An Onion in London

What manner of sights do you suppose an Onion in London might choose to seek out? Bookshops, of course!

Herewith a photo essay of a selection of bookstores that can be found in the busy streets of London town:







Lovely stores all.

Daunt Books in Marylebone is particularly wonderful with its wooden shelves and staircase, its books categorised by country - and its welcoming warmth when the weather turned wet. Those of you who have been following the fortunes of the humble bookstore around the world may well be aware that James Daunt, the founder of Daunt Books, is taking the helm as managing director at Waterstones. Clearly we Onions are quite the fans of bookstores - and we wish him all the best in his endeavours.

And I was especially enamoured of Persephone Books, who reprint neglected classics by twentieth-century writers, with a focus on women writers. The titles are chosen to appeal to busy women.* And they are elegantly packaged with particular attention to endpapers that match the date and mood of the book. And their design aesthetic is beautifully showcased by the book displays in their gorgeous store.** Despite my bulging suitcase, I may have been tempted into a purchase. Reader, I dare you to walk into Persephone and not be tempted too.


* I wonder if we can find any of those around here?
** Thanks so much to Clare in the London Office for introducing me to the wonderful publishing venture that is Persephone.

Baby, it's cold outside

How cold and wet it is. There may be hail, and even snow not very far away.

The House is full of semi-folded umbrellas, and newspapers soaking up the rain from the umbrellas, and people wearing fingerless gloves circumnavigating the umbrellas and newspapers.

But there are heartwarming glimmers amid the gloom.

Some are in the shape of Troubletwisters e-cards,

... an Onion's special warming winter wardrobe*,

... and some brand new winter reading.

Look at the glow cast on that table! There's nothing like a special finish to brighten up a winter's day in lieu of actual sunshine**.

POD, by Stephen Wallenfels
The Paradise Trap, by Catherine Jinks
The Shattering, by Karen Healey
Sensitive Creatures, by Mandy Ord

Meanwhile, certain peripatetic Onions enjoy a very different view.

*The Onion would like to dedicate her new unicorn jumper to Margo Lanagan.
**Pleasingly, but somewhat inconveniently for the integrity of this post, the sun has just decided to appear over the House. But it's still cold.

Monday stuff and items

1) This Oliver Jeffers app is one of the most beautiful specimens of its kind we've seen in a long time, and Helena Bonham-Carter thinks so too.



2) This is Shyness author and recent insideadog.com resident Leanne Hall caught our eye at Reading Matters last weekend, not only as a most dazzling panellist, but because she planked onstage! And this interview with David Levithan shows she has even more talents ...



3) Also pleasingly eye-catching at Reading Matters was a shiny Ena Noel IBBY medallion, awarded to Lili Wilkinson for her Scatterheart and because she is an under-35 writer of note. We agree! Congratulations, Lili!

4) And it seems ours were not the only eyes caught at Reading Matters, nor were we the only ones to take inspiration from the tweetings - here is a very amusing poem.

5) With a novel and several e-readers in hand, Mandy Brett spoke recently at the Wheeler Centre about the place of editors in a rapidly changing world:


A full transcript can be found here.

6) And the Wheeler Centre also points us to some very unlikely book covers.

From our correspondent in Rome

It is rather quiet in the House at the moment, with no fewer than two Onions wining, dining and cycling about in sunny Italy.*

One travelling Onion seems to be visiting a great many bookshops (how surprising!), some of which have bars incorporated within them (how eminently civilised and also convenient!).




*brrrrgrumble much travel envy in the House.

#RM11

Here is the collective mind of the fabulous Reading Matters 2011 conference last weekend, compiled* from all the energetic tweeting that was going on:

...and also the mind of one note-taking Onion:Authors charmed the crowd and signed their books...

...while Onions mingled with other bookish types and also ate cake.


* Thanks to Zoe Sadokierski for pointing us towards the fabulous Wordle site - hours of fun!

More awardy goodness

Since March and the announcement of one very pretty shortlist, we in the House have been on tenterhooks.* But for a short time we were off tenterhooks, and free to gambol for joy, once the winners of the 2010 Aurealis Awards were announced:

Best kids' fiction (primarily through words)
The Keepers: Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner

Best YA short story
'A Thousand Flowers' by Margo Lanagan, Zombies and Unicorns

Best YA novel
Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

HOWEVER, we had no sooner settled down to catch our breath and tidy our hair than there came another pretty shortlist, for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards! We are all on tenterhooks once more!

