Monday Stuff and Items

1) According to the British Library, this is the earliest known picture of a time machine! The Out of This World exhibition at the BL looks fabulous. What a happy coincidence it is that at least two Onions will be in London in the next month or so. We'll send you a postcard.

2) Way back when it was much warmer than it is now, Margo Lanagan found her brilliant book Tender Morsels at the centre of an unexpected storm.

But as so often happens, the clouds dispersed and the skies cleared. Herewith very interesting discussions about Tender Morsels over at the Bitch Media YA Book Club.

3) Jonathan Walker offers a fascinating insight into his illuminated novel, Five Wounds, over at The Spectator.

4) Meanwhile at Readings Holly Harper is waxing fairytale about The Wilful Eye, while Hugless Douglas is cosying up to A Pocketful of Eyes.

5) And in awards news - HOORAY for Zombies vs Unicorns and for our Oscar-owning Astrid Lindgren Award winner Shaun Tan - both finalists in the 2011 Locus Awards.


6)

A library is many things. It's a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It's a place to go if you want to sit and think. But particularly it is a place where books live, and where you can get in touch with other people, and other thoughts, through books... Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had. And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together---just the two of you.

This is an excerpt from EB White's letter to the children of Troy, on the opening of their new library in 1971. He was responding to a request from the new (and clearly completely genius) librarian for a letter to enthuse the children. Read the full story, and some of the other fabulous replies (including from Isaac Asimov and Dr Seuss) at the Letters of Note blog.

Awardy goodness

The Aurealis Awards shortlist was announced today.

And my what a pretty shortlist it is.*

Kids' fiction (primarily through words)

The Keepers 1: Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner

Kids' fiction (primarily through pictures)

Precious Little by Julie Hunt, Sue Moss and Gaye Chapman

Best illustrated book/graphic novel

Hamlet by Nicki Greenberg

Five Wounds by Jonathan Walker and Dan Hallett

Best YA short story

'A Thousand Flowers' by Margo Lanagan

from Zombies vs Unicorns Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black (eds)

Best YA novel

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Guardian of the Dead is a Young Adult Fiction Finalist in the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards - only the most prestigious awards in all of New Zealand!

BUT DON'T STOP THERE!

Guardian of the Dead is also a finalist for the Australian Shadow Awards presented by the Australian Horror Writers Association

Huge congratulations, to Karen - and to Lian, Julia, Sue, Gaye, Nicki, Jonathan, Dan and Margo!

Woo hoo!!

*Editors bat their eyelashes becomingly in the direction of the shortlist*

Monday stuff and items

1) The Design Awards were held last Thursday night, and our Tall Designer went along. Unfortunately he didn't pick up any prizes himself - but he did collect the prize for the Best Designed Children's Non-fiction Book on behalf of John and Stella Danalis for Riding the Black Cockatoo. Hooray!

2) Are you looking for something very interesting to while away your Monday morning? Meanjin and Jonathan Walker have you covered. Jon's guest post over at Spike on the Making of Five Wounds (in two parts) is absolutely fascinating. And there are videos - what more could you want?

3) Speaking of awards, and speaking of speaking, Speech Pathology Australia have announced their Book of the Year Award shortlist and we are very pleased and proud to see so many of our books.

4) The lyrics in the Wombles theme song are 'The Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we' not 'The Wombles of Wimbledon, common are we'.

This proves two things: 1) punctuation is important, and 2) the world is an unstable place and at any minute things that you thought were solid can be ripped from underneath you.*

Also, Bloomsbury is reissuing the Wombles books. Womble free, wombles. Womble free!

5) People appear to be naming their babies Cullen. We feel that this is ... an interesting choice.

Speaking of names, likeable Collingwood** midfielder Steele Sidebottom is closing in on the coveted title of Name of the Year. He's up against Charity Beaver in the semi-finals. In our opinion Steele wins hands down.***

6) And finally, we have a new addition to our list of words that are impossible to pronounce. You've been hearing the news readers refer to it as the 'Icelandic volcano', you've seen it written down: Eyjafjallajokull. But have you heard it pronounced? We got a little addicted to clicking play and hearing it again, and again.

