Books by Brian Moon

Dr Brian Moon is a teacher, author and researcher working in the fields of Literary studies, English curriculum, and secondary education. He is an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia.

Brian has published extensively in curriculum theory and classroom practice for senior secondary and college-level English. Literary Terms, his innovative glossary, has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.

This page details Brian's classroom texts and resources, available from acclaimed publisher Chalkface Press. Brian also publishes under the Moonwell Press imprint. Visit the Moonwell Press page for the latest releases.

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In 20 comprehensive chapters, Approaches to Poetry offers complete lessons on a wide range of genres, from haiku to sonnets, ballads to epics, and covering a variety of topics: folklore and legend, found poems, curious characters, histories, poems of time and place, and classic reflections on love, youth and age. This volume focuses on poems from the English tradition, spanning works by Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Thomas Gray, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Bronte, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Matthew Arnold, and many more. Each chapter features instructional text, poem selections, and practical activities that encourage curiosity, close reading, creative writing and analysis. Approaches to Poetry is equally useful as a teacher reference, classroom textbook, or home-schooling resource.

For details and ordering information see the Moonwell Press website.

From Moonwell Press. Paperback, 291 pages, ISBN 978-0-646-88583-4. $29.15 RRP.

Introducing Literature is a new and comprehensive introduction to literary analysis, criticism and theory.

Ideal for senior secondary school or college students beginning a literature course, the book starts with basic principles and methods and leads to theorised approaches to literature study. It covers fundamental issues such as: definitions of literature; why we read literature; analysing text and context; creative responses to literature; and current theories and issues.

The reference section includes essential background knowledge -- myths and legends to know, narrative schemas to know, twelve critical theories to know, and a timeline of English Literature.

Introducing Literature. Chalkface Press. 2016. 222pp. ISBN:9781875136353 RRP $49.95 AU.

View the contents | See an extract

Literary Terms - A Practical Glossary is an innovative reference for students and teachers of English and Literature, combining clear definitions with practical activities and examples.

The new Third Edition adds more than 80 new terms alongside fully revised definitions and activities for many existing entries. Modern terms and concepts such as discourse, deconstruction, ecocriticism, ideology, and subjectivity are treated alongside traditional terms such as aesthetics, allegory, rhetoric, satire, social realism and voice.

Additionally, new entries covering drama, poetry, prose and the novel make Literary Terms more versatile and comprehensive than ever. Ideal for classroom use or as a personal reference.

Literary Terms. 3rd edn. Chalkface Press. 2017. 254pp. ISBN:1 875136 38 4. RRP $42.95 AU. (US Edition 1999. 177pp. ISBN 0-8141-3008-9)

View the contents | See an extract

"The discoveries forced on the reader are bracing as well as empowering."
- Andrew Stibbs, Times Education Supplement (Literary Terms).

Cover artwork © Stephen Mellor, Chalkface Press

Writing Projects is a two-volume course in writing that introduces students to the basics of form and style through a series of detailed project tasks.

The core genres of description, story writing, review, essay, and formal speech are treated in detail, using models, demonstrations, guided writing activities and skill-building exercises.

In contrast to the highly abstract 'expressive' approach taken by most writing manuals, Writing Projects gives detailed and direct instruction in specific techniques of form and style.

Based on classical methods, the projects focus on rhetorical divisions, planning and design, sentence-level style and diction.

The book will serve equally well as a classroom text or an individual writing reference.

Writing Projects 1. Chalkface Press: 2010. 128pp. ISBN: 978-1-875136-29-2. $24.95 AU

View the contents | See an extract

Cover artwork © Stephen Mellor, Chalkface Press

Writing Projects is a two-volume course in writing that introduces students to the basics of form and style through a series of detailed project tasks.

The core genres of description, story writing, review, essay, and formal speech are treated in detail, using models, demonstrations, guided writing activities and skill-building exercises.

In contrast to the highly abstract 'expressive' approach taken by most writing manuals, Writing Projects gives detailed and direct instruction in specific techniques of form and style.

Based on classical methods, the projects focus on rhetorical divisions, planning and design, sentence-level style and diction.

The book will serve equally well as a classroom text or an individual writing reference.

Writing Projects 2. Chalkface Press: 2011. 128pp. ISBN: 978-1-875136-30-8. $24.95 AU

View the contents | See an extract

Viewing Terms is a comprehensive guide to the complex terms and concepts used in modern film and television studies. Along with clear definitions, the book includes examples and practical activities that help build understanding and analytical skills.

The book's 30 major entries and 300-plus terms cover a wide range of theoretical and analytical concepts, including audience, auteur theory, camerawork, film codes and conventions, mise en scene, montage, shot, target audience, viewing practices and much more. In addition, the Quick Reference section covers a range of technical and industry terms from ADR to Zip Pan.

Many entries are illustrated with high quality stills and montage sequences from classic film and television sources, including Citizen Kane, The Third Man, The Matrix and The X-Files.

Teachers will find that the practical entries work as mini-lessons for the classroom as well as individual reference.

Viewing Terms. Chalkface Press: 2004. 210pp. ISBN:1 875136 22 3.$37.95 AU

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US Edition. Studying Poetry takes a groundbreaking approach to its subject by treating poetry not as the myserious product of 'gifted imagination' but as a kind of social practice.

The book makes poetry study less intimidating for teachers and students by showing the rules and expectations that readers and writers of poetry follow.

