Tuesday, 2 September 2008
New author website
Rachel Wright author of You've got Blackmail and Get your Paws Off has joined the ranks of the online brigade. Visit her website here: www.rachelwright.me
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Mary Hoffman
On wednesday 23rd July I was one of a fortunate group of Librarians to be invited to the offices of Bloomsbury Publishers to meet Mary Hoffman (the author of the fantastic Stravaganza series as well as The Falconer's Knot and many other fabulous books).
We all sat round a table and discussed the Stravaganza series with Mary - how the inspiration for the stories struck, her love for all things Italian and heard her read an extract from the latest book Stravaganza - City of Secrets. We were also fortuante to hear er read the prologue from her latest (as yet unpublished) book set during the time of the Albigensian Crusade - the title escapes me at present but I will add it as soon as I recall it. We were also shown the talismans from each book that she acquired during the writing and used as foci to keep her mind in the project. Mary was also barraged with questions about her books, plans for future titles in the series and Italy. I was interested to discover that her family was close to one of my favourite authors when I was growing up the late Douglas Hill author of Blade of the Poisoner - the first fantasy novel I can recall reading and the Galactic Warlord series starring the last Legionnaire Keill Randor.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Malorie Blackman awarded OBE
Congratulations to Malorie Blackman who is to be awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthdays Honours List.
Malorie says of the honour:
“I have been a professional writer for almost two decades now, so I am thrilled and honoured to receive an OBE for services to children's literature.”
Malorie Blackman is one of the country’s most well loved and acclaimed authors for young adults. She worked as a Database Manager and Systems Programmer before becoming a full-time writer. After receiving 82 rejection letters for her first eight to ten books, her first book, Not So Stupid! was published in 1990 and was a selected title for the 1991 Feminist Book Fortnight, and Malorie participated in the first BBC TV Black Women’s Screenwriting Workshop in 1991. She has written a number of books for young readers which have been dramatised successfully for children’s television including the Whizziwig series and has worked on other TV projects such as Byker Grove and Pig Heart Boy which won a BAFTA for best children’s drama 2000.
Malorie’s titles for Random House Children’s Books include Cloud Busting (selected for the first Booked Up Scheme in 2007), Hacker, Thief and Pig Heart Boy. For older readers her name has become famed for the Noughts & Crosses sequence, where set ideas of race, heritage, belief, power, money and love are challenged – the first book was recently adapted for the stage and directed by Dominic Cooke for the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing to critical acclaim in the Winter Season 2007/8, in Stratford upon Avon and on tour around the UK. A fourth book is to be published in November 2008, moving on the story in Double Cross, which is set to be one of the most highly anticipated books of the year.
Malorie’s reputation has steadily grown and she has been awarded a number of prizes, and has been involved in countless projects enabling children and young adults to access her work, and get interested in reading. She lives in Kent with her husband and daughter – and a collection of around 15,000 books!
(taken from Randon House Press Release
Malorie says of the honour:
“I have been a professional writer for almost two decades now, so I am thrilled and honoured to receive an OBE for services to children's literature.”
Malorie Blackman is one of the country’s most well loved and acclaimed authors for young adults. She worked as a Database Manager and Systems Programmer before becoming a full-time writer. After receiving 82 rejection letters for her first eight to ten books, her first book, Not So Stupid! was published in 1990 and was a selected title for the 1991 Feminist Book Fortnight, and Malorie participated in the first BBC TV Black Women’s Screenwriting Workshop in 1991. She has written a number of books for young readers which have been dramatised successfully for children’s television including the Whizziwig series and has worked on other TV projects such as Byker Grove and Pig Heart Boy which won a BAFTA for best children’s drama 2000.
Malorie’s titles for Random House Children’s Books include Cloud Busting (selected for the first Booked Up Scheme in 2007), Hacker, Thief and Pig Heart Boy. For older readers her name has become famed for the Noughts & Crosses sequence, where set ideas of race, heritage, belief, power, money and love are challenged – the first book was recently adapted for the stage and directed by Dominic Cooke for the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing to critical acclaim in the Winter Season 2007/8, in Stratford upon Avon and on tour around the UK. A fourth book is to be published in November 2008, moving on the story in Double Cross, which is set to be one of the most highly anticipated books of the year.
Malorie’s reputation has steadily grown and she has been awarded a number of prizes, and has been involved in countless projects enabling children and young adults to access her work, and get interested in reading. She lives in Kent with her husband and daughter – and a collection of around 15,000 books!
