and you see a light on perhaps in that room is an artist or an author meticulously Working at their craft. We tend to do our best work at night whilst everyone else is sleeping. Another common occurrence is that although our desks and creative spaces are filled with folders, samples, inspirational things and a tonne of paper stacked up at every corner of the room it is still organised although it may not seem like that to anyone else who is not creative. But we all have our strengths and our weaknesses and one of my superpowers is to actually clean up and reset and even take a breather before thinking about the next books in the series. We must do this in order to achieve clarity and have a winning mindset in order to move forward with all of our Hard learn lessons and streamline the process the second time round in order to achieve even more.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ1EPZNEovs/?igsh=MW04bWhwb3lwNWVvaw==

09/11/2025

For any new upcoming author who has gone through the self publishing process and actually set themselves up as a publisher you will understand where I’m coming from. When I say how stressful it is not knowing when the right time is to make the legal deposit for each of the books you have written. It seems like you just want ticket off the list but everything needs to be so perfect and final before you do it and you also need to have your submission include the highest quality published book format as one digital file whilst meeting all of the other requirements. You never seem to be the right time and I never seem to be able to get to it even though I knew by law it was a requirement. I would have to meet sooner or later. Thanks to the CBCA Awards for 2026 and their requirements… It made perfect sense that I could not take one step further without completing this process. Yesterday I completed the process for both my Children Book and my Songbook normally activity books do not need to be included but since my colouring book includes the visual story related to my children’s book I’m yet to confirm whether or not I will still make that entry. The next time I update you regarding legal deposits, it will be me standing on the steps at the State Library of Victoria where I will submit the hard cover format physical copy for preservation and accessibility according to the great terms. As an author I am required to submit it in the state I live in but the book can be accessed from anywhere in Australia through the legal deposit system. I think it will be quite emotional for me and I really cannot wait to actually go to the library there as I’ve dreamt about visiting this place my whole life and have yet never gone on there. Who would think that the first time I would walk through those doors is as an international Author,Illustrator, and Artist.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ1BA1ekraj/?igsh=MWZ3aDcwdHdqODh2NA==

09/11/2025

Now that my children’s book has been submitted to the Children’s Book Council of Australia… the next step is to prepare five copies for each of the categories I’ve entered to be sent to the Head Office in Queensland before the deadline of November 14, 2025. This is a total of 20 books in the highest quality version which is my hardcover printed on demand through Ingramspark which is a traditionally printed standard book for bookstores worldwide as well as online platforms and bookstores. However for all of you incoming authors if you are entering the new illustrator award category they do not require an additional five copies of the book entered so in total I will only be sending them 15 copies. It is quite a big investment between the each categories entry fee as well as the copies of the books for the judges panel. In my case having to rush the Printing meant that I had to pay an additional cost to print fast and even more to have it shipped to a destination as soon as possible. They have definitely been some delays because of Melbourne Cup this week on the Tuesday and there were also some technical issues with the ordering system at Ingramspark but fingers crossed it all falls into place in time. For now I receive confirmation that all of my category entries have been accepted as meeting the eligibility requirements.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ08XXSElTT/?igsh=NDJ6OGFxcnBweGxi

09/11/2025

This past couple of weeks has been a busy time preparing to enter the Children’s Book Council of awards for 2026. Last Saturday was the deadline and it was a huge undertaking on the Friday to get my entry in on time. Having to meet the entry policy requirements was definitely a very time-consuming process but at the same time would mean that I would not be entering only to be deemed ineligible after completing the process. The children’s book was the eligible book for the entry and qualified for four different categories hence why the process was quite lengthy & especially working against the clock to meet the deadline. The video explains the categories I have entered and although it is a longshot considering the entries being open since early 2025 but I really felt that this was a goal of mine from way back and to actually get the chance to do this would mean that I would have fulfilled ‘The Impossible Dream’ of becoming an international author! That in itself, is the biggest achievement beyond awards, or even financial success.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ02SIoElR1/?igsh=a2E3b2ExaWYyMzlx

07/11/2025

This is young Sky with her copy of Hullabaloo The Funky Singing Monkey! Her journey with literacy will begin visually with the illustrations and will eventually progress to reading the words and Hullabaloo will be there with her on her journey. Thanks to Skys’ parents Ruth Haidar & Shannon Rich got their support and understanding in what it means to support artists first hand!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQwt00jEi_X/?igsh=MXF4Z3kzaGowNXNnOA==

07/11/2025

These two lovely ladies were chatting about Oranatangs at a nearby table when one spotted my children’s books that had just been unpacked by Anne Micallef. She commented on how amazing the books looked and where we bought them from. I explained that I am the Author & Illustrator of all 3 books and that Anne is part of my team and helped me review the punctuation for my first children’s book. What an unexpected compliment! She then asked if they could take a look at the books and it was awesome to watch them experience the books and their excitement. They took a photo of the books so they could buy them perhaps for their grandchildren. Makes all the hard work so worthwhile! 👍😃
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQwo5Iakux8/?igsh=NmUxMWJzanVidG8w

07/11/2025

Hullabaloo The Funky Singing Monkey Children’s Book Manuscript. Today was extra special when she finally got to see the books come together as a whole. Her expertise with literacy helped me to make sure the manuscript was perfectly punctuated.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQwnvlUEhx6/?igsh=MXFlYTY5dThzcjhyNg==