About
The Book Next Door publishes Australian-based photocopiable resources that can be used by teachers and volunteers as ‘extra’ support for English language learners, as well as easy-read e-books, puzzle books and quizzes – and now ‘memory-friendly’ books.
After writing language learning resources for over 20 years, mostly (though not exclusively) for NCELTR at Macquarie University, I became despondent when they stopped publishing those ‘niche’ materials that I look for as a teacher (Australian setting, aimed at migrant/humanitarian learners, low levels, audio support, etc).
It took me a few years, but I finally launched my micro-publishing venture, The Book Next Door, with the encouragement of a number of language bookshop owners, other writers and small publishers who were extremely generous with their suggestions and advice. The name reflects the small and ‘local’ scale of what I do. I hope it also gives a friendly feel, as the books are designed to be fun!
So far there are two series: ESL Extras are Australian photocopiable resources, about family life, while ESL Easy Reads are available as e-books or in the new Book Club format. The new series of beginner games and activities, Tabletop English, is almost ready to launch.
There are now eight ESL Extras titles (six reading books and two puzzle books), as well as one free-to-download reading book. They are available in paperback teacher’s guide, library version paperback, and in pdf format.
I’ve also started writing memory-friendly books as Unforgettable Notes (with professional support and input, as this isn’t my field, but a passion project).
To find out more about my background as a writer and teacher (and long, long ago as a volunteer tutor), visit my personal site, www.clareharris.com. To download SpellingWorks (which I co-wrote with Maureen Hague for Heinemann), go to spellingworks.com.
I also blog (rather more frequently than on this site) at my clareharris.com site, as ‘Englishy things‘, and also at the ESL Small Publishers Independent Network. You can find me on Facebook at ‘The Book Next Door’ and at ‘ESL writer Clare Harris’ and on LinkedIn as ‘eslwriterclareharris’.
I should also add a big thanks to Martin Cumming for the logo.
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