Stephanie Burgis and Claire Fayers at the Bath Kids Lit Festival

I didn't book as many events as I often do, at this year's Bath Festival of Children's Literature, but one I was determined not to miss was the one with Stephanie Burgis and Claire Fayers, discussing Dragons.

I've been familiar with Stephanie's work for a while, since meeting her a BristolCon a few years back, and have enjoyed her work, which includes the 'Kat' trilogy (Regency romance with magic), Historical novels with Opera and Politics, and most recently, The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart , which is set in a place and time which (other than the dragons) has a certain similarity to an 18th C Germanic principality, so I wanted to go and say hello, and hear her talking about the newest book.

I haven't previously heard of Claire or her books, but having heard her read an extract and talk about her newest book, The Accidental Pirates -Journey to Dragon Island, which is the second in a series, I want to read them, and bought the first in the series after the event. 

Claire and Stephanie both talked about the earliest dragons which inspired them - Tolkien's Smaug, for Stephanie, and the Dragons in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea for Claire (which I can identify with. Orm Embar was, and is, a favourite of mine, too.

Claire Fayers and Stephanie Burgis

There was some discussion about research. Stephanie selflessly researched chocolate-making and the finer points of chilli infused hot chocolate. Claire did not (she claims) go so far as to become a pirate, but did re-read 'Treasure Island', and watch lots of 1930's pirate / adventure movies in order to recognise and subvert their tropes (leading to sand vines - the kind of vines which, when you grab them to haul yourself out of quicksand, attack you)

There was also discussion about the next books each author is writing; coincidentally both involve fairies. Stephanie's next is set in the same world as The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart, but will be told from the perspective of Silke, Aventurine's friend. Claire's next is not part of the 'Accidental Pirates' series, but is instead set in a Victorian England, where one small town on the Welsh border is the last place in England where magic still works, and which is twinned with a similar town in Faerie. 

I like the sound of both, and look forward to reading them.

After the event, I was able to say hello to Steph and CLaire, and get both books signed, before heading home.

And, as it was Bookshop Day today, I also called in at one of my favourite bookshops, Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights,  before the event, where I was able to pick up a copy of Fraces Hardinge's A Skinful of Shadows, together with this year's 'Books are my Bag' bag, and where I bumped into a friend of mine, which was lovely. 

So, all in all it was a very pleasant afternoon!

Also, you should all buy these books :) 

Pugs and Ukuleles and Doctor Who

Saturday means more Bath Kids Lit Festivals events.

The first today was to see Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve  who were in Bath as part of their #PugsRoadshow tour.

I admit that I am just a little bit older than the target audience for 'Pugs of the Frozen North' but it's a lot of fun.

I haven't yet read the book but I understand that it follows the adventures of friends on a race to the North Pole, in a dog-sled pulled by 66 pugs (in warm woolly jumpers) competing with various other characters (all with splendid names, such as Sir Basil Sprout-Dumpling, and his butler Sideplate)

The event included a musical interlude with added 'Yip's from the audience, the creation and playing of a game  and a quick lesson in how to draw a pug.

I also got a lot of fun from eavesdropping on some of the conversations which various small children were having with their parents... (particularly the small boy behind me, explaining excitedly how Sarah got her Yeti Hands!

And it was very nice to meet Philip again, and to meet Sarah in person after following her blog and having  the occasional exchange on twitter.

Pugs of the Frozen North is the 3rd book these two have created together, and they are all well worth checking out, particularly if you have children!

 Then I had to dash across Bath city centre to get to the 'Writing Doctor Who' panel.

As advertised, the panel was supposed to include A.L. Kennedy, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Mark Gatiss, but it turned out that Gatiss was unavilable, so James Goss (who has written both Doctor Who and Torchwood novels, including Summer Falls) took his place. A L Kennedy has also written a Doctor WHo novel (featuring the 4th Doctor) and Cottrell Boyce wrote the Doctor Who episode 'In the Forest of the Night'

A.L. Kennedy talked about being a lifelong Doctor Who fan, and about a habit of wearing sensible flat shoes due to noticing at an early age that women wearing high heeled shoes tend to tip, or break their heels, and get killed by Daleks or other monsters..

Cottrell Boyce made the point that one of the effects of the show's longevity is that it is now written and produced and run by fans - it's basically its own fanfiction. He also said that when he was asked to write an episode, his immediate response (like everyone's, he says) was to ask whether his children could visit the TARDIS, and to accept when told they could - no questions about fees or deadlines or anything else..

