Happy New Year, readers! I’m so pleased to share the cover of my debut picturebook, illustrated by the very talented Dapo Adeola, coming in May with Macmillan Children’s Books.
The story follows a boy with a wild imagination and his lively family.
In this family, it’s just possible that Dad is a grizzly bear . . . He has fuzzy fur, enormous paws and loves the outdoors. He sleeps a lot, even in the cinema and when he’s awake, he’s always hungry.
What else could Dad possibly be?
Watch this space for more exclusive beartastic reveals in the run up to May!
I’ve just had the best sort of weekend for me – a booky weekend. The Wild Imaginings Children’s Writers and Illustrators Hui took place in my new hometown of Dunedin last weekend, with the WILD in Wild Imaginings standing for Writers and Illustrators Love Dunedin and it turns out we certainly do.
Team Wild Imaginings put on a fabulous weekend of workshops, panels and talks for children’s writers of New Zealand, hosted at the Dunedin Public Library, Dunedin Public Art Gallery and the Athenaeum Library. It was a chance to meet lots of the New Zealand talent I had heard about and for us all to share our experiences of the publication journey.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, book folk are the best folk. I was made to feel so welcome at the hui and made lots of new friends.
L-R: Jackie McMillan (hui organiser and super librarian), Jo Bone (Illustrator), Me, Elissa Brent Weissman (author)
We heard from the super talented illustrator David Elliot, the super inspirational Maria Gill and the superwoman Dame Wendy Pye amongst many, many others.
I loved hearing from Ella West on turning a novel into a film script. We learnt all about loglines, film script etiquette and that dastardly copyright contract small print.
Ella West
On Sunday, I ran a workshop on writing a young fiction series. We spoke about the market, bestselling young fiction, writing a proposal and how this is the best age group to write for because they don’t eat the gluesticks during your event.
Photos courtesy of Elissa Brent Weissman
Thank you to everyone who came along to the event. I can’t wait to read all your young fiction books soon. And thank you VERY much to the organisers for such a wonderful and unforgettable weekend.
Halloween is over and it’s time to get excited for Christmas! Fresh off the press is ‘A Children’s Literary Christmas‘ which features my story ‘A Winter Surprise’. And look how gorgeous this winter delight is:
This is the perfect read in the run up to Christmas to get you in the Christmas spirit and I couldn’t be more delighted to see my story about Jumbie the squirrel, snuggled between The Wind In The Willows and The Phoenix and the Carpet.
Thank you so much to Karen Trebilcock and the Otago Daily Times for this brilliant feature in today’s Otago Daily Times.
I was interviewed for the article ahead of the WILD Imaginings Children’s Writers and Illustrators Hui next weekend, where I will be running a workshop on ‘Writing a Young Fiction Series’. If you are coming along, do pop by and say hello!
Developed by school teacher, Ian Eagleton, the app is designed to encourage reading with fun activities paired to each book, with a wide range of books to choose from.
Have fun catching up with Dave Pigeon in The Reading Realm and discovering new reads whilst you are there.
Timeless classics from Charles Dickens, Clement C Moore and Louisa May Alcott sit alongside award-winning and contemporary voices, such as Matt Haig, Shirley Hughes and me in this gorgeous collection. There are illustrations from the Library collections and some original artwork too.
This is a real Christmas treat with twenty four chapters to enjoy in the run up to Christmas. Perfect for advent, along with a mince pie or two.