YA fiction
Good Oil by Laura Buzo

About a Girl by Joanne Horniman

Kid's fiction
Shake a Leg by Boori Monty Pryor and Jan Ormerod

Congratulations, Lian, Margo and Karen; Laura, Joanne, Boori and Jan!

*and also quite worn out with setting our caps at the shortlist.

Book Design Awards!

We are delighted to report that it seems it was House of Onion night at the 59th Annual Book Design Awards last night. Huzzah!

We are extraordinarily pleased for the clever designers we work with and especially for our very own Tall Designer.

WINNER:
Best Designed Children's Series

The Moorehawke Trilogy by Celine Kiernan
Design by Bruno Herfst and Elise Hurst

The Poison Throne The Crowded Shadows The Rebel Prince

HIGHLY COMMENDED: Best Designed Children's Fiction Book
The Museum of Thieves: The Keepers 1 by Lian Tanner
Design by Josh Durham, Design By Committee
Cover illustration by Sebastian Ciaffalgione

COMMENDED: The Best Designed Children's Picture Book
The Vegetable Ark by Kim Kane and Sue deGennaro
Design by Bruno Herfst, Illustrations by Sue deGennaro

COMMENDED: The Best Designed Young Adult Book
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Cover design and illustration by Lisa White

Lisa White also WON Best Designed Fiction Book
for Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey.

And Emily O'Neil took out the coveted
Young Designer of the Year!
Many cheers indeed.

Herewith the full list.

Slip on over to Fancy Goods to see the wonderful display they have of all the winning covers.

And in other awards news - the Aurealis Awards are announced tomorrow night in Sydney.

Good luck to all our short-listed authors. May the winning winds be beneath your wings.

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.

This is the reason we make books.

This is Marlo, the first grandchild to be born to the House of Onion.
We are excessively proud of him.

There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world.
Love of books is the best of all.
- Jacqueline Kennedy

London Calling

It seems to be the season for very special visitors.

Earlier in the week we were delighted by a visit from the very charming Onion-about-London. She wrangles all manner of operations in our UK office* , from the highbrow to the silly mid off.

As befitted the occasion, there was cake.

And not just any old gluten-filled cake. This was an extremely tasty Flourless Orange Cake. Our thanks to the Acting Cake-maker. Excellent work!

Which brings us to a matter that regular readers may have noticed. It's been all quiet on the cake-making front lately*. Do not despair - the Cake-maker Virtuoso has not abandoned us. She has simply been flitting around the world. And my, she is an intrepid and determined traveller. When everyone else was cancelling their flights to Japan, she stood firm, held her nerve and bravely boarded this almost empty plane bound for Tokyo - and beyond.

Her reward? Cherry blossoms, of course.

While she swanned about in the Land of the Rising Sun, and then discovered the delights of New York and San Francisco - we were left virtually** cake-less. Cake-less, we tell you! A very sad state of affairs indeed. The good news is that she had a marvellous time and has returned safely. Hallelujah!

*Well, not counting this cake, and not counting the Oscar cake, which were aberrations. Tasty tasty aberrations.

** It must be confessed that while technically cake-less, we did indulge in a chocolate mint slice that the C-M V had made in advance and LEFT IN THE FREEZER FOR US. She's just that kind of woman. And no, no you may not have her. She is ours.

A very special visitor

We had a very special visitor
to the House of Onion today.

He was small.

And gold.

And extraordinarily heavy.

And he came wrapped in an Ikea* pillowcase inside Shaun Tan's backpack.

So, of course, there was cake.

Oscar was very pretty.

And seemed to have a healthy appetite.**

But Shaun had all the good stories - about the lead-up to the big moment and the actual big moment and the moments after the big moment, and the Vanity Fair after-party,*** and Billy Crystal, and what it felt like to receive this rather exciting phone call.

An assortment of Pippi Longstockings were also in attendance,
to honour the Astrid Lindgren Award.

All in all it was a very pleasing morning.
Yes. A very pleasing morning indeed.

* Yes. Oscar was cloaked in a pillowcase of Swedish origin. As is fitting for the Oscar of an Astrid Lindgren Award winner.

** That's our story and we're sticking to it.

*** Apparently just like CBCA events... no really, actually just the same.