for life

For author Ben Hobson, the English language is a powerful tool he uses to challenge his readers and his students.

The Bribie Island State High School English and music teacher spoke with Moreton Life as his third novel, The Death of John Lacey, hit the shelves.

Ben has juggled writing with teaching at Bribie since 2012 and says it allows him to pursue his love of music, literature and creativity, and share it with the next generation.

It also provided a guaranteed income - a luxury for those in the creative arts.

“I found I loved the actual teaching, getting in front of a class and getting to unlock their potential,” Ben says.

“I love when I get a bit of argument back, in a respectful way, and can see they’re really thinking. Seeing that come alive is really fun.” His message to

English students centres on taking responsibility for what they write and not simply following a formula.

“We give students a really clear structure and give them the answers, and (sometimes) they’re just connecting the dots,” Ben explains.

“I ask them, ‘do you like what you’ve written?’ and say ‘if you’re bored, you haven’t done your job. What’s the best way to engage people?’.”

Being a working author gives his message some weight, but he only reflects on his own experience when he feels it is relevant.

“I talk about it a little bit when I’m teaching creative writing and will use a few examples,” Ben says. “Students really like it when they can see their teachers have some real-

“You get a few students who are interested in writing who send you drafts of what they’ve done. That’s really fun.”

In a world of auto-correct, acronyms and voice to text, Ben believes it is still important to foster a love of the English language.

“Because it’s the way they can articulate their ideas. It unlocks their ability to think deeply about subjects in different ways and see things from different points of view. We’re equipping them to be whole people,” he says.

Ben says it encourages them to be thoughtful in the way they engage people with different or opposing ideas. Ben’s latest work, The Death of John Lacey, was released at the end of January.

It’s a searing Australian western set in the goldfields of Ballarat and a powerful story of greed, power and violence.

The Narangba resident says the book started with the character and he chose the harsh goldfields as the setting to remove the distractions of a modern-day setting.