April books

We are very proud of our three books out in bookshops this month. Each is very special in its own way. Tanglewood, written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Vivienne Goodman, has been a labour of love. Over seven years in the making, this book was kept alive by people having faith in the artistic process. This book was worth the wait.

Already featured on the front page of their website, it was lovely to read how much reviewer Dani Solomon from Readings Carlton was looking forward to our next new book.  'It was quite thrilling knowing as I was about to open Emily Rodda’s The Silver Door that inside was a quiet, thoughtful boy named Rye reaching out to enter a silver door of his own which, just like the book in my hands, would lead him into a completely strange, new and exciting world.' 

The Ice-cream War by first-time author, Edwina Howard, is already a hit with readers. Starring a Shetland pony and two enterprising friends, this book is hilarious and a wonderful debut from a very promising children's book author. Congratulations, Edwina!

I noticed this on the Wheeler Centre website.

Books That Make You Cringe

What are the books that you loved when you were younger, but now make you cringe with embarrassment? We've asked bookish folk like Kirsten Tranter, Michaela McGuire, the Wheeler Centre's Jenny Niven and Ronnie Scott that very question – and the answers have included R.L. Stine, Sweet Valley High, Judy Blume and Michael 'Jurassic Park' Crichton.

Is it just me or is it unfair to pin point books from your childhood that you are ashamed to admit you loved as a kid.  What about targeting books from your adult life that you once loved but that now make you cringe?  It smacks of the superior attitude so many people in adult publishing demonstrate when it comes to children's books.  So what if you loved Goosebumps when you were eleven and read every one in the series?   Or Sweet Valley High?  Ok, so those books might have been rather a long time ago but every generation has had a series like these that wasn't the most literary in the reading world but they got us reading and kept us reading.  And isn't that the whole point?

Emily Rodda aka Jenny Rowe has always said that reading is what counts - so called 'rubbish' books might be what we want today but we are unlikely to always want them and as we grow our tastes change and our reading choices grow and mature.  But we should not be ashamed  about our youthful reading choices.  Books we loved should not make us cringe with embarassment.  So shame on you, Wheeler Centre, for intimating that there were ever books we loved that we should now hide from view, take off our shelves or refuse to admit to in public.  They made us happy once.  They were a friend, a place to retreat to and a comfort. 

And in case you're interested, I LOVED Cherry Ames, Student Nurse and A Little Bush Maid.  What did you love?

A note from your Conductor xx

Congratulations!

To our stellar 2012 CBCA Short Listees!

Mad March, Writers' Week and small-minded people

March in Adelaide is the time rather a lot of strangers roam the street, map in hand, looking for one of a number of events that happen in Adelaide.  Melbourne envies us our cosmopolitan insouciance as we natives wander white-hatted from outdoor event to outdoor event. They can only look on in wonder and disbelief as rain stays away, the sky is blue and a light breeze blows through the parks.  Writers' Week, Womadelaide, The Fringe, the Adelaide Festival, and oh yes, that race. The city is, for a few short days, practically shut down as roads are turned over to race tracks and cars with writing all over them shred their tyres through our leafy parkland streets.  Quite frankly I'd be very happy for Melbourne to steal the race from us like they stole the last one and good luck to them, Albert Park can have it. This year the screaming engines rather spoiled Ennio Morricone's concert and our beloved Premier had to call someone to suggest they turn off their ignitions. Now.  

Boori Pryor – first Australian Children's Laureate speaking at Adelaide Writers' Week

My favourite this year was Writers' Week. With a new director, Laura Kroetsch, at the helm  aided by Anna Hughes they managed to pull off the best event I think we have had in a long time. The truth is, and there are rather a lot of people in cardies who won't like this, Adelaide Writer's Week had become insular, stuffy and boring. There was nothing at all for children's writers, for example, so if you happened to be one or be interested in one it wasn't the place to be. There was nothing for families, the white marquees flapped noisily in any slight breeze and when not flapping did a rather remarkable imitation of plastic saunas.  People used to emerge from sessions and wring out their clothes. 

