tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8419427156525957012024-03-14T17:30:35.027+00:00Jeannie Waudby - AuthorJeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-66119291230523661992018-02-13T13:53:00.000+00:002018-02-13T13:53:25.210+00:00OXFORD PLAYSCRIPTS adaptation of ONE OF US<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0HSQisGCXMKsBNk_j9wWcJdVdHoYmQ_jIFY8hdn1iulHZgN5o8xCYG3pOA04RmoX06rq_nJ_Z6nFWUdrfkVcDY6U39J-KM_FGCWV_JwhPpnD9O9ZuTgu9jT7mrdiS3v4bT-1SD4D9RZx/s1600/OUP+play+One+Of+Us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="755" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0HSQisGCXMKsBNk_j9wWcJdVdHoYmQ_jIFY8hdn1iulHZgN5o8xCYG3pOA04RmoX06rq_nJ_Z6nFWUdrfkVcDY6U39J-KM_FGCWV_JwhPpnD9O9ZuTgu9jT7mrdiS3v4bT-1SD4D9RZx/s640/OUP+play+One+Of+Us.jpg" width="502" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am very excited that ONE OF US is being adapted as an OUP Oxford Playscripts play. The playwright is Mike Kenny and the Teaching and Learning materials are by Paul Bunyan and Ruth Moore. More details <a href="https://global.oup.com/education/product/9780198408413/?region=uk" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></blockquote>
Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-47241627433771373552017-09-28T11:52:00.000+01:002017-12-05T10:51:33.862+00:00Ten poems I take with me<div class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/" target="_blank">National Poetry Day</a> made me think about what poems mean to me. They</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> can put into words things that up until then </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">have </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">only been feelings. For me, certain poems crystallise moments. If I go back to them, they hold both the past and new discoveries. So there are a few poems I take with me through my life. When I was looking for them, I realised that I have a much-loved collection of anthologies that I often turn to.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_oy8zSflZ687fbx_v0UMpY2HJ_GqQQw6IdaFFvyIsX0MLftoTdgI_E7gljpZCly252UVR2rz9LG3-9ejOO25QXdmCr1-hINE5d1bA9_hhG4doQLRrjlXu4aiHquoeBpwDC2w2gGhW9ol/s1600/childs+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_oy8zSflZ687fbx_v0UMpY2HJ_GqQQw6IdaFFvyIsX0MLftoTdgI_E7gljpZCly252UVR2rz9LG3-9ejOO25QXdmCr1-hINE5d1bA9_hhG4doQLRrjlXu4aiHquoeBpwDC2w2gGhW9ol/s640/childs+garden.jpg" width="480" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was given this book for my 7th birthday, and the poem I loved most was E.V. Rieu's <i><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">Mr Blob</span></span>. </i>It's about a drawing that gets rubbed out. Although it's a witty poem, I always thought it was sad too. </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNNbIZj-sAcbpVwrJsbjqYn8R0pN9mrdtrHl7uUV4TAEVZcfygAG9vSaLXzyfFHM4Y95WbskWghHcj1xhmE83Q5mTAABPfERSQrU88J16G9zp0ITRR7yfctkEiqYFszmgrHIOX0XZqoU0/s1600/mr+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQNNbIZj-sAcbpVwrJsbjqYn8R0pN9mrdtrHl7uUV4TAEVZcfygAG9vSaLXzyfFHM4Y95WbskWghHcj1xhmE83Q5mTAABPfERSQrU88J16G9zp0ITRR7yfctkEiqYFszmgrHIOX0XZqoU0/s640/mr+blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This anthology by Walter de la Mare is an unusual and intriguing one.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5JBtqX2BiRQ5o0i3A18pw1iwZqA41q4lLNdcmsMP-Mxmh8lJxGLfFEAC_VmADKPnuTM-ib0Lsquvxu-mEt2sXZXJv-gntmptU3hu57KpvtuBJNhlN62RfeFUDhlmMijvK5aPvOEDIqHD/s1600/come+hither.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5JBtqX2BiRQ5o0i3A18pw1iwZqA41q4lLNdcmsMP-Mxmh8lJxGLfFEAC_VmADKPnuTM-ib0Lsquvxu-mEt2sXZXJv-gntmptU3hu57KpvtuBJNhlN62RfeFUDhlmMijvK5aPvOEDIqHD/s640/come+hither.jpg" width="640" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the cover, the same scene is beautifully shown in daylight and twilight, designed by Erik Blegvad. Here I found <i style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">The Snare</span></i> by James Stephens. It begins with a rabbit's scream and ends with the poet promising the rabbit that he will keep looking for it. Like <i>Mr Blob</i>, this poem now seems to me to be about much more than it first seems.