Published on Tuesday, 18 August 2026 at 11:00:00 AM
Media ReleaseLibrary
The Shire of Carnarvon is delighted to announce that Cristy Burne, expert storyteller, author and scientist, is heading to Carnarvon in October 2026 and will be working alongside Carnarvon Library & Art Gallery and the Gascoyne Early Years Network on a journey to connect with families and the Carnarvon community!
Cristy will be here to celebrate being awarded a very competitive grant by Creative Australia to research, redraft and complete a historical verse novel sharing the story of Carnarvon’s vital role in NASA’s 1960s moon program.
The novel is for children aged 8+ and is tentatively titled MOON OVER CARNARVON. With NASA planning a return to the moon with its Artemis II missions, appetite for this history and these human stories is growing. With Earth facing so many seemingly insurmountable problems, now is the right time for young readers to connect with an inspiring story where individual efforts add up to an incredible achievement.
Cristy explains: “I have been working on this novel since 2023, after learning of the story during a visit to Carnarvon. I have since interviewed eight of the original staff of the Carnarvon Tracking Station, many of whom are in their 90s, to record their recollections.” She states: “I’m overjoyed to be able to return to Carnarvon to immerse myself in researching and retelling this incredible story. This true story inspires readers because together, human beings can achieve extraordinary things. If we can travel to the moon, we can tackle anything!”
Cristy finished off saying: “I hope for MOON OVER CARNARVON to capture the resilience and creativity of ordinary Australians who came together to achieve the audacious goal of getting humans to the moon. I hope this story empowers our future generations to tackle other important, international challenges.”
About Moon Over Carnarvon
Told in free verse from the first-person perspective of four different narrators (each based on real stories from the 60s), the novel is set in Carnarvon and retells the story of how ordinary people worked together to achieve an audacious goal: building the Carnarvon Tracking Station and staffing it around the clock to support NASA’s missions to the moon.
About Cristy
The author of 18 books, Cristy is based in Perth on Whadjuk Noongar land.
Cristy’s books have been published overseas, recognised as CBCA Notables, won the WA Young Readers Book of the Year Awards, and been shortlisted for the WA Premier’s Book Awards, Wilderness Society’s Environment Award, and Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year.
Cristy’s first verse novel, ONE DAY SOON, came out in April 2026 and is described by publisher Fremantle Press as “a deeply moving, totally engrossing middle grade novel-in-verse.”
To share the messages of her books, Cristy speaks across Australia and overseas, blending science with creativity to inspire audiences to read more, create more, attempt more and laugh more.
For more information about Cristy: https://cristyburne.com/
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