On the Edge with Herts Lit Fest at Rickmansworth Library!

Me and my shadow getting edgy down at the library …

Earlier this week I joined fellow Edge author Sara Grant for a Herts Lit Fest event at Rickmansworth Library with year 7 pupils from nearby St. Joan of Arc School. Here are a few photos from the day …

Karen Stephens introduces the students to all the
amazing FREE services on offer at the library.

Sara reading from her brilliant dystopian thriller HALF LIVES.

Thanks to Judi for this great graffiti wall.

After Sara and I had given the students a brief introduction to our books and a couple of readings, we reconvened for the Edge Graffiti Wall Panel. We were joined by librarians Judi and Melanie, and St Joan of Arc students Ella and Arfred to answer questions from the wall and the audience. 

We started by asking each panelist for a book recommendation. It was such an interesting and varied list, I thought I'd share it here:

Arfred: Russian Roulette (Alex Rider) by Anthony Horowitz 

Dave: Riot by Sara Mussi

Ella: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Sara: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Melanie: Jane, the Fox and Me by Fanny Britt

Judi: Trash by Andy Mulligan

The panel was a lot of fun, with some tricky questions and unexpected answers. Huge thanks to everyone involved, especially Ella and Arfred—it's always great (and valuable to us as writers) to hear young readers' opinions, especially their thoughts on books. 

Thanks also to Miss Turner and Miss Ryan for bringing the students to the library for the event; Karen Stephens for making it all happen; librarians Diane, Judi and Melanie, and Rickmansworth Library for being such welcoming hosts.

Finally, a special thank you to Melanie and the TRG (Teenage Reading Group) at the library who have been reading my novel Waiting for Gonzo and made these fantastic bookmarks. 

For more information, or to book The Edge for an event, please visit the Edge blog.

On the Edge at Hemel Hempstead Library for Herts Lit Fest

A couple of weeks ago I joined fellow Edge Author Sara Grant at Hemel Hempstead Library, for a morning of book-inspired edginess as part of the Hertfordshire Literary Festival. Sixty year seven students and staff from The Hemel Hempstead School made it through a Spring downpour to spend the morning at the library.

With Sara Grant and Hemel Hempstead School students at Herts Lit Fest.
Thanks to Tom for the photo.

Read the full story here …

3 Days at the Edinburgh International Book Festival – Photo Diary

An early start on Day 1 …

Dawn Departure … mostly sleep walking

By the time I got to London I was awake enough to appreciate the splendour of the architecture.

Now that's what I call a ceiling!
Kings Cross Departures Hall 6:30am

Four hours later …

I can see the sea … the coastline near Berwick

Welcome to Edinburgh

The sight that greeted me as I stepped out of the station.

Red Carpet Treatment at the Roxburghe Hotel

The book festival site from my bedroom window. By day …

and at night.

On the way in to prepare for my event

Playwright and all round nice fella Alan Gordon
from Strange Town Theatre Company introduces Sara Grant and I

Sara talks about The Edge
while I model the back view of our T-shirts

Appealing to the audience …

Under attack from a peach frock

Gloria joins us onstage for some author improvisation

Post-event book signing. Note the scar (thanks Dom)

A photo with fellow SCBWI author Teri Terry 
(Thanks to Stephanie McGregor for the photo)

Day 2: I had a free day on Wednesday, so took the opportunity to have a look around the festival and catch a few of the events. It was great hearing some of my favourite authors talking about their books and being able to chat with a few of them afterwards. I also got the chance to meet up with Keith Gray, one of my all time literary heroes!

Walking around the site you couldn't help but notice the series of festival speaker portraits taken by Chris Close.  There were some great images, but this familiar hirsute gentleman was probably my favourite …

Philip Ardagh and his famous beard

Day 3: On Thursday I headed east to Haddington for a writing workshop with students from Knox Academy. The event was a joint venture between the Edinburgh Book Festival Schools Outreach Programme and The Lennoxlove Book Festival. I must thank Rebecca from Lennoxlove for driving me back to Edinburgh and for taking the photos and selling books at the event. To find out more about the Lennoxlove Book Festival in Haddington (2nd-4th November), visit http://www.lennoxlovebookfestival.com

I had a great time at the school and the hour seemed to pass far too quickly. The students came up with some superb ideas and great pieces of writing. Thanks to Bill Plain and Dave Swinney for making me so welcome, and to Millie, Charlotte, Rebecca, Ruaridh, Katie, Calum, Owen, Bethan, Lucy, Hannah, Angus, Kalya, Rona, Daniel, Calum, Eilidh and Rachel for being such a pleasure to write with.