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remember the first time a poem </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">unexpectedly</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> jumped out at me. It was when I was in year 8, in English, and I found this poem by <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45385/the-princess-the-splendour-falls-on-castle-walls" target="_blank">Tennyson's poem</a></span><span style="background-color: cyan; color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;"><i>The splendour falls on castle walls</i>. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">I loved the rhythm of the poem and the way that it seemed to put into words the feeling that I got from being in nature. The line 'Our echoes roll from soul to soul' seemed both so mysterious and so familiar that it gave me a thrill. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another poem full of mystery is Walter de la Mare's <i><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">The Listeners</span>.</span> </i>This is such a well-loved poem that it ends up in lots of children's anthologies. Here's mine:</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWixgmZ4-G6IW8hLHAj4f3LmO2bbFPpKVxmodjPJ5rbJA4xywmOME1O2waUmHoJ3tlGZMoVDNpvigpwjeGG8guBnUbiKaT-vFkmCXi9-gaIfxqqxNGooDMZBZC1BH60bGs8NxvZoJOPk0/s1600/i+like+this+poem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWixgmZ4-G6IW8hLHAj4f3LmO2bbFPpKVxmodjPJ5rbJA4xywmOME1O2waUmHoJ3tlGZMoVDNpvigpwjeGG8guBnUbiKaT-vFkmCXi9-gaIfxqqxNGooDMZBZC1BH60bGs8NxvZoJOPk0/s640/i+like+this+poem.jpg" width="480" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's never clear who the shadowy presences in the empty house are, so the poem leaves you with a haunting sense of there being more to know. I loved it so much that I illustrated it when I was at college.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUM2voO9QMHR7AN8_i2IBj_WdBi6AeLmUSW-AdfDzR6MsJOGIIo_BCXVUG8by0xES5tcgGwyV-hp4rxg3XGW42cx4rLdGGZGCiQ2N2l7wfM_bd416ETQHgrqt3S7V3bNbVhuONQEJGqqqC/s1600/listeners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUM2voO9QMHR7AN8_i2IBj_WdBi6AeLmUSW-AdfDzR6MsJOGIIo_BCXVUG8by0xES5tcgGwyV-hp4rxg3XGW42cx4rLdGGZGCiQ2N2l7wfM_bd416ETQHgrqt3S7V3bNbVhuONQEJGqqqC/s640/listeners.jpg" width="640" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also illustrated Stevie Smith's <i><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">Not Waving But Drowning</span></span>,</i> a deceptively simple short poem which heartbreakingly explores how someone's persona can be at great odds with what's really going on inside. Now that we have social media and all the pressure that brings to present our most successful side, this poem seems even more relevant than ever.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskh9wqW-IU1dVkGWD0h3KVjXL_PQ87NHBzUemT6B9rLGzr71_ZSkkMZgyYzdz1UsKqdKNdOw-asHbac2KLpz5P0EGTsWQgWSl7e15DlWBmo-b553iWmY-dBBV0Zsn6pWwP9rE9DGqHTB2/s1600/not+waving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgskh9wqW-IU1dVkGWD0h3KVjXL_PQ87NHBzUemT6B9rLGzr71_ZSkkMZgyYzdz1UsKqdKNdOw-asHbac2KLpz5P0EGTsWQgWSl7e15DlWBmo-b553iWmY-dBBV0Zsn6pWwP9rE9DGqHTB2/s640/not+waving.jpg" width="640" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was 16 I found a collection of poems by ee cummings. I was drawn in by the lack of capital letters, even in his name, and I found <i style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town</span></i>. I loved how it rhymed but was also completely untraditional. 'Anyone' and 'noone' are both their usual meanings and also names of individuals. </span> </blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfg2EqO0rtrydDBsOE52RS7GeuJgOFyIBAldRg2MeFKD6zVvVEQkqNpL1o5jsxXeUOWZ-kAhFE7ekaJFTwT967Nl175AwWmp2hEWYuFl3Xt237D5ZD4iYk03hoZGY0z05qTqbFj-x8Z-zy/s1600/penguin+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfg2EqO0rtrydDBsOE52RS7GeuJgOFyIBAldRg2MeFKD6zVvVEQkqNpL1o5jsxXeUOWZ-kAhFE7ekaJFTwT967Nl175AwWmp2hEWYuFl3Xt237D5ZD4iYk03hoZGY0z05qTqbFj-x8Z-zy/s640/penguin+book.jpg" width="480" /></a> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -1em;"><span style="background-color: white;">This was one of my coursebooks when I studied English. I loved Christina Rosetti's haunting poems with their quiet reflectiveness that often turns a sad thought round. In </span><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45000/remember-56d224509b7ae" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">this poem</a><span style="background-color: white;">, </span><span style="background-color: cyan;"><i><span style="color: blue;">Remember</span></i></span><span style="background-color: white;">, she finishes with: </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; text-indent: -1em;">Better by far you should forget and smile </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">Than that you should remember and be sad</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;">. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: -1em;">For me the clever thing about the poem is that these lines are the lost person's remaining love, because nobody would really choose to 'forget and smile'. Somehow this gap is what keeps the two, one living, one dead, still close.</span><span style="text-indent: -1em;"> </span> </blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDr_xmprcgdKaESjAnOB9pnpetks2XbduPBr4SosF3-teVgNTy72ewi6mekmV89mHo0-XkLLRqlYS9Z-pcLnT5f71PNf7UFv7KD25b3Vm7aHTyIytuy9-OHMjYeuQrD8jb7tAmoW0ebw03/s1600/anthology.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: -1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDr_xmprcgdKaESjAnOB9pnpetks2XbduPBr4SosF3-teVgNTy72ewi6mekmV89mHo0-XkLLRqlYS9Z-pcLnT5f71PNf7UFv7KD25b3Vm7aHTyIytuy9-OHMjYeuQrD8jb7tAmoW0ebw03/s640/anthology.jpg" width="480" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This beautiful anthology arranges its poems by mood and situation, so it's great if you want to choose a poem to put in a card. It has a section on 'True Love' and for me the definitive love poem is Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous <a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/how-do-i-love-thee-sonnet-43" target="_blank">sonnet</a> from <i><span style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">Sonnets from the Portuguese</span></span>. </i>It begins with a question: <span style="color: blue;">How do I love thee?</span> and answers it at the end: <span style="color: blue;">I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears of all my life!</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the tube, poems instead of adverts make a welcome change. They have to be short to fit in their little space and to be able to be quickly read. One that I love is Sheenagh Pugh's <i style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">Sometimes</span></i>. In this poem she looks at how things aren't always as bad as they seem. It's a very honest poem, because at the end there is a wish, almost a prayer, that even in the saddest of times eventually even this can 'melt'.</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wH2RVHbomyzVi3Pd3qaWz1VGCA_GTh9MfdSHnyF22uiRNQ7x5AbNjgIyTM4XxKgrJMAsGsgP-RywEtRjJFhYR4WwqvmKJ0kM5z7SmeXCle9PypUJeLhsNbhyl4H_uWMqa0VciDaHo3B5/s1600/winning+words.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8wH2RVHbomyzVi3Pd3qaWz1VGCA_GTh9MfdSHnyF22uiRNQ7x5AbNjgIyTM4XxKgrJMAsGsgP-RywEtRjJFhYR4WwqvmKJ0kM5z7SmeXCle9PypUJeLhsNbhyl4H_uWMqa0VciDaHo3B5/s640/winning+words.jpg" width="480" /></a></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is my newest anthology, a Christmas present a year or so ago. Many of my favourites are in here, but I'd like to finish with Marianne Moore's <i style="background-color: cyan;"><span style="color: blue;">I may, I might, I must</span></i>. This wee poem only has four lines. I'm trying not to breach copyright, and in a poem of only 27 words, I don't think I can quote any of them at all! But it's worth finding. I love this poem. The poet says that when she's been told that something is impossible, she will immediately look for ways to do it. But of course, I can't put it in other words without losing it. That's the whole magic of poems.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span>Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-28687518452644427712017-04-05T13:34:00.001+01:002017-04-05T21:36:53.221+01:00A response to: TAKE COURAGE Anne Bronte and The Art of Life by Samantha Ellis<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In January, I was excited to read a review
for Take Courage – Anne Bronte and the Art of Life in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/08/take-courage-anne-bronte-art-of-life-review" target="_blank">the Guardian</a>. I hadn’t
read a biography of Anne before and I decided that this book sounded like one I
would read more than once.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I used to ask myself which of the Bronte sisters’ work I loved the
most. I remember the first time I read all of their books. Jane Eyre was the
first – I read it on the train from Aberystwyth to London. The opening scene,
