David Maybury | Blog

The Queen of Teen winner was announced last night at what, I’m told, was an ‘ultra-glamorous and very pink awards ceremony’. The winner (who is the only one of the shortlist I have read, honest) was Louise Rennison.

Congrats to Louise and to all of the shortlist (with a mention for the two special commendations Malorie Blackman and Stephanie Meyer) Pics, speeches and more will be up on the Queen of Teen site soon - head on over and have a peek.

Update: The Bookwitch has an altogether far-too-girly-for-me (that’s the point though really) review of the awards - with pics of tiaras galore.

I promised Darren I’d keep him up to speed on the Graveyard Book - so here goes:

Neil Gaiman has one of the most recognized names in fantasy writing. He has written almost everything; from television and film scripts to comic books, graphic novels, picture books and fiction for adults, children and teenagers alike. (In between all of that he manages to keep a blog that is read by more than one million people every month, keep bees and travel for research, book tours and fun - which leads me to believe that he has found a way to stop time, write stuff and then restart time again without any of the rest of us noticing.)

The Graveyard Book throws everything that Gaiman has learned into the mix and the result is impressive. The book is made up of 8 short stories that he has been intermittently working on for two decades and has finally put them together - with huge attention to detail.

A bone-chilling killer named Jack has murdered an entire family, all except one, a small baby who escapes to a nearby graveyard. The resident spirits discover the toddler, Bod, and agree to raise him as their own, under the watchful eye of the mysterious guardian, Silas.

Each chapter is deftly crafted to an inch of its (after)life and there is little missing from the story. The tribulations and awkwardness of Bod’s adolescence are all there but with the twist of being surrounded by mausoleums and lessons on how to fade from sight. But the man Jack is still out searching for the boy-that-got-away and he won’t stop until he finds what he is looking for.

Chris Riddell masterfully illustrates the Bloomsbury children’s edition with black and white ink sketches that only add to the suspense of each chapter. The Graveyard Book does stretch itself to cover all genres and to meet the expectations of Gaiman’s legions of readers of all ages. For this dedicated fan it didn’t disappoint.

The Hungry Caterpillar spotted a few bits that I managed to miss - including Sarah Webb’s review of Oisín McGann’s new book Strangled Silence from Saturday’s Irish Indepenent.

Sticking with Saturday’s Independent - the paper is running a competition to mark the launch of The Children’s Book Festival 2008. Closing date is this Wednesday (1 October) and the prize sounds great - lots and lots of free books. Go on put your name down.

And the other catchey-up bits that I missed this morning:

> Sally Williams reviews Anthony Browne’s new book Little Beauty in the Independent UK.

> And Declan Burke (who still seems a little sore with Kilkenny for some reason) reviews his weekend at the Castlecomer Writers’ Festival over at Crime Always Pays.

Right. Back to work.

I’ve really little to moan about. I’m just back from the Aspects literature festival and a day or so in Belfast so I’m only catching up on what the web has been up to since Thursday. While I find something interesting to blog about have a look at these:

> Julia Eccleshare talks about Patrick Ness and winning the Guardian Prize… (You heard about that, right?)

> Eoin Purcell is going back through the archives and revisiting old favourites. (Gmail IM is great sometimes)

> The crew at Just One More Book have a really interesting discussion on independent/self-published books.

> The Bookwitch ponders who the Queen of Teen will be… (The Queen of Teen has a very pink website - the opposite of a yorkie bar)

> Eve Harvey has a look at Siobhan Dowd’s Bog Child and Kate Thompson’s Creature of the Night on Vulpes Libris. (And Chicklish have an interview with the Kate up to boot - spoiling us.)

> Amanda Craig has a look at Phillipa Pearce’s A Finder’s Magic and Edward Ardizzone’s Johnny’s Bad Day over at the Times UK.

And to make Monday that little bit easier why not check out Chicklish’s interview with Meg Cabot, as part of their ‘Meg Cabot Week‘.

Enjoy!

The Booktrust Early Year Awards live up to their name - they were announced last night, two months earlier than the Booktrust Teenage Prize.

Baby Book Award went for Is This My Nose? illus. Georgie Birkett

The Pre-School Award was awarded to the brilliant Jeanne Willie and Gwen Millward for The Bog Baby.

And the Best Emerging Illustrator for this year was Tim Hopgood with Here Comes Frankie!

All three category winners receive a cheque for £2,000 and a glass trophy. What a night for awards?! First Patrick Ness now the Booktrust. Congratulations to all three winners! You can head over to the Booktrust site for more about the awards.