It is filled with practical activities, including a whole chapter showing how to write critical essays in response to poetry, and contains over 50 poems chosen to illustrate important concepts.

This volume is now out of print in Australia. It has been superseded by the more comprehensive Approaches to Poetry, 2023.

US Edition 2001.175pp. ISBN 0-8141-4850-6.

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Writing Critical Essays (by Brian Moon and Bronwyn Mellor) provides students with detailed, practical help in the the difficult task of writing essays about works of literature.

Unlike most writing handbooks, which offer generalised advice, this text takes students step-by-step through the writing of essays on specific topics such as narrative structure, theme, character, gender and race.

The book includes models of complete essays, many written by students, as well as step-by-step guides for planning, writing and referencing. There is also background information on important literary concepts and skills.

Novel extracts and complete short stories for analysis are included in the book. This allows for detailed and explicit teaching, as every reader has access to the complete source materials.

Writing Critical Essays. Chalkface Press: 2001. 200pp. ISBN:1 875136 27 4 RRP $37.95 AU

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Studying Literature is an introductory textbook for senior students starting out on their first formal study of literature.

Drawing on broadly postmodern theories and approaches, the book helps students investigate the values, assumptions and practices that underly literary activities.

It introduces important concepts, such as the social contexts of literary practice; dominant and resistant readings of literature; 'gaps and silences' in texts; and issues of race, class and gender. One whole chapter is devoted to the issue of gender, with a focus on both feminism and masculinities.

The book is now out of print in Australia but can still be found in libraries. It has been superseded by the more recent and more comprehensive 'Introducing Literature', detailed above.

An Open University PGCE text.

Studying Literature. Chalkface Press. 1990. 78pp. ISBN:1 875136 13 4. RRP $24.95 AU.
(US Edition 2000. 93pp. ISBN 0-8141-4871-9.)

See an extract

The History of Popular Schooling is an academic reference for students undertaking teacher education, and for practicising teachers interested in theor origins of school polices and teaching methods. It offers an accessible introduction to the history of popular schooling, from its complex beginnings in the absolute states of early-modern Europe, to the present. In doing so, it highlights the remarkable successes of modern schooling, while also exposing the dangers of principled critique and utopian theorising. Chapters cover The Great Experiment, The Rise of the School, Pedagogy/Ideology, and Rethinking Schooling. Includes questions for discussion and reflection.

Published by Moonwell Press.
Available from Amazon Australia.

2023. Paperback. ISBN 9780646880471 $18.64 AU. eBook $11.50 AU.

Forthcoming from Moonwell Press
Teaching English is a collection of essays, lectures and professional development seminars for teachers of English, drawn from the author's long experience as a classroom teacher, curriculum specialist and university researcher. The diverse offerings cover a wide range of topics, including the history and philosophies of school English, instructional methods for core curriculum topics, and the politics of the English classroom. Among the instructional topics addressed are visual text analysis and film study, the teaching of poetry, approaches to narrative writing, and the use of computer games in English. The book combines practical strategies for the classroom with a more general reflection on the aims and methods of English.

For details and ordering information see the Moonwell Press website.

From Moonwell Press. 2023/4. Details to come.

Where to Buy

Titles published by Moonwell Press are available from Amazon Australia.

Titles published by Chalkface Press are distributed by Campion Education (see contact details below). They can also be ordered through local education suppliers and campus bookshops, or from the publisher. In the United States, selected titles are available from the NCTE, and in the UK from the English and Media Centre.

In Australia and New Zealand

Publisher: Chalkface Press
Distributor: Campion Education Australia Pty Ltd
(Select /Parents/Store Locations)
Malaga Store: 751 Marshall Road, MALAGA WA 6090
Willetton Store: 25b Baile Road, CANNING VALE WA 6155
Ph: (08) 6240 2778.
Email: chalkface@campion.com.au

For Campion orders, contact Mike Ellis or Lynette Russo on 6240 2707 (email lrusso@campion.com.au). You can also place online orders via the Chalkface Press website here, or email chalkface@campion.com.au.

In the United Kingdom
Publisher: The English and Media Centre
EMC Publications
PO Box 105 Rochester
Kent ME2 4BE
Tel: 01634 729835
Fax: 01634 290175
Email: emc@education.co.uk

In the United States
Publisher: National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
1111 West Kenyon Road
Urbana, IL.
Ph 800-369-6283.
Fax 217-328-9645.
Email: public_info@ncte.org.

About Brian Moon

Brian Moon has 40 years experience in education, as a teacher and university academic. He holds five university degrees, across Education, English and Cultural Studies, and is the author of numerous books and academic papers.

Brian began his teaching career in Western Australian secondary schools, where he taught English across years 8 to 12. After completing his Masters and Doctoral degrees, he embarked on a university career as a curriculum instructor at Edith Cowan University, where he coordinated Bachelor of Education and Master of Teaching specialisations in English.

Brian has served as an English Examiner for the Secondary Education Authority of Western Australia, has been a consultant to various state government departments and education sectors, and has served on the editorial boards of a number of academic journals. He is currently an associate editor of the Australian Journal of Teacher Education.

Brian retired from full time teaching 2022, but continues to research and write as an Honorary Associate Professor at ECU.

From 1990-2022, Brian's textbooks for English were published by Chalkface Press, an award-winning publisher affiliated with the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) in America, and the prestigious English and Media Centre (E&MC) in the United Kingdom.

From 2023, new titles and revisions are published under the Moonwell Press imprint. Visit the Moonwell Press site for the latest releases.