with Jane trying to hide in a corner with a book and then being brutalised by her aunt and cousin hooked me, and from then on I was with Jane all the way. </span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIxbi91BPlzoK_qkf5nkGE4ARCmNUxXSuX5_J2oaLucGLy29UESe9mC0V2Hz2cbwJhVHXuuoiQ7UFl3g4HFCFiEOohMZ-gveqnKNplo22ClI04Micb422jWuFw3YM6_mgaOHuOZIFvFJ1/s1600/jane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIxbi91BPlzoK_qkf5nkGE4ARCmNUxXSuX5_J2oaLucGLy29UESe9mC0V2Hz2cbwJhVHXuuoiQ7UFl3g4HFCFiEOohMZ-gveqnKNplo22ClI04Micb422jWuFw3YM6_mgaOHuOZIFvFJ1/s640/jane.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But then I read Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, written from the point of view of Bertha, Rochester's first wife. It was hard to think of Rochester in quite the same way, after that.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When
I came to Wuthering Heights, I started with the feeling that it couldn’t
possibly be as good. But I was wrong. I began reading at bedtime and stayed up
into the small hours to finish it.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrD7CBiFZ_4WH0Ijinx3sY4AiGONLHNUMMBfTzquWlB-dUfylp_C_kZVFisniyILfJy3r3jQfy-WFaHpN8F7G8C6hdI1fQzmqe_OKPdGHchdOB3Hw7esesYfBmTWV3_zMkvkSwHRppGbJ/s1600/Wuther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrD7CBiFZ_4WH0Ijinx3sY4AiGONLHNUMMBfTzquWlB-dUfylp_C_kZVFisniyILfJy3r3jQfy-WFaHpN8F7G8C6hdI1fQzmqe_OKPdGHchdOB3Hw7esesYfBmTWV3_zMkvkSwHRppGbJ/s640/Wuther.jpg" width="524" /></a></span></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For
a long time I thought of the Brontes as Emily and Charlotte. I think I had
absorbed the idea that Anne had also written but that her writing couldn’t
compare to Charlotte’s or Emily’s. Maybe I even mentioned this to my sister,
and she immediately said how wrong I was. Then she gave me a copy of The Tenant
of Wildfell Hall. </span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I remember the first time I read that, too. Straight away I
wanted to know more about the unconventional woman who lived all alone in part of a
deserted old house – what she was doing there and how she had come, with
her child, to be living this secretive life.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now
I had to wonder which of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three</i>
books was my favourite. And over the years, in spite of Jane Eyre’s passionate
longing for love, and Wuthering Heights’ wildness and beauty and its poignant
love story tucked away in the younger generation, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
grew in my mind. Helen (and through her, Anne) spoke from the book in a
timeless way. Like Jane and Emily, Helen is drawn to a Byronic hero. Like Jane,
she has fond hopes for his reform. But unlike Jane Eyre, the wedding takes
place part of the way through the book. The novel looks out and beyond. It’s
about what happens when romance and passion turn sour and marriage becomes
abusive. What can the wife do then, it asks, when she is her husband’s
property? It seemed to me that Anne was actually the most radical of the
sisters.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdcN6DyYimB7XilFYAgOoa22D1UsebSWTgyxzuzKBfJP6HbgMUPaK3XcnC8uroPLmMrS62zk_VDCYL08zdZn8bf_9-BxJmmuy4ISFpVvt8BIC0eyAhu3X1ERt76Z64vuT05B0icN7mDEm/s1600/tenant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdcN6DyYimB7XilFYAgOoa22D1UsebSWTgyxzuzKBfJP6HbgMUPaK3XcnC8uroPLmMrS62zk_VDCYL08zdZn8bf_9-BxJmmuy4ISFpVvt8BIC0eyAhu3X1ERt76Z64vuT05B0icN7mDEm/s640/tenant.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When
I read the review of Take Courage, I knew it would be a book I would want to
own in hardback. It’s a beautiful book, both as an object and for the way it’s
written. It’s a very personal response to Anne Bronte. Samantha Ellis constructs
the chapters through the people in Anne’s life. The last chapter is ‘Anne’ and
by the time I got there, I was crying. Anne died very soon after Emily and
Branwell, but by the time you reach this point, having been immersed in her
words, her ideas and above all her zest for life, it’s awful to imagine her
life cut short.</span></span> </blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Samantha
Ellis visited the places where Anne lived and she recounts them for the reader
with such immediacy that you feel as if you’ve been there yourself. I like her
defence of Anne. She sets out to discover just how Anne’s work has been so