The winner of this years Guardian children’s fiction prize was announced tonight - what a year it has been for Patrick Ness and The Knife of Never Letting Go. Not only has he written a great first book for teenagers, but now he’s mopping up all the lit prizes to boot….

Congratulations Patrick!

(The Guardian has more)

A copy of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book somehow found its way into my hands and I’m enjoying it. A lot.

Gaiman said elsewhere that he has tried to write this book a number of times before and it is only now he feels like he can finally do it justice - and he has. The copy I have is brilliantly illustrated by Chris Riddell but the adult crossover has a Dave McKean cover I think.

To promote the book some clever people are sending Neil on a tour around the US, Britain and Ireland. That’s not a typo, I did say Ireland. He’ll be in Dublin on Thursday October 30 for a book signing at 7pm in Easons on O’Connell Street. (Click for more details on the tour - it’s a long list)

Now, if only I could fast forward time and make sure I was at the top of the queue…

Sarah Webb and Irish Pen have set out to educate the nation on the how/why and wots-its of writing for children. They are running a one night event called Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Writing for Children (and more!).

So far the confirmed speakers on the night will be children’s illustrator/writer Oisín McGann, Helen Carr, editor from O’Brien Press and the Very Hungry Caterpillar herself.

The panel will cover how to catch an editor’s attention, popular genres, what children want from their books, and how to write a killer children’s submission… amongst other things. For more head over to Sarah Webb’s blog (Sarah is one of the organisers for the night, along with Catherine Daly and Marita Conlon-McKenna)

See you there!

Something nice and light for a post Culture Night morning. And I couldn’t think of anything better than a day spent with Babar - who features in the current New Yorker. There is an exhibition of Laurent de Brunhoff in the Morgan Library and Museum in New York with original artwork and sketches.

The New Yorker piece, here, comes complete with a slideshow of de Brunhoff’s work. Enjoy.

Well there’s plenty happening around Dublin, Cork and Galway tonight - the highlight (other than the open mic poetry of course) has got to be Oliver Jeffers hanging out in the Ark. He’s making paper planes for a few hours - something to do with his new book The Great Paper Caper… (which has the secret to making great planes cleverly hidden in the book jacket)

Thanks to the Very Hungry Caterpillar for spotting the event. Check out culturenight.ie for more.

The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

Children’s writer, sometime comic and evil mastermind, Eoin Colfer is writing himself into the Sci-fi Hall-of-Fame with the announcement that he is to write the new Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy novel.

The man himself likens it to suddenly being offered the superpower of your choice.

If I had the choice I’d take teleportation. The Guardian has more about the new book - go have a read!

Remember Rice Boy (pictured), linked here?

Well he’s back. Sort of. It’s Evan Dahm, the man behind the boy, who is back. This time with a webcomic based 100 years before the Rice Boy comic - Order of Tales.

I’ve just started and have been sucked in all over again.
Enjoy!

The journo’s have started up the smoke machines, donned their best towels (on their heads, don’t be rude) and polished up their crystal balls to have a look at what is coming up over the next few months in television and books.

TV this Autumn is covered on the times.co.uk - one of my highlights has to be Merlin on BBC One:

No Robin Hood this autumn (that’s back in the new year); Saturday teatimes will instead get a magical, Arthurian makeover. Colin Morgan will star as the fledgling wizard, opposite Richard Wilson, Anthony Head, Michelle Ryan and a dragon sounding suspiciously like John Hurt.

And in books Suzi Feay over in the Indepenent UK has a look at what will be the next big thing -

And the next big children’s book is… about a bunch of kids in a boarding school! Andy Mulligan’s Ribblestrop (Simon & Schuster, April 2009) is a hilarious and morally questionable tale about a disastrous school whose pupils can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The building was falling down even before a disaffected pupil set fire to it. Health and safety is non-existent, rebuilding and DIY forms a major part of the curriculum, and a donkey sanctuary occupies the playing fields. The book’s hapless hero, Sam, is concussed, scalded and stripped of most of his clothes in the very first chapter. Ribblestrop has the “crazy school” appeal of Hogwarts and the grim humour of Lemony Snicket, and looks like a winner.

It’ll be interesting to see how the predictions fair once the smoke clears… In the mean time I’m off to find a beginners guide to tarot cards.

