AUTHOR John Marsden's creative energies are now focused elsewhere, writes SARAH HUDSON
In a world that feverishly chases celebrity and success, John Marsden is a reluctant star.
Since penning his first book in 1987, Marsden has long held the title of Australia's best selling author for teenagers.
His landmark Tomorrow series is recognised as the most popular ever written in this country for young adults, while the first book Tomorrow When The War Began, has been reprinted 26 times.
Yet, despite this success, Marsden has chosen to lead the life of a quiet rural school principal near Romsey, at the base of Hanging Rock in Victoria.
And, for the moment at least, he has no idea when - or if - he will write another book.
"I have not written any books for a couple of years, essentially it's been pushed to the background," he says.
"I don't mind. I think running a school takes a lot of creative energy, so I vent in that way.
"I can't say when the next book will be, we'll see when it happens.
"Education has always been my primary passion and writing was always a hobby more than a full-time job."
His many fans, it seems, will just have to wait.
For now - and what he predicts will be the next "six to eight years" - John's focus will be the alternative Candlebark School.
Located on "the world's biggest campus" - 445ha at the Tye Estate - John started the school in January 2006 with 52 students aged prep to year nine.
The roll call now measures 88. John does not want it to grow much beyond this number, with waiting lists for many year levels.
It is a first-names-only school. There is no staff room, no school bell, no school uniform, and all classes are small.
There is plenty of free time, students bring no food as everything is supplied, at the end of each day the students and teachers clean the whole school and there is no strict punishment, "as generally everyone gets along very well and punishment is counter-productive".
"The same motivation that drives me in to education is not that different to books: the desire to raise awareness and the desire to make people think about complex situations in a complex way."
John says the Candlebark concept has been bubbling in his head since he was a boy growing up in Kyneton and then moving interstate.
"Back in Year 9 I used to think about school a lot and wonder why it was so bad," says John.
When he became a teacher - he spent nine years at Geelong Grammar - this disgruntled feeling was compounded.
"Teachers' time and energy is wasted on mindless, trivial tasks while the relationship between teachers and students is poor.
"Even as a writer I visited about 3000 schools and out of those, just five invited students into the staff room.
"Rather than trying to change the culture from within, I decided to start my own school."
And rather than creating a committee, John has been the sole overseer of all decision-making.
As a result, he says the project - in its third year - has seen "highs higher than I imagined and lows lower".
"It's exhilarating and stressful. The best job in the world and the worst.
"The success of the school is obvious to anyone who visits for five minutes or longer.
"One family has moved from Bellingen in NSW and students come from Sunbury, Woodend, Wallan and Castlemaine. One girl comes from Wangaratta and boards.
"But trying to reconcile the different agendas of 50 different families and 88 kids - it can't be done. So you are always trying to negotiate. At the end of the day my agenda is the one that's most powerful."
He says he predicts his role as principal will last another six to eight years: "I do give a lot of thought to succession, it's always on my mind".
Beyond this, though, he has not planned his future.
"I love the line in an Indiana Jones movie where the girl asks Indy 'What next' and he answers 'I don't know, I'm making this up as I go along'.
"The future is so unknown: the bus could hit or the fire could strike you down. Friends who lost a property on Black Saturday said you have to enjoy the process because you can't count on the final chapter."
