6th April 2009

Dear colleague,

It has been a while since I've sent out a newsletter. Please feel free to forward this to anyone who you think might be interested. Happy spring!

News:

I have recently been appointed as a part-time lecturer at the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature (NCRCL) at Roehampton University in London. I've been working there running conferences for several years, but now will be primarily teaching as well as helping with events. We run a fantastic MA in children's literature, and I'm interested in developing more in terms of children's publishing, so do get in touch with any ideas/questions. Find out more on the NCRCL website.

Coming Up:

Brighton Festival Events
I'll be chairing the Illustrators Evening: Creating Books for Very Young Children panel discussion on 8 May, with the talented illustrators Axel Scheffler, Polly Dunbar and Chris Fisher. Read more here.

I'll also be interviewing Patrick Ness on 10 May. We'll discuss the first two books in his trilogy, which are fantastic for anyone looking for provocative dystopian future-world books (with the best talking dog you'll ever meet). Find out more here.

Brighton Children's Book Group
I'm organising the second gathering for published authors and illustrators, and people who work in children's book publishing, to take place on 22 April. This informal get-together will include discussion on a focused theme (websites this time) as well as general conversation and networking. Please get in touch if you're interested in hearing more.

Little Green Pig sessions
I'll be running two afternoon sessions at Little Green Pig at the end of April/early May. This is a Brighton-based writing group for children aged seven to eighteen. Read more on their website.

IRSCL Congress
The International Research Society for Children's Literature (IRSCL) biennial congress will be taking place on the theme of Children's Literature and Cultural Diversity, 8-12 August, in Frankfurt, Germany. I'll be delivering my paper, 'What’s the Story?: Reflections on the Publication of Children’s Books Written by Non-White Authors in the UK.' Read more here.

On-going:

MS critiquing
I continue to offer manuscript critiquing, and have had to schedule projects in advance as I've had so much interest. I am about to finish critiquing 26 picture books which the authors plan to self-publish and distribute, and have also been hired to help develop and edit an illustrated manuscript for submission to publishers. Recently, I've been asked to critique an illustrated children's book manuscript, looking at both text and illustrations. There are a couple of people with whom I act as an on-going writing mentor. If you are interested in learning more about this service, have a look at my website.

Writing support groups
I run two monthly writing support groups for aspiring and published children's book writers and illustrators. These take place in central Brighton on the first and third Wednesday of the month. Please contact me if you are interested in coming along.

Editing books for Nigerian publisher
I've been editing a series of children's books for Cassava Republic publisher in Nigeria. These are supported by the Millennium Development Goals and will be distributed to children throughout Nigeria. Find out more about the publisher on their website.

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