Explaining the Story Sprint Relay rules

Discussing strange breakfasts with Millie and Charlotte

I had a great three days in Edinburgh and would like to take the opportunity to thank all the book festival staff, with special thanks to Janet Smyth for inviting me to take part. Thanks also to Jennie Younger at Oxford University Press for taking the event photos and for fantastic tour support as always.

For more information on Alan Gordon's Strange Town Theatre Company visit http://www.facebook.com/teachmefringe

Getting ready for some author improvisation at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

Tomorrow morning I will stumble bleary-eyed onto the milk train and head north for the start of three days at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

My Tuesday evening event with fellow Edge author Sara Grant kicks off at the RBS Imagination Lab at 6:30. 

A double act to rival Morecambe & Wise?
French & Saunders? Wallace & Gromit?

As well as talking about our books – 15 Days Without a Head and Dark Parties – we'll be attempting a bit of live story generation with help from the audience and … well, you'll find out if you're there. (Those who can't make it will have to wait for the video.) We're calling this Author Improvisation, or – How to set yourself up to fail majestically in front of a room full of people … I'll let you know how it goes.

Then on Thursday morning, I'm looking forward to a trip to Haddington to do some writing with students from Knox Academy, as part of the festival schools outreach programme.

Should be a fun few days – hope to see some of you there.

Don't forget, both 15 Days Without a Head and Dark Parties have been nominated for the Anobii First Book Award at this year's festival. See what else is on the list and cast your vote here. Thanks.

Tickets for the Tuesday evening event can be purchased here.

One Year! Wahey! or My Accidental Oscar Acceptance Speech

Today I'm celebrating one year as a full-time author! 

The last twelve months have passed in a flash. My debut novel for teenagers, 15 Days Without a Head was published in January and selected as The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week! Not a bad way to start things off! I then embarked on my first school visits – a steep learning curve, but a great experience. I've since lost count of the number of schools and library events I've taken part in – both on my own and with my fellow authors at The Edge –but meeting readers is one of the best parts of my new job.

One of the highlights of my year has to be appearing at the Hay Festival in June – a day full of "pinch-me, I must be dreaming" moments. A few weeks after returning from Hay I delivered the final manuscript for my next book for Oxford University Press, it's called Waiting for Gonzo and it comes out in March. I'm now writing a first draft of a new story and getting ready for an event at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival with my fellow Edge author Sara Grant. 


All told, it's been an incredible year – hard work but I've learnt a lot and each morning when I climb the ladder to the attic where I write, I still can't quite believe that this is my job now!

My intention when I sat down was to simply post a picture of the cake, but as usual, I've rambled on and this is in danger of sounding like some kind of Oscar acceptance speech! But while I'm here, I'd just like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in these past twelve months – my agent, Sarah Manson, everyone at my publisher Oxford University Press, all the readers, book sellers, teachers, librarians, bloggers, journalists, fellow writers, and most of all, my friends and family. So … thank you! Now, all back to mine for some cake …

15 Days Without a Head nominated for Anobii First Book Award 2012

15 Days Without a Head has been nominated for an award! Wahey!

The Anobii First Book Award celebrates the wealth of new writing included in the Edinburgh International Book Festival programme each year. Every debut novelist and every overseas writer whose words are published in English for the first time is included in the award. 

Unlike other literary prizes, this one is selected by you, the readers who champion new writing and who are responsible for making superstars out of debut novelists. 

Many of the writers who participate in our Festival programme go on to forge international careers. The Anobii First Book Award enables you to play your part in identifying a future literary legend by reading the books, coming to see the events and, of course, by placing your vote. 

This year there are 45 outstanding titles in the running for the Anobii First Book Award. You can browse the shortlisted titles here and vote for your favourite. You can also rate and review the First Book Award titles on Anobii.com, a new website for book lovers.