*To other Onions, it proved them right all along, but they can pipe down and let the others wallow in their sudden uncertainty.

** Two adjectives that don't normally hang out together in this neck of the woods now that the Cake-maker Extraordinaire has left the premises.
***Luckily that's all he looked like winning on the weekend. Go Cats!

And the eagerly awaited* finale to our Introductions Series is...

Jonathan Walker and Dan Hallett, with Five Wounds, in stores May 2010! Woo hoo!

Sometimes it's an editor’s job to enthuse the team and show them just why a book is so special, so intense, so wonderful. But often, the closer we are to a book, the more we love it, the more convinced we are by its genius, the harder that is to do. There must be some kind of Law to explain this – not quite Murphy’s, but in that ballpark.

Anyway, with this in mind, we present to you Five Wounds: A Dialogue

Rights: So, Five Wounds. It's very beautiful. What's it about?
Editor: Um. Well, funny you should ask.
Rights: That's what this meeting is about...
Editor: Oh, yes, that's right. Well, it's difficult to say exactly what it's about.
Rights: Haven't you read it?
Editor: Many times. There are so many different ways to read it, you see. And they're all incredible.
Rights: Riiight.
Editor: Oh, look over there! A squirrel!
Rights: We're in Australia. That's not an apt diversionary tactic. You were saying?
Editor: Yes. Um. Look, there's simply nothing like it. It's inspired by many sources, from Jeanette Winterson to the Uncanny X-Men, with a bit of Buffy thrown in. It possesses layers upon layers. Like an onion, as Donkey in Shrek would have it. Like an Onion.
Rights: Okaaay. But what's it about?
Editor: It's postmodern, biblical, dark and beautiful. It's an Illuminated Novel.
Rights: Yesss. So it is.
Editor: Are you into heraldry, by any chance?
Rights: No, I'm not.
Editor: Oh, well, never mind. Well, it's about these five characters. They're all orphans of one sort or another. And each has a metaphysical wound. Sort of.
Rights: A metaphysical wound.
Editor: Yes. So this one character, his face is so malleable that he can look like anyone he chooses. But who is he himself? Another character used to have wings, but her father had them hacked off. Another was raised by a sect of dogs. And the thing is, all these wounds have significance. It's all about signs. There are clues, and riddles.
Rights: Now we're getting somewhere. I think.
Editor [on a roll now]: ...and it's possibly set in Venice or somewhere similar in a non-specific time. Sort of then, sort of now, like a fabulous fable. Magical realism as an oblique means of tackling trauma. It even has two endings!
Rights: Er...
Editor [frothing slightly]: And the artwork's amaaazing. There's Goya in there. Blake. Playing with perspectives like Escher. References to GK Chesterton, Egyptian hieroglyphics and mediaeval palmistry treatises.
Rights: Why are your fingers glued together?
Editor: Oh. Look, here's a dummy I prepared earlier with lots of spray adhesive whichmakesmetalkreallyfast. Take this and show the world.
Rights: Right. Yes, I'll do that, shall I? [exit stage right en route to Frankfurt, staggering slightly under enormous and spectacular dummy]



Jonathan grew up in England and now lives in Sydney. He began writing Five Wounds way back in 1994, when he was living in an attic on Venice's Lido. His interests include:

card games,
photography,
comic books,
cinema
and contemporary music.

And have a look at his gorgeous website.


Dan lives and works in Spain, and we're not sure what his interests are. [Mental note: schedule meeting in Spain to find out.]









So… Jonathan Walker and Dan Hallett – welcome to the House of Onion. We couldn’t be more pleased to be publishing this feast for the eyes, the mind and the soul.





*Confessions of the Cake-maker in Chief:
I confess it was all my fault that last week's steady serving of introductions was disrupted on Friday. But I managed to appease the blog goddesses with Torta alla Gianduia.



Tardy authors should note that with a little cake they can get away with anything short of murder around here. (It should also be noted that the weekend seemed to leave the blogesses in an unaccountably good mood.)