A few quick clippings from the papers over the last few days:

> Deirdre Falvey has a look at children’s festivals throughout October - no mention of the Book Festival though which is really odd… (irishtimes.com)
> Frank Cotrell Boyce looks at Terry Pratchett’s new book - Nation (guardian.co.uk)
> Adele Geras enjoys Eva Ibbotson’s The Dragonfly Pool (guardian.co.uk)
> UK children’s minister, Ed Balls, is against age-branding on books (guardian.co.uk)
> Amanda Craig looks at three books featuring well-known heroes as children (times.co.uk)
> I’m sure I linked to this already but: Philip Pullman’s Essential Reading List (times.co.uk)
> Stephanie Meyer’s new book has been put on indefinite hold after a draft was leaked online (times.co.uk)
> Star of MTV’s reality show The Hills Lauren Conrad is working on a young adult fiction series (rte.ie)
> UTV’s new sitcom, No Heroics, following the everyday lives of British superheroes kicks off next Thursday (Guardian.co.uk)

Right, back to nursing a hangover. Ugh.

Oh, and in case you forgot (like I did) Happy Roald Dahl Day!

Click the BIG RED BUTTON (you know you want to)

Free this afternoon? Fancy hearing from some of the best known children’s writers around? Not sure why this post sounds like a cheesy radio ad? (Me neither…)  For some answers - head over to Marlay Park in Rathfarmham (Dublin) for the Books in the Park: A Family Fun Day from 1 to 5.

Niamh Sharkey, of Happy Hugglewug fame, will be there along with Judi Curtain (Alice and Megan might make an appearence too.) Andy Stanton, Aideen McBride and the needs-no-introduction creator of Skullduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy will all be there too telling tall tales and signing books.

Might see you there!

The bestselling Book of Bunny Suicides: Little Fluffy Rabbits Who Just Don’t Want to Live Anymore has come under fire in China after a number of children made serious suicide attempts and one twelve year old jumped from a sixth floor apartment.

Newspapers there are blaming the exam-oriented educational system for excessive pressure on students while the China Mental Health Association has reported that suicide in China is triple the world average for 15 - 34 year olds.

As a reaction to the rising fears bookshops have begun to remove the book from their shelves. (Irish Times)

*September 10 was World Suicide Prevention Day. While I don’t see the need, or the effect, of candle vigils there is a need for people to be more open and willing to talk about suicide. It effects thousands of people each year - in 2005 431 Irish people took their own lives. Banning books that might initiate discussion isn’t helping. Books, like Keith Gray’s Ostrich Boys approach suicide with humour and reality and could, at least in theory, help begin discussion.

I’m getting to this one a bit late - Scamp, Comic Cast and the Forbidden Planet Blog all nodded to it yesterday - but the comic anthology in aid of GOAL is definitely worth a mention or two.

30 artists were given the the phrase I’m sorry I can’t take your call right now but I’m off saving the world and the 96 page anthology is the end product.

There’s a launch for the book at 9pm on Saturday (13 September) in Thurles, Co Tipperary but if you can’t make that don’t panic - the book’ll be available to buy for €7 online from 20 September. (Plans are already afoot for a Dublin release party) All of the proceeds from the anthology are being donated to GOAL and the book is dedicated to Conor Lyons, who died in Sri Lanka working for the charity.

Have a look at the GOAL anthology website for more on the contributors, the idea and a link to Cliodhna’s blog (the mastermind behind it all).

Update: The Comic Cast guys have Cliodhna on the show for an interview and the details for the Dublin launch are confirmed as Sunday September 21 at 9pm in the Stag’s Head.

It is shortlist season - three competition’s have been announced in the last 8 days - this time it’s the Roald Dahl Funny prize. The competition is judged by Sophie Dahl, Roald’s granddaughter, and funnyman Dara O’Briain.

So without any more babble on my part - the shortlist for children aged six and under:

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Elephant Wellyphant by Nick Sharratt
The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers
The Witch’s Children Go to School by Ursula Jones, illustrated by Russell Ayto
There’s an Ouch in My Pouch! by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Garry Parsons
Manfred the Baddie by John Fardell

And the shortlist for children aged seven to fourteen:

Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton, illustrated by David Tazzyman
Paddington Here and Now by Michael Bond, illustrated by RW Alley
Stop in the Name of Pants! by Louise Rennison
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Aliens Don’t Eat Dog Food by Dinah Capparucci
Urgum and the Goo Goo Bah! By Kjartan Poskitt, illustrated by Philip Reeve
More about the prize over at roalddahlprize.org

JK Rowling has won her law suit against the publication of the Lexicon (an encyclopedia of the Harry Potter world). As a fan I am disappointed by the outcome - I found one of the most interesting aspects of Harry Potter was the explosion of fan fiction that surrounded it and Rowling’s support of that. However, there is a growing part of me that thinks as a writer that this makes sense:

I went to court to uphold the right of authors everywhere to protect their own original work - JK Rowling.

More about the lawsuit and the outcome on the Guardian.