A future literary legend? That would be nice … anyway, if you enjoyed reading 15 Days Without a Head and would like to vote for it, I'd be very grateful. Of course if you have an alternative favourite on the list – such as those by my fellow Edge authors Sara Grant and Katie Dale, or Teri Terry's Slated – the choice is yours. Whichever title gets your vote, you will automatically be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a copy of every book on the list. Can't be bad! 

15 Days at the Edinburgh International Book Festival

I'm delighted to announce that I'll be appearing at this year's Edinburgh International Book Festival. 

My event on Tuesday 21 August (6:30pm in the RBS Imagination Lab) will be with fellow Edge author Sara Grant, and part of the Anobii First Book Award series of events.

Here is what it says on the festival website:

Sara Grant’s novel Dark Parties is set in a future where the last of humanity live in a domed world and are fed lies to keep them docile. In 15 Days Without a Head, Dave Cousins tackles the thorny issue of family breakdown. Both authors are part of The Edge, a group of writers creating cutting edge fiction for teens. Come and hear them talk about their work and influences.

Tickets will be on sale from 29 June 2012. 

Hope to see you there!

Publication Day! Wahey!

Huge congratulations to my fellow Edge authors Sara Grant and Katie Dale on the publication of their debut novels. The first two of Katie's Fairy Tale Twists series for younger readers are published today by Orchard, and Sara's excellent dark dystopian YA novel Dark Parties, by Orion. 

Today is also the third date on my 15 Days Without a Head Blog Tour. I'll be returning to chat with Vivienne at Serendipity Reviews as well as dropping in to see Emma at Book Angel Booktopia to choose the Song of the Month.


Oh, and 15 Days Without a Head is now officially out. Wahey!

Kids' Lit Quiz and SCBWI Conference Photo Gallery

On Monday, six-eights of The Edge spent the afternoon at The Broxbourne School for the North London heat of the Kids' Lit Quiz. There were 28 teams from different schools competing for a place in the UK final on Friday. I was part of one of the two author teams, alongside Fiona Dunbar (Kitty Slade Mysteries), Sita Brahmachari (Artichoke Hearts) and Sophia Bennett (Threads). Despite spending much of the time scratching our heads and marvelling at the speed with which the students answered the quick fire questions, we ended the day as the winning team by a single point. Sadly the author teams don't qualify for the final, but it was a great opportunity to meet so many enthusiastic young readers. Check out Candy Gourlay's write up and superb photos here. 

The previous week I was in Winchester for the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Conference. As promised in the previous post, here are few photos and a video from the Edge panel event.

Spot the baldy! (No prizes I'm afraid) 
I'm in there somewhere, sitting next to my editor, Jasmine Richards.

It was a real privilege to listen to Frank Cottrell Boyce.

I even managed to pluck up the courage to say "hello".

Anthony McGowan's Human Powerpoint of Freitag's Pyramid. 

This year's cake did not disappoint.

Candy Gourlay, deserved winner of the Crystal Kite Award 
for her superb debut, Tall Story.

The Edge Graffiti Wall with Paula Rawsthorne, Sara Grant and I.

Not quite sure what to say about this one …

The Edge panelists get ready for action. 
And below a video clip of our body-swapping introduction.

Thanks to Candy Gourlay, Miriam Halahmy and Sara Grant for letting me use their photos.

Five Get Edgy in Winchester

This weekend five-eighths of The Edge will be appearing at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Conference in Winchester. I’ll be joining Bryony Pearce, Miriam Halahmy, Paula Rawsthorne and Sara Grant on an Edge panel discussing current trends in YA and looking at the benefits and pitfalls of writing edgy fiction, as well as answering questions from the audience. The weekend will also see the first unveiling of the Edge Graffiti Wall. Delegates will be invited to write questions, comments, slogans and even draw pictures on the wall, which the panellists will then discuss during the session. Should be fun … and edgy, of course.

For me, the highlight of last year's conference were the edible books …

 

Books made of cake. It doesn't get much better than this.

How do you top that? Well, Chris Riddell and Frank Cottrell Boyce as keynote speakers is a good start. Mr Cottrell Boyce in particular, is held in high esteem in our house, so I’ll be taking our much-read copy of Framed along with me, in case I find the courage to go up to the great man and ask him to sign it.

Pictures, and possibly video evidence to follow on my return …