30 January 2013

Allen & Unwin's adventures in Indieland


Beautiful shortlist, so full of please
voted by the hot Indies,
For who such greatness, could resist?
Shortlist of the Indies, beautiful list.


And in the Children's category:

The Convent by Maureen McCarthy 



Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan 


Unforgotten by Tohby Riddle


Congratulations, Maureen, Margo and Tohby! 
And also to everyone else on the lovely shortlist.

How doth the little editor,
celebrate this news,
and roll around the office floor
or with her peers enthuse.

How humbly she seems to grin
how neatly spreads her pens
and welcomes all the shortlists in.
then quickly tells her friends.




(With apologies to Lewis Carroll.)

24 January 2013

Gone quiet



BLOG READER 1
The internets have informed us we've lost contact with the Alien Onions.

BLOG READER 2
What were their orders?

BLOG READER 1
They were going to be lounging about, or cooking, or shopping, or reading, or swimming, or cleaning, or panicking, or picnicking - and generally BEING ON HOLIDAYS. They were supposed to report in for the first week of January. They were gonna surface to periscope depth and upload cake photos.

BLOG READER 2
Well, they've gone quiet. They're a publishing house.

BLOG READER 1
Sure. Maybe.

BLOG READER 2
But?

BLOG READER 1
They usually say they're going quiet.

BLOG READER 2
What are the other possibilities?

BLOG READER 1
That they've lost all power and they're drifting aimlessly in hostile territories.

BLOG READER 2
What hostile territories.

BLOG READER 1
Yeah. The Alien Onions are in Blog Limbo. Their last post was before Christmas.

BLOG READER 2
We haven't heard from them?

BLOG READER 1
Yeah.

BLOG READER 2
What do we have ready if we need to order a massive and undetectable rescue mission?

BLOG READER 1
They put two Illustrators on alert from St Patrick's Cathedral. Two Designers are on alert at the Fitzroy Gardens ready to pick up a rescue crew and fittings. They'll meet up with two Fast Attack Authors we have stationed off Parliament Station, each carrying cake. They practice for this all the time, but we shouldn't do it. Not yet.

BLOG READER 2
Why not?

BLOG READER 1
'Cause I think they've gone quiet.

---------------------------------
And then there was cake... finally.

Two cakes in fact. Two cakes for a Very Special Birthday for Our Fearless Leader.

A German Wednesday cake in the Mothership, accompanied by a Very Special Hat.




And an amazing Torta Caprese, with homemade truffles. And no, SB didn't tear out her own hair, that's very delectable Persian fairyfloss.