New Year, New Year!

Start spreading the news,

We're talking today

We want to be a part of it - new year, new year

So it seems we didn't quite get all of the singing out of our system in the lead up to Christmas, but everyone loves a song to start off the new year, don't they? Of course they do.

We've had a lovely time swanning about during the Christmas break - eating, drinking, reading and generally being merry, but now it's time to get back into the swing of this whole cake-eating book-making business.

Here's a little news we'd like to spread so you can be a part of it in this fine new year, new year!

1. Babel Clash is hosting a Zombies vs Unicorns event starring Holly Black and Scott Westerfeld. So if you're still yet to pick a Team perhaps Holly can convince you of the awesomeness of a unicorn apocalypse or Scott can persuade you that baying for brains is the ultimate in immortality.

2: Anyone out there keen to write a novel? We're guessing the answer to this is a resounding YES! And you know how we like to please, so, without further ado, we introduce ... the Faber Academy at Allen & Unwin.

Sounds fancy, right? Well it is fancy, it is! The first course, cunningly called 'Writing a Novel' is a hands-on six-month, intensive, practical course of writing exercises, readings and discussions, focussing on the joy of novel writing* with a view to completing a full draft of a novel. The deadline for applications is Friday 28 January, so scurry on over here to get the lowdown on how to apply.

3. Voting is now open for one of our favourite activities - deciding on the Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year 2010.

We are especially enamoured of the following entries:

self-gift**

blink kissing noun a method of putting a cat at ease by blinking slowly rather than looking at it with a direct gaze, mimicking the behaviour of cats themselves, who stare when being aggressive but blink when not.

charismatic megafauna noun large animals which have an appeal for the general public, as whales, pandas, gorillas, etc

plate up**

4. Spotted in the Mothership - Turtle cake! Excellent work KB, we applaud your cake in all its turtley glory.

Those old year blues, are melting away
We're gonna make a brand new start of it

- in this new year...

* Yes, dear readers, you read that right. Novel-writing is a joy. Novel-writing is a joy. Novel-writing is a joy. (Repeat.)

** We are confident no one actually needs the terms self-gift or plate up defined for them.