Chicklish - an excellent review site

YLG London AGM at Faber & Faber

On Wednesday the 19th March the AGM for the Youth Libraries Group: London was held at the Faber & Faber Offices in Queen Square. The AGM went smoothly and quickly; then with official business having been taken care of, this left the evening clear for the main draw of the evening - A talk with four of Faber's Teen/YA authors.

These were:


Steve Voake



Alexander Gordon Smith (and his brother Jamie's head)



Rachel Wright

and



Alex Milway and his rats.

All attendees were introduced to the F&F youth punlishingteam and then the floor was left open to the authors.

Steve Voake discussed his books The Dreamwalkers Child, The Web of Fire and The Starlight Conspiracy.

Alexander Gordon Smith (so named he said to prevent him having the nickname 'GAS' in school) - call him Gordon, spoke about his series The Inventors that he co-writes with his younger brother Jamie.

Rachel Wright spoke about her book You've got Blackmail and the heroine Lozzie Cracknell (described as Kelly Osbourne without the drag queen make up).

Alex Milway introduced his book The Mousehunter and showcased some mice (lovingly made by his mum) as well as speaking about workshops he has run on mouse creation and stories.

After the authors had spoken they fielded questions from the audience and then everyone had a chance to get their books signed and chat to the authors (as well as getting photos taken).


A close up of three of the mice from The Mousehunter - The Golden Mouse, The Howling Moon Mouse and (I think) the Moose Mouse.


A close up of one of AGS's tattoos - worn that night in honour of the Librarians he was speaking to

It was an excellent evening that left all attendees feeling good and is a sign of the high-quality YA books currently being published in the UK.

Dimensional Manga

Dimensional Manga is a publishing company registered under the company name Fifth Dimension Limited. It specialises in producing manga (comic format) graphic novels. Its main titles include Demon Prince: Children of Gaia scheduled release February 2008. Titles to follow in the future include Origins: Energy Pattern Disruption, Discoveries: Fifth Dimensional LayerShift, Ghost Battle: Imprisoned by Progression, Incomplete: Detached, Hero Complex, Winning Tactics F.C and Monsters& Samurais.

Dimensional Manga believes in providing fans with a top quality experience through stunning storylines captured in amazing manga graphic novels. Dimensional Manga's ultimate aim is to push the barriers within the comic books arena and introduce never before seen concepts and content encapsulated in a perfect balance of action, comedy and excitement guaranteed to amaze.

Dimensional Manga was founded by Dil. He had been intrigued by the comic format especially manga for over 10 years and was captivated by this art form since. This art style inspired him to begin writing his own stories and creating original character designs. In 2006 Dimensional Manga was established. The aim of this was to promote manga and the comic format in the west and to release an original unique story that would entertain the masses. To do this Dimensional Manga needed to contract professional comic artists from all over the world inlcuding Canada, Malaysia, Philipines and UK. Manga and the comic format is a unique way to express ideas. Dil prefers this medium over conventional books/novels because of the combination of visuals and written text. As a result Dil was inspired by the comic format resulting in his decision to adopt this this style for his stories.

Dil is responsible for writing the story, the script, co-ordinating the story board and instructing the artists on how to create each frame. The goal was to ‘create’, not borrow, change or visually alter established concepts, but to make a fresh start. His ultimate aim is to show that there are always new possibilities still available, no matter what achievements have been accomplished. And his hope is that this message will inspire others to do the same.

Author Profiles Section

A new author profile section has just been set up on the Teen Librarian site. The first author to be featured is Jenny Downham

View her blog site http://www.beforeidiebook.blogspot.com/

What young people have a right to expect from their library

Young people should expect from their library:

• Participation in shaping the future of library services
• Volunteering opportunities with younger or older library users
• A place to develop citizenship skills and community engagement
• Free, safe and welcoming spaces in the local community
• Formal and informal learning support for educational attainment
• Inspiring books and reading materials supported by positive activities
• Information on education, training and careers opportunities

Click here for more information.

Gary Gygax 1938-2008

Those of us that run role-playing games in Libraries (specifically any editions of Dungeons & Dragons) may be interested (and saddened) to hear that one of the creators of the original D&D boardgame passed away yesterday.


For more information follow this link Trolllord Games.