There was a lot of love for Romana, and for City of  Death, and discussions about different Doctors. And of course, as soon as the panel noticed that someone had brought K9 along, the entire panel ground to a halt as K9 came up on stage...

Oh, and when you hear about a movement to have the Doctor Who theme music adapted as the new National Anthem - this is where it started..!

Poems and Pictures

My next Bath Kids Lit Festival event took place on Saturday afternoon, and featured Children's Laureate Chris Riddell, and Michael Rosen (who have recently collaborated on a book of poems for very young children).

I admit that I mostly booked it because I like Chris Riddell's work, and I could not make it to his solo 'Goth Girl' event, and I did feel a little bit conspicuous because I was not accompanied by a child, but despite that it was fun.

Chris was live-drawing to the poems as Michael read them. The Poems are mostly very simple rhymes, playing with words and actions, and eminently suitable for small children and Michael was encouraging the audience to join in, (which they did - with great enthusiasm) but adding his own little touches.

The pictures were projected onto a big screen on the stage behind Mr Rosen, who could not, therefore, see exactly how Chris was representing his poems..!

Michael Rosen:26.09.2015

 For instance, a poem about (among other things) dancing fruit, resulted first in a picture of orris dancing mangoes, followed by  sneaky picture of a Morris Dancing Micheal Rosen...!

It was a lot of fun, and quite a few lucky people from the signing line went home with original Chris Riddell drawings!

(I went home with a signature in my copy of 'The Sleeper and the Spindle' and a signed copy of the latest 'Goth Girl' book, so I was happy!)

Judith Kerr and Other Heroes

A highlight of last week was the encore broadcast performance of Coriolanus - the Donmar Warehouse production, featuring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Gatiss and Hadley Fraser. I was fortunate enough to see the production live, back in January 2014, and I really enjoyed being able to see it again, and to realise once more what stunning actors Tom Hiddleston and Mark Gatiss are.

Then on Friday, came the start of the Bath Children's Literature Festival, now in its 9th year. The first event, and the first I booked when the brochure came out, was with Judith Kerr.

Her 'Mog' books are some of the earliest books I remember reading, as a child, and then when I was older, her book 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' was an early introduction to the history of Nazi Germany, and experience of Jewish refugees, and I then read the other 2 books in the trilogy when I was rather older.

This is the third time that Kerr has been booked to appear at the Festival, but on each of the previous occasions she had to cancel due to poor health.

So, I was particularly keen to see her this time, and really pleased that was able to make it (she turned 92 this summer, so its hardly surprising that she's not always able to make it to events!)

She was interviewed by Julia Eccleshare (former Children's Book Editor of the Guardian), and it was an interesting evening. She was officially publicising her most recent book,  'Mister Cleghorn's Seal'  which is a short novel for older children, abut a man who adopts a seal. She explained that had wanted to do a book with lots of pencil drawings, and to suit the age where children can read. in her words "they are too old for picture books but a 250 novel is a bit daunting - the gap between Dr Seuss and Sherlock Holmes". 

Judith Kerr : 25.09.2015

She went on to explain that the book was inspired by an incident in her father's life - he ended up with a baby seal after it's mother was killed in a cull, and he decided to take it home rather than allow it to be killed. She described how he took it by train from Normandy to Berlin, attempting to feed it on a mixture of milk and cod liver oil, before arriving in Berlin and taking a taxi to a restaurant, as he had run out of his milk mixture! 

In real life, things didn't end well for the seal,I think the fictional one probably does better!

Kerr's love and admiration for her father and his skills as a story teller came through loud and clear. Moving on, she spoke about Mog - who was a real cat, the first that she had, when she and her husband first had a home with a garden, and gave us a number of anecdotes about various cats, including the current one who has trained Kerr to open the door for her (after looking out through the cat flap)!

Which led on to The Tiger Who Came to Tea . Julia Eccleshare raised the fact that Michael Rosen has suggested that the Tiger represents Kerr's memory of, and fear of the Nazis - Kerr immediately responded that she loves Rosen and is happy for him to say anything he likes, but that the Tiger was a story for her daughter incorporating all of her daughter's favourite things, and was made up when her husband was, unusually working away from home so she and her children were lonely and wanted someone, anyone, to visit. She also explained that she was able to then make the story into a book once both of the children were in school and she had time.