This year Laura disposed of the marquees which caused instant consternation among the white-hatted brigade. How dare she? Really! Those tents were an institution, didn't this foreigner know that?  (Oh yes, she isn't 'one of us' – indeed she had an actual accent which clearly put her at the back of the bus.)  She moved the food away from the areas where speakers were speaking and the book tent moved closer to the food with a very nice area between them for seating. The weather was perfect (sorry all those who were hoping for bog and wind to ruin it) the speakers were potent and the audiences excellent. There might not have been as many huge names there but our Writers' Week is famous for bringing in writers before they are famous. We may not have much money to fling at these overseas guests but those that come love the place. There was a brilliant family day, the marquees were replaced with light airy spaces covered by blue sails and the backdrops and entrance were woven sapling branches which added to the sense of lightness and creativity. And in a master stroke, the week was dedicated to children's writer, Margo Lanagan. Margo and I began writing at the same time – both published by Allen and Unwin. Margo went on to international fame ... sigh.

What a pity some of the very big publishers decided not to send their publicists when they had up to fourteen of their authors attending. There were no publisher parties this year either - are these publishers pinching in their belts and sticking the good wine under their desks perhaps? There is no doubt the industry is suffering right now and if it wasn't bloody-mindedness then I can only assume lack of funds was the problem.

Congratulations to Laura and her team.  Here's to many more innovative and exciting Writers' Weeks under her guidance. And here's to all those doubters and naysayers realising change isn't always a bad thing - sometimes it actually improves our world. Bring it on, Laura!

A note from your Conductor xx

New in March

Goodness, it's been a busy start to the year. We editors have had our heads buried in pages and I happen to know our patchworking designer has worn a groove in the footpath between our little office and a certain well-known South Australian chocolatier conveniently located just around the corner. Those big screens run on excellent quality cacao, you realise. It's been novels, novels, some more novels and some picture books too. That must mean a flood of new reading and sumptuous freshly printed illustrations must be on their way. But for now you will be more than satisfied with this humorous gem, out in March. Not Bog Standard is a compilation of catastrophic and mind-bending tales, guaranteed to have young readers chuckling if not laughing out loud.

New this month!

January in publishing is traditionally a no-releases month. The book-buying punters are deemed worn out from all of that Christmas giving, and the publishers and editors and designers travelling on this bus seize the chance to get down to some serious Lego playing with grandsons, go to the pool every day with newly-learned-to-swim kids, or drive down the coast for some well-earned computer-free time.

But come February, all bets are off! It's time to set free some truly delicious new fiction onto the lovely fresh shelves of bookshops across the land.

Setting out on its own is the first book in a new series from  exciting new author Peter Cooper. A fire in a temple, an orphan running for his life. But is Dillen running away from, or towards, his destiny? A mysterious Easterner has sent Dillen on a simple quest: find the sorcerer Hallegat and serve him well. But for Dillen, things will never be simple again.

And from one of Australia’s most popular writers for children, Christine Harris, comes an exciting new series for nine to thirteen-year-olds. Raven Lucas is our heroine and she's smart, resourceful and desperately searching for her missing father. Guaranteed page-turning.

  

Bait for the Reader

Sometimes you ought not research the person whose talk you are going to see.  In the internet age a great deal of everything anyone has ever said is already on youtube.  Googling the name of the speaker/presenter can take you, as it did me, direct to the very words he or she will be speaking.  That might not be a bad thing unless you'ver paid good money for tickets.  In my case the tickets were a welcome Christmas gift so I wasn't actually out of pocket.  Just a wee bit out of sorts because I had hoped to be surprised.  The speaker was Ira Glass.  The subject was the structure of story.  If you go to this link and watch all four parts you will have saved yourself the $45 for a ticket and learned something at the same time.
The art of the story
Ira Glass is  certainly interesting.  He can tell a story and he understands structure (he studied semiotics).  He made me think and I loved the way he used his iPad to run the whole show on stage.

But I wish I had remembered to buy tickets to David Sedaris.  I think he might have been more fun.

A note from your Conductor xx