When the Dead Bones Society meets under the gigantic jaw of a T.rex, it will be boys only. Teenage fiction author, Charles Sturt University (CSU) tutor and literacy consultant Paul Stafford usually focuses on making writing ‘cool’ for ‘reluctant’ boys, but these ‘comedy horror’ workshops at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst from Thursday 23 February are aimed at gifted 9 to 12 year old boys with an interest in writing and science. They will be mentored by male teacher education students from CSU, where Paul Stafford graduated with a degree in print journalism. “I’m really attracted to the idea of it being like a secret club, because boys love that kind of thing…they like to stick to their own company. The idea of a museum after-hours, a creepy old museum at night, is pretty exciting, that sort of out-of-bounds thing,” said Paul Stafford. Mr Stafford says a gifted boy of 12 could be just three or four years away from publication if he was steered along the right path.