Kerr than answered questions from the audience. She explained that she considered herself to be an illustrator first, and writer second, and that she felt she had learned a lot about writing from her husband (Scriptwriter Nigel Kneale) and her son (novelist Matthew Kneale). She also explained that she thinks in English, and that while she does speak French and German can only write (books) in English. She wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit because she wanted to tell her children about her own childhood, and that she was surprised when it was published, in part because it did not conform with what might be expected; that normally in children's books (at least at that time) parents were remote but could do anything, but her own parents were not like that, and that despite everything, she had a happy childhood. She also spoke at some length about her experience of being a refugee, her feeling of gratitude to Britain for letting her family in and saving their lives, and commenting that even during the London Blitz, with people dying every night, no one was cruel or offensive to her parents (who both had strong, and obvious German accents). She was asked about the current refugee crisis and simply said that she did not think that the scenarios were the same, as the sheer numbers of people now involved are so much greater, and she doesn't see there being an easy or obvious answer.

Finally, she was asked by a young girl whether there really was a Pink Rabbit, and whether it was left behind. And she confirmed that yes, there was, and it was left behind. But, she added, "I've got over it".

Over all, she came across as a wonderful, witty and optimistic person - I would have loved to have had the opportunity to say hello but (understandably) she did not do a signing, but I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to hear her speak. It was a fun evening.

Garth Nix and Joe Abercrombie at the Bath Kids Lit. Festival

I was back in Bath this evening for an interview with Joe Abercrombie and Garth Nix (conducted by John McLay, who is the festival director)

Garth Nix and Joe Abercrombie

I have seen Joe a few times before, at Bristol Con, although I have not got around to reading any of his work, yet.

I love Garth Nix's work, and 'Old Kingdom' books in particular, so I was very excited to hear he has written a prequel to the existing trilogy, Clariel, (which officially comes out next week, but which was available at the event, so naturally I bought a copy!)

The event was a lot of fun, both Garth and Joe appeared to be enjoying themselves, and to be interested in the questions being asked.

Garth mentioned having recently rediscovered his first ever 'book' written when he was 8 or 9, leading to questions about whether either agreed with the proposition that a writer ought to throw away their first two or three books.Joe did not agree, commenting that as his first 3 books books are his trilogy, throwing them away without trying t get them published would have been a bit of a waste! 

Garth was kind enough to share the golden rule of getting stuff published (you have to finish things - finishing stuff doesn't guarantee you'll be published, but not finishing pretty much guarantees you won't get published!)

Dave McKean at Bath Kids Lit. Fest

Saturday morning was devoted to dull but necessary tasks, such as getting up far too early for a Saturday in order to get a 'flu jab, buying food, doing laundry and getting a cat-flap installed ready for when the kittens are allowed out.

The afternoon, however, was much more fun. 

This year's Bath Festival of Children's Literature has begun, and one of the events was 'In Conversation with Dave McKean' which took place on Saturday afternoon at the Holburne Museum.

I was  particularly keen to see Dave McKean, partly because I love his work, but also as his event last year had to be cancelled, as he was prevented from getting to Bath by major road delays! 


He started his presentation by apologising for last year, and explaining that he had arrived in Bath 3 hours early, this time, to ensure that there wasn't a repeat of that issue!

He then gave us a whistle-stop tour of some of his works, with illustrations,  concentrating in particular on the work he has done with children's books.  It was particularly interesting to me to hear him explaining to people who might not know, who Neil Gaiman is, with particular reference to his Crazy Hair!

He also talked about his work with David Almond (in glowing terms, and pointing out first that David was sitting in the audience!) Richard Dawkins and S.F.Said, speaking a little about the techniques he had used for some of the different art works.

He mentioned that his new film, Luna, is out soon. He didn't play us the trailer, as it is not a children's film (apparently it has just been classified as a 15) but did mention that it will be showing in Bath next month, and that he will be doing a QandA, but he did play us Sheepdip, Johnson and Dupree whicch was fun.

After the event he signed books - sadly the  event bookseller had not brought any copies of his new book Pictures That Tick (Vol 2) - they only had older ones (all of which I already own!) but Dave himself had brought along some spare copies of Jazz (in Quotes) which is a limited edition collection of illustrated quotes, which was produced for SDCC, so I was able to get one of those, and to get Dave to sign a couple of my existing books. 

All in all, a most satisfactory evening. And when I got home, I was able to book a ticket for the screening of Luna. 

In Which there are Poems

This year's Bath Festival of Children's Literature started on Friday. Although there wasn't any one event this which which leapt out at me as being totally unmissable, but lots that struck me as interesting in one way or another, and I have tickets for 5 or 6 events.