(taken from Randon House Press Release
Sunday, 15 June 2008
No to Age Banding
No To Age Banding
I believe that this should be supported (the campaign against age banding that is). There has been quite a lot of movement in the blogosphere and in national press about this - both for and against. Some links follow below:
Pop Goes the Library
The Guardian
Adele Geras - Guardian Blogs
Forbidden Planet Blog
The Bookseller
CBBC News
Anne Fine - Scotsman News
I believe that this should be supported (the campaign against age banding that is). There has been quite a lot of movement in the blogosphere and in national press about this - both for and against. Some links follow below:
Pop Goes the Library
The Guardian
Adele Geras - Guardian Blogs
Forbidden Planet Blog
The Bookseller
CBBC News
Anne Fine - Scotsman News
Monday, 19 May 2008
Teen Librarian Monthly News
As of this month (May) TLM will be released at the end of the month, rather than mid-month. The May edition will be come out on the 30th.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
For any Libraries in the London area that have manga groups:
EXCLUSIVE SIGNING & MANGA ART COMPETITION, 26TH APRIL, 1PM
Date: April 26th 2008
Time: 1pm
Location: Orbital Manga
Address: 4c Orion House, Upper St Martins Lane, London WC2H 9NY
Tel. 0207 2405577
Email: manga@orbitalcomics.com
Manga Fans this is your chance to meet the artists from the new manga graphic novel Demon Prince: Children of Gaia.
Don't miss this opportunity to see the artist from Dimensional Manga in action sketching on some pretty big peices of board!
You'll also be able to pick up some pre-release volumes of the manga book 1-5 exclusively and limited edition A1 sized posters @ Orbital Manga on the day of the signing.
The first 10 customers to buy vol.1 and a poster will recieve signed copies and a FREE manga art illustration drawn in front of them!
Manga Art Competition!!
To be in with a chance of winning some cool prizes courtesy of Dimensional Manga all you have to do is draw some cool art and post / hand it in to Orbital Manga with your name, email and contact number on the back.
Deadline: 26th April by 2pm (bring your art with you on the day of the signing)
Here's what you could win -
*GRAND PRIZE*
If you're supertalented - there's a chance of a possible position within Dimensional Manga!!
*1st PRIZE*
Demon Prince: Children of Gaia volumes 1-5 signed, 3 posters and a special limited edition hand drawn manga art (That's around £80 worth of goodies!)
*2nd PRIZE*
Demon Prince - Children of Gaia volume 1-2 signed
*3rd PRIZE*
Demon Prince - Children of Gaia volume 1 signed
Orbital Manga recommends London Graphic Center as a great stockist for materials needed to prepare any art for the competition
Date: April 26th 2008
Time: 1pm
Location: Orbital Manga
Address: 4c Orion House, Upper St Martins Lane, London WC2H 9NY
Tel. 0207 2405577
Email: manga@orbitalcomics.com
Manga Fans this is your chance to meet the artists from the new manga graphic novel Demon Prince: Children of Gaia.
Don't miss this opportunity to see the artist from Dimensional Manga in action sketching on some pretty big peices of board!
You'll also be able to pick up some pre-release volumes of the manga book 1-5 exclusively and limited edition A1 sized posters @ Orbital Manga on the day of the signing.
The first 10 customers to buy vol.1 and a poster will recieve signed copies and a FREE manga art illustration drawn in front of them!
Manga Art Competition!!
To be in with a chance of winning some cool prizes courtesy of Dimensional Manga all you have to do is draw some cool art and post / hand it in to Orbital Manga with your name, email and contact number on the back.
Deadline: 26th April by 2pm (bring your art with you on the day of the signing)
Here's what you could win -
*GRAND PRIZE*
If you're supertalented - there's a chance of a possible position within Dimensional Manga!!
*1st PRIZE*
Demon Prince: Children of Gaia volumes 1-5 signed, 3 posters and a special limited edition hand drawn manga art (That's around £80 worth of goodies!)
*2nd PRIZE*
Demon Prince - Children of Gaia volume 1-2 signed
*3rd PRIZE*
Demon Prince - Children of Gaia volume 1 signed
Orbital Manga recommends London Graphic Center as a great stockist for materials needed to prepare any art for the competition
Friday, 18 April 2008
Books to look out for
I received two excellent books by Lisa Clark recently for review purposes and while I am the wrong gender I think they are worth having in a library collection. The covers of the books are below:
I have passed them on to a colleague of mine for a review from a female perspective.
You can get to Lisa's website by folliwing this link: Pink World
I have passed them on to a colleague of mine for a review from a female perspective.
You can get to Lisa's website by folliwing this link: Pink World
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