Monday stuff and items

1) Don't you wish you were at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to hear Garth Nix give a sneak preview of Clariel, the prequel to the Old Kingdom trilogy which we will be publishing NEXT YEAR! Hurry up, next year!*

Also appearing at this fine festival is the marvellous Margo Lanagan and the splendid Shaun Tan. Where, oh, where is our portal to the other side of the world when we need it!

2) The Kill Your Darlings YA Challenge has been FABULOUS. Smart people championing their favourite YA novels: what's not to love? Here's Lili Wilkinson talking about Obernewtyn.

And Holly Harper on Sabriel and Andrew McDonald on Space Demons. 


3) CELEBRATION OF A NATION**

We are sending out huge congratulations and much love to Scot Gardner and Kate Constable because... 

The Dead I Know 

WINNER OF THE CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR: OLDER READERS

Crow Country 

WINNER OF THE CBCA BOOK OF THE YEAR: YOUNGER READERS 

Two brilliant books and two wonderful authors. We couldn't be more proud to be their publishers.

But wait, there's more!

HONOUR BOOK, HONOUR BOOK, HONOUR BOOK, HONOUR BOOK!

A Straight Line to My Heart by Bill Condon (Older Readers)
That's Not a Daffodil! by Elizabeth Honey (Early Childhood)

The Dream of the Thylacine by Ron Brooks & Margaret Wild (Picture Book)
The Little Refugee by Anh Do, Suzanne Do & Bruce Whatley (Eve Pownall)

Hearty congratulations to Bill, Elizabeth, Ron, Margaret, Anh, Suzanne & Bruce. HURRAH!

*Although, in another, very real way, please don't hurry up, next year. How is it already late August? So many books to make!

** Trip down memory lane, anyone? 

Agent Report: Bologna Children's Book Fair

PRIMARY MISSION: Fly to Italy and present yourself at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. Soak up atmosphere. For about two seconds. Then attend eleventy-million appointments* each day for 3.5 days discussing books, books, books with lovely agents, publishers and rights managers, who all begin to blur into one unless they have a particular distinguishing feature such as:

(a) a cute accent

(b) stylish boots

(c) they are male

(d) all of the above.

Followed by evening functions which consist of much eating and drinking and lead to crawling into bed, exhausted, at midnight.

SECONDARY MISSION: After the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is announced: engage in the sport of Shaun Tan spotting.

STATUS: Accepted.

HEREWITH A PHOTO ESSAY FROM THE AGENT IN THE FIELD

FINAL MISSION: Locate some kind of motor vehicle that will convey you and your guests to end-of-day activities...

* When we say eleventy million here - we might mean closer to twelve, but we're sure you get the idea.

Agent Report: Somerset Celebration of Literature

MISSION: Attend the Somerset Celebration of Literature. Soak up the atmosphere. Be nice to Onion authors (and any others you happen across).

STATUS: Accepted (with alacrity).

BACKGROUND INFO: This literary festival, organised by Somerset College on the Gold Coast, has been running for 17 years. Much beloved of authors, it is friendly, fun and extremely well-run.

OBSERVATIONS FROM NOTEBOOK OF AGENT IN THE FIELD

Ah, the Gold Coast - California crossed with Florida, and wherever you go there's a five-lane highway between you and the beach. [With thanks to Sean Williams.]

Green, green lawns and white marquees.

Cocktail party - a balmy evening with gentle rain. [Note from HQ: agent did not notice it was raining due to balminess of evening, perhaps agent needs to work on observational skills on return to HQ.]

The Green Room - cake!! (authors only). [Note from HQ: restricting cake consumption to authors may be an illegal practice. Investigate under the Freedom of Cake (FoC) legalisation.]

Slight panic attack and flashback to schooldays at lunchtime as students start pouring out into the quad. When did schoolkids get so huge? [Note from HQ: In future, do not deploy shortest agent to deal with large students.]

Huge students actually all very friendly and welcoming, do a great job of looking after the authors, and seem genuinely keen and interested.

Speaking to the fiercely smart & witty student novella finalists is like being in a John Green novel.

Helpful staff and willing parents seem to be always on hand to ferry everyone around in buses & cars.

SPOTTED IN THE FIELD
John Danalis: sharing his beautiful possum skin cloak and lots of sniffles in the audience
Sofie Laguna: 'Okay, she chops them up and eats them!'
Craig Silvey: being asked to choose - is it Twilight or Harry Potter? Pirates or ninjas?
Kate Constable: snorting peas through her nose [Note from HQ: This sighting is in dispute.]
Leigh Hobbs: wrangling a tent full of littlies with no paper and no pencils. Impressive.

CORROBORATING EVIDENCE







SEE ALSO
Agent Constable's report.

CONCLUSION
Highly successful operation. Agent has asked to be deployed again. Consider her highly suited to mission if she can curb her fear of large school children and quadrangles.