The first was Michael Rosen (well, technically, the first was Ali Sparkes, but I booked that before I knew I had to work on Saturday morning, so I had to miss it, which was a shame)

Michael Rosen's event was in the Guildhall's banqueting hall, and was sold out, which means there were about 350 people there - at a guess, about half of them were small children, and everyone seemed to be enjoying Michael's stories about his school days (back in the Stone Age, when teachers didn't allow children to breathe during lessons, and there was a school dungeon where rats gnawed your toenails) and his poems, many of which involved audience participation.

The event was clearly aimed at young children, but despite neither being, nor having with me, a small child, I still found it lots of fun. An excellent start to (my) festival.

In Which There is an Author

On Saturday morning, while checking Twitter, I saw Garth Nix tweet that he would be in Bath that evening, which sounded as though it might be interesting, so I went along.

I have enjoyed his books for several years now, particularly the 'Old Kingdom' ones, and I enjoyed his talk, too.

He started by talking about his name (not a pseudonym, despite what people may suspect) and about telling stories, and where he gets ideas from (unlike Neil Gaiman and others, not from a little shop in southern England, it would seem) and the process of making stories.

He also read us a little of the most recent books he has out; 'A Confusion of  Princes' and 'Trouble Twisters' and also a short excerpt from what will, probably, be the prologue to a new 'Old Kingdom' book - 'Claribel: The Lost Abhorsen', which sounds as though it's going to be a book I want to read.

He then answered questions before signing books and chatting, which was fun.

I was slightly distracted during the talk by the fact that there was some decorative bunting up, which had clearly been made out of books.. This bothered me a little. I couldn't help but notice that the bunting was made from actual pages, not anything printed as bunting.

(It's OK. I went and asked one of the staff members after the reading; they explained it was made from a damaged proof copy of a book, so it wasn't destroyed specially)

I'm currently about 1/3 of the way through 'A Confusion of Princes' which I'm enjoying.

There are going to be more authors, soon. It's the Bath Kids Lit Fest next month, which should also be fun, and I have a theatre trip or two lined up.

And on an unrelated note, I went to donate blood today. Turns out it was my 50th donation, which means they give me a shiny brooch and a nice pen, and I was surprised at how chuffed I was about it!

In Which There Is Art, and I Am Made Very Happy

It's late September again which means the Bath Festival of Children's Literature is here again. This year I shall miss most of it, as I am away next weekend, which is a little sad, as I was going to have gone to see Michael Morpurgo, and Michael Rosen, and Cornelia Funke, but as I still haven't mastered bilocation it can't be done.


Robin Etherington, Garen Ewing nd Dave McKean



Tonight, however, was  this event, which made me go all fangirl  squee when I first saw the programme - Dave McKean, Garen Ewing and Robin Etherington talking graphic novels. To be honest, Dave McKean is the only one of the three I'd heard of, but I am a huge fan of his work and the thought of getting to see him & maybe get some of my books signed was too good to miss.



I was at Bath Guildhall in plenty of time, having spent some considerable time earlier in the day deciding (a) how many books I could legitimately take with me in the hope of getting them signed, and maybe even doodles, and (b) which ones. On browsing the bookstall in the foyer I found that 'Slog's Dad', the new book by David Almond and Dave McKean is now out, so I had to buy that, and I was also tempted to by the first two volumes of Garen Ewing's Rainbow Orchid graphic novel, as I like the look of them.

The Etherington Brothers books are aimed more at children and I did manage to resist 'Monkey Nuts' although  suspect for the average 7-11 year old child it would have vast appeal!

The event was very interesting, all three panellists talking about their latest projects;

 Robin Etherington works with his brother, Lorenzo - Robin does the words and Lorenzo the pictures, and they have the Monkey Nuts books, and a new one called 'The Baggage', about a lost-property worker trying to reunite a very old bag with it's owner - it sounds as though will be good, and more suited to a slightly older reader.

Garen Ewing is working on the third volume of The Rainbow Orchid trilogy, which is set in the 1920's and inspired by adventurers and adventure writers, such as Rider Haggard and Jules Verne - and which he  both writes and draws. The style of his art is linge clair (clear line) , which means that his comics have a familiar look , as it is the style Herge used for the Tintin adventures - I have to admit that it was that similarity which attracted me when I saw the books!

He spoke about his interest in research, for instance, getting the languages right (for a  single frame showing an ancient greek manuscript), and getting things like the appearance of the Natural History Museum in the 1920s accurate, and getting a friend to build a scale model of the bi-plane he chose to use so he could draw this correctly, also. 

Dave McKean spoke about 'Slog's Dad'  by David Almond, which is just out, about the 'The Rut' " exhibition just finishing in London, (and which he confirmed is going to be made into a book, too, which I shall look forward to) and about the other projects he's currently working on - a film (which he didn't give any details about) and the book he is working on with Richard Dawkins, called 'The Magic of Reality' which will be an illustrated book answering questions (such  as why does the sun shine), starting with myths and fables and ways in which people have tried to explain the world, and then giving the scientific explanation.

Dave had some slides of some of the art for the book, which looks amazing; I can't wait to  see the finished article.

All three were asked about getting started, Both Garen and Robin had started with self-publishing and with putting their work up online, and Dave talked about pitching work with Neil Gaiman ("to this day, I'm not sure we had an appointment")

There were then some time for questions from the audience - in response to the 'what advice would you give someone wanting to be you?'

Dave recommended going to art school to (among other things) have time to broaden your horizons and to learn about things  which are not immediately obvious to you, and three seemed to be giving the same advice which is to do what you love, and what is important to you, and to keep doing it, bit by bit. Garen and Robin both also talked about putting work online to get it out there.


I was able to ask about collaboration, and whether there was anyone whom any of them would (in an ideal world) like to work with - Garen talked about the possibility of working with Philip Pullman (and I have to say I think his style would work well if Philip Pullman's 'Sally Lockhart' books were adapted into graphic novels.

Dave McKean mentioned that he and Neil Gaiman were both interested in doing a stage show or musical together, and that he wanted to work more with actors, in lice theatre, and also mentioned wanting to work with Harlan Ellison, and Robin said he wanted to work with Garen Ewing and Dave McKean..!

And there was a certain amount of discussion about the validity of monkeys and zombies in comics.

It was a shame that the event was only an hour long, I would happily have sat listening to the conversation for much longer.

All three were signing afterwards, so I  queued up, and ended up not only with a lovely sketch of Julius Chancer in my copy of  the rainbow Orchid, Vol. 1, but also beautiful drawings by Dave McKean in 'Slog's Dad and 'The Graveyard Book'

I think these are so beautiful in their own right, but I was also mesmerised watching Dave draw them, and make such vivid pictures with so few pen strokes.  It's so unfair that anyone should be so talented *and& such a nice person.

While queuing and watching the artists draw we were also talking, one of the subjects being how most adults will see they can't draw, or make things up, but all children will say they can, and considering when and why that changes.

I am just so happy that I was able to go. 

Nice things to come

Yesterday I got a copy of the programme booklet for the Bath Fesitival of Children's Literature through the post; reading through it, I was very happy to find that Dave McKean is going to be there, doign a panel entitled "Graphic Novels: the new revolution" with Garen Ewing and Robin Ethrington. I have to admit that I'm notfamiliar with Ewing or Ethrington's work, but the chance of seeing Dave McKean was more than enough to have me on the phone to the ticket line without delay!

I was also interested to see that Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo and Cornelia Funke are also all going to be there, and was disappointed to see that while David Almond is there his panel is on a Wednesday lunchtime, which means I won't be able to get to that, unless I book a day off work..

I have also received the new season's brochure for the Bath Theatre Royal - they have Sheridan's "The Rivals", Monty Python's "Spamalot", Coward's "Blithe Spirit" and Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor"all coming up, as well as the (now traditional) performance of Handel's Messiah. Unfortunately, theatre tickets are rather more expensive than tickets for the Literature Fesitval, so I shall have to do a little more in the way of calculation before I get start booking - going to all those shows would set me back by about £150, and while I think it's worth it, I still need to actually get the money in place before I can spend it!

In other news, the bruises I gave myself on Saturday are all turning an unlovely shade of yellow, with purple highlights, and continue to be rather ouchy, and it's clear that falling so heavily also jarred my neck/shoulder (which I have a long standing problem with anyway) so that is much more painful than normal. *sigh*

On the plus side, I have a theatre ticket for this evening, to see Simon Callow in his one-man show "The Man From Stratford", which should be fun.

In Which Mr Mitch Benn Sings

The Fifth of November is traditionally Bonfire Night, with fireworks and bonfires the order of the day (or night) But I had a better offer, so around 7 I set off into a dark and drizzly night to head for Bath's Rondo Theatre to see the fabulous Mr Mitch Benn. I didn't miss out entirely on the fireworks, as there were several lots being set off which I was able to glance at in passing as I drove along.

The Theatre is a very small one - it only seats around 100 people, is mostly run by volunteers, and I think it must be related to the little shops in Sir PTerry's books, because I am absolutely certain that it is in a slightly different steep little backstreet in Bath every time I go. I like it.

I arrived, acquired a rather nice pint of Spitfire and found my seat, which was very close to the front (admittedly, as there are only 10 rows, it's quite hard NOT to be close to the front, but still...) It's the kind of place where you have a tendancy to meet people you know, or to fall into conversation with strangers.

Once settled, with my pint, I had nothing to do but wait for the show to start. Which, very shortly, it did.

Mr Benn (supported by Ivan Sheppard on drums, and Kirsty Newton on Bass, Piano Organ & vocals) began with 'The Interactive Song' (You have selected situational comedy in the style of Lily Allen')... which was a fun start.

We had quite a few of the older songs - one of my personal favourites 'Now He's Gone' (sung by Kirsty Newton) and a lot from the new albulm. ('Motorway Food' , Love Your Love Handles''What would Elvis Do?')

Where else can you see elderly ladies in tears of laughter over a song about Auto-erotic Asphyxiation?

I love that Mitch takes so many 'stock' types of song and totally subverts them - noting that there are plenty of break-up and unrequited love song, but very few songs about being happily in a relationship, which gives us 'Disgustingly in Love' ;

"Our friends all think we're dead but,
We just stay home instead 'cos,
We are disgustingly in Love..."

And who else would point out that, Shakespeare were alive today he would NOT, as so many people believe, be writing soap opera, but rap music. Which leads, inevitably, to his rendition of Macbeth (in the style of Eminem...)

I would love to hear that this was being played in schools - can't help feeling that, like Manga Shakespeare, it would probably go a way to encourage people to give the Bard a chance...

Then of course, there was the IKEA anthem, 'Please don't release this song' (with a spookily good Beatles voices...) and Sing Like an Angel, which perfectly captures the spirit of the X Factor and it's clones.

One of the most impressive parts ofthe eveing is that Mitch will write a whole new song during the interval - based on 2 or 3 recent news stories suggested by the audience - on this occasion, A (tiny)tornado in Bath, the opening of the new shopping centre ( a Much bigger story!) and the story about the court having thrown out Nick Griffin's allegation he'd been racially abused (Yay!!) 'twas a fun song.

Towards the end of the evening we got Mitch's Rock -Musical version of a great literary classic - The Very Hungry Caterpillar ...

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and the final encore was the song Mitch wrote in Memory of John Peel - Let's have a minute's noise for John'

After the show Mitch was selling CDs so I had the chance to say Hi, and to buy a copy of the latest CD (Mitch Benn, where next?)

Having had the forethought to get a copy of Mitch and Jon Holmes' book A History of the World Through Twitter which he signed for me.

If you get a chance, go see the show. And if not, all the albulms are available as CDs or downloads here

In Which There Is (you guessed it) Another Writer

After having my books signed by Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart I had about an hour before the final event of the day,Tony Lee 'Talking Graphic Novels' so I had time to pop down to the railway station to book tickets to go to London in 10 days time (for a Jason Webley gig)

I had decided to go to this event because I'd enjoyed reading Dr Who - The Forgotten and because I've been following him on Twitter and thought that it was likely to be interesting.

I was right - it was.

Tony was talking about his own experience and about writing comics in general - comparing it with writing novels - more 'show', less 'tell', with the need to be able to tell the story without acres of dialogue and description - also making excellent use of the flip-chart as a visual aid, encouraging audience participation to show how a stock situation (maid Marion on the scaffold, Robin Hood about to save her) becomes a story, looking at the web of connections, backstory and future possibilities which spread out from that single point, and make up the story.

Tony also demonstated his own awesome artistic talents to show what can be left out of a comic when telling the story. As you can see, his skills are such that Comic Artists everywhere will be looking to their laurels... He also spoke about how comics are laid out (i.e. cliffhanger at the bottom of a page - surprise twists on the left hand page so the eye doesn't skip ahead etc.)

I loved that Tony was so enthusiastic about his job - he also stressed that one should not become a writer to become famous - one should become a writer because one has stories to tell.

Also, if one wishes to break into comics, this can be achieved by lying ones way into interviews with DC & Marvel.

Tony was a little twitchy - he has, after all, just finished writing the graphic novel adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' and was a little concerned that the Jane Austen Society may havbe a hit out on him as a result, which, given that the Jane Austen Festival is still going on in Bath means he was taking his life in his hands to attend... (Although thinking about it, the Jane Austen Society ought surely to be challenging him to a duel, rather than sending assasins....)

I thoroughly enjoyed the event, and was happy to get my copy of 'The Forgotten' signed at the end.

After leaving the Guildhall I took the opportunity to pop up to Waterstones to pick up a copy of Mike Carey's latest Felix Castor novel - passing one of my favourite Bath buildings - the old circulating library, where, I like to imagine, Miss Jane Austen, Miss Anne Eliot and others may all have borrowed novels, in their day.

In Waterstones I was surprised to find one final author - Allan Gilliland - who was signing copies of his book 'The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion and Us in the Land at the Back of Beyond' - As it happens, I saw the book in my local bookshop a couple of weeks ago, and bought a copy on impulse, as the illustrations are beautiful, and the book itself looks interesting and unusual, so it was a nice surprise to be able to meet the author .

All in All, Saturday was a Good Day. It makes uo for the rest of the week, which was considerably less fun!

In other news, my sister E has reached Singapore en route for Australia, and managed to see the qualifying for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, despite jet-lag, which I'm sure she enjoyed, and which has the advantage of being something I need not feel envious of!

[edited to add: I was tickled pink to see Mr Lee has "blatantly stolen" my pictures for his blog of the event. They couldn't have been stolen by a nicer person.]

In Which There Are More Authors and an Illustrator

I was late getting to Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell's event, talking about their collaborative series The Edge Chronicles due to standing in line to get my books signed by Geraldine McCaughrean and Philip Reeve. I have to confess to not having read any of the Edge Chronicles - I booked my ticket on the strength of Chris Riddell's illustrations for 'The Graveyard Book' but I'm glad I went - Chris and Paul were fascinating and I now have another set of books (The Edge Chronicles) to read. . . helpfully, Chris & Paul gave a quick guide to the books. Paul talked about 'learning' to speak Banderbear. Apparently, the language consists of 3 words - 'Wuh', Wuugh' and 'Wugh?' (although I may have mis-spelled them) but has a much deeper and poetic sign-and-body language which Paul demonstrated. Chris talked about becoming concerned about Paul's mental health.

Chris revealed that he started his career as an illustrator as a child - his father was a vicar, and he would sit at the back of the church during services "[My father] would be preaching about peace on earth and goodwill to men and I'd be drawing pictures of knights with their heads cut off" He explained that an old lady would sit in the same pew and would give him wine gums, and it was at that point that he decided that "that's want I wnt to do for a living - draw pictures and have someone feed me wine gums" (I bet that one isn't in the school careers office database..)

Both talked about the involvment of their children in the development of the books - the consensus seemed to be that daughters are much harsher critcs than sons, and also about their new website where they are writing an on-line novel set in the Edge Chronical's world.

They also spoke about inspirations for some of the creatures in the Edge chronicles, and the fact that they had determined that the world of Edge would not be a static world, so as you work through the books you pass through the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ages of flight, for example, and that there is a more industrialised society in the later books.

After the event (and giving the pictures which Chris drew to illustrate it to two members of the audience, the lucky dogs) Chris & Paul signed for all those who wanted it.

I had brought my copy of 'The Graveyard Book' for Chris to sign, and he kindly drew me a tombstone in it, as well. (Paul commented (tongue firly in cheek) that he had always preferred the Dave McKean illustrations . . ) I bought a copy of 'The Curse of the Gloamglozer' which is the first of the Edge Chronicals, which both signed - leving me with the happy feeling og having just discovered a new set of books to read.

In Which there Are Authors

I spent most of today in Bath, to attend several more events at the Bath Festival of Children's Literature, which ends tommorrow.

The first event I attended was a conversation with Philip Reeve and Geraldine McCaughrean hosted by a Daily Telegraph reporter, Sameer Rahim. Both authors seemed to be enjoying themselves..

Philip Reeve immediately made me think of the kind of dashing, if slightly rakish english gentleman whom one finds in Golden Age detective novels and adventure stories - I should love to believe that he might have arrived in a vintage Lagonda, or perhaps a bi-plane, pausing en route to solve a murder or recover the secret formula from a fiendish foreign spy. I wonder if I am letting my imagination run away with me?

*Ahem*

Back to the festival. Both authors answering questions about their writing - both agreeing that while they will generally have a clear starting point or 'trailer' for a book at the outset, neither plans the story in great detail - indeed, both commented that thos would be very boring, as you would then be writing, knowing already what the end would be!

Philip Reeve then admitted that he perhaps "ought really to be writing historical novels, but can never be bothered to do all the research" whereas with his 'Mortal Engines' books he can pick the elements he wants from the Victorian era.

Both authors read short extracts from their new books - The Death Defying Pepper Roux and Fevercrumb (both of which I now want to read) before taking questions from the audience.

When asked for advice about becoming a write, McCaughrean's response was "lock yourself in a small room and then eat the key, because, frankly, we don't want the competition"... (followed up with some more ..conventional.. advice about telling the stories you want to tell, and the usefulness of getting feedback, (with reference to writing fanfic, and other online writing)

All in all, a well spent and entertaining hour. Followed by both authors signing, after which I moved on to the next event, which involved Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart.

Jenny Nimmo at the Bath Festival of Children's Literature

It's been a mixed week - I managed to acquire a revolting cold and very scratchy sore throat, with the effect that as well as feeling rather like death warmed up I completely lost my voice for two days and had to take some time off work. Very frustrating, as I end up feeling guilty for having stayed home from work, and at the same time utterly exhausted and unable to do anything. I dispprove.

However, I was back in work on Friday, and on Friday evening my parents arrived to stay for the night. My mum wanted to see a Patchwork/Quilting exhitition at a local shop, and then they are travelling on to Derbyshire for a bellringing holiday.

It was nice to see them, especially as they are going to New Zealand shortly, and will be away for 7 weeks, so I will not have another opportunity to see them until the end of November.

Saturday brought my first visit to this year's Bath Festival of Children's Literature, to see Jenny Nimmo , author of the 'Snow Spider' and 'Charlie Bone' series of children's books. I remember reading, and enjoying, the Snow Spider when I was younger, and more recently have enjoyed the 'Charlie Bone' books - they are intended for children 8+ and have many of the staples of a rip-roaring read - boarding school with sinister teachers, magical gifts, missing parents and so on, as well non-(magically) talented children - lots of fun. From the answers in her Q&A session I learned that she has been comissioned to write a trilogy about the Red King - the ancestor of Charlie Bone and the other talented children, which should be interesting.

The event was held in one of the smaller rooms in the Guildhall, and I would guess that around 80-100 people were there, including a high proportion of children, which is always good to see. Jenny started by speaking a little about why she became a writer, having started by telling stories to her friends when she was at boarding school, and later being encouraged to write her first novel by her boss, when she was working on 'Jackanory' at the BBC. She then spoke a little about the Charlie Bone series, including calling up various volunteers from the audience to illustrate the various 'gifts' which the characters in Charlie Bone have, and then ended by taking questions from the audience, from children wanting to know whether she has any pets (yes, several cats), what 'gift' she would like to have (the ability to write without having to use a pen or keyboard) and who her favourite character is, from the Charlie Bone books (Uncle Peyton).

I always find it interesting to hear writers talking about what they do - in this instance, it was clear that Jenny was pitching her talk to the children, not to the accompanying parents, and that they appreciated this.

After the talk, there was a short queue for those wishing to get books signed.

As I wandered back towards the station (sneezing softly as I went) I was mildly surprised to meet several groups of elegant regency females (many with vastly fetching bonnets), several soldiers (or possibly members of the militia - I need a Miss Lydia Bennett to set me right) and one or two gentlemen, including a very young gentleman in a beautiful lilac coat.

I settled back in my seat on the train, wondering whether I was suffering from Bath-induced hallucinations, brought on by a combination of cold-virus and too much Georgette Heyer, but have now learned that it was all part of the Jane Austen festival, and specifically their (apparently successful) attempt to obtain the world record for the highest number of people in regency dress. (presumably entired from large events which took place during the Regency period are not eligible to enter...)

I find it mildly amusing that so many of Miss J. Austen's fans should chose to gather and celebrate her life in a city which she, like her creation Miss Anne Elliot, apparently coridally disliked. .

I was interested to learn, however, in reading about the festival, that when she visited Bath in 1799, Jane Austen stayed (in lodgings, with her brother & mother) at 13 Queen Square. The building is now the offices of a firm of solicitors and I have often attended meetings there, but had not been aware of the Austen connection. I wonder what she would make of its current use?