neglected, and it’s a fascinating story. All the way through, I kept thinking
how nice it would be for Anne if she could have read this book written so many
years after her early death. I think she would have liked to know that her work
still speaks to people, and I hope that this is just the start of Anne taking
her true place.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Udo1YcBkS-EPOmGsSOgdhBPSKbDbBzXPoP7SWiD02oycPV-EWZ_DMcgL-ld4zMyFYOQPF4P7ZcMEdZ02MkjaX8ja3wrH1XQ7daxCC2KrGLuFsruMMyrPSwjnweGvRw6UQi8pZoWOhZF6/s1600/bronte+parsonage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Udo1YcBkS-EPOmGsSOgdhBPSKbDbBzXPoP7SWiD02oycPV-EWZ_DMcgL-ld4zMyFYOQPF4P7ZcMEdZ02MkjaX8ja3wrH1XQ7daxCC2KrGLuFsruMMyrPSwjnweGvRw6UQi8pZoWOhZF6/s640/bronte+parsonage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>Top Withens (possibly the inspiration for Wuthering Heights) taken in 1910 by my grandfather, Cecil George Waudby</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some
people say that Anne’s writing lacks the passion of Charlotte’s and Emily’s.
But I don’t think that’s true. I think she just goes further, asking what would
it really be like, to be married to someone like Heathcliffe, Rochester or
Huntingdon. Even in terms of religion, I think Anne went further. In Jane Eyre,
the parson accuses little Jane of being a liar, and asks her where liars go.
She replies: to hell. He asks her how she can avoid going there and she says,
by staying well and not dying. Of course, that is brave of Jane. But it’s still
only a short-term solution. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, when Helen starts
to wonder about her much-loved fiance’s goodness (or not), she searches through
the Bible to find proofs that nobody will go to hell in the end. I think this
is typical of Anne. Her character is not ready to accept what she’s told. In many ways, she is like a woman
of our own time.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Samantha
Ellis makes this point in Take Courage, suggesting that one of the reasons Anne
fell out of favour is because she was too shocking and radical for her age. But
not for ours! I’m glad Anne has found such a champion and I hope her two books and
her poetry find a renaissance.</span></span></blockquote>
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</style>Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-15590107291886496582016-12-17T21:53:00.001+00:002016-12-17T21:53:36.209+00:00Ten Christmases I love in children’s literature<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8WyU7iS2QH_xrNV61bGnxe_bLwczibLsmKY2LjQcvaitDUBTyaBMdYGcf39GfwqjargqntyrqyQuIj0PXAB2hi76TfEN7KSo-m5Nk01QD4TueoaC0K4oYJoAPYbx5MJTudXbRuqFDs4R/s1600/xoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8WyU7iS2QH_xrNV61bGnxe_bLwczibLsmKY2LjQcvaitDUBTyaBMdYGcf39GfwqjargqntyrqyQuIj0PXAB2hi76TfEN7KSo-m5Nk01QD4TueoaC0K4oYJoAPYbx5MJTudXbRuqFDs4R/s640/xoo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided to try and think of the
Christmases that leap into my mind when I think of the children’s books and
poems I grew up with or shared with my children. These are the ones I
thought of first – there are loads of others too.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott, opens
with Jo’s famous line: ‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents.’ Of
course, that first chapter then goes on to show how little the actual presents
matter after all. I got this book on my seventh birthday, and right away I
wanted to know these four sisters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">KING JOHN’S CHRISTMAS from NOW WE ARE SIX, by A.A. Milne, illustrated by E. H. Shepherd, became my favourite Christmas poem when I was six. Like Scrooge, King John is a bad man. So, obviously, he doesn’t deserve a Christmas present, even though he writes an ever-shrinking Christmas list, as it dawns on him that he has no friends or cards and has never given or received a Christmas present in his life. But, even though he’s the archetypal bad boy who Santa shouldn’t visit, this is how the poem ends:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My sister had a beautifully illustrated
book of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by that king of Christmas, Charles Dickens. One year
Dad read it to us on Christmas Eve. I was enchanted by this tale of a man in
the dark turning to the light. I’ve loved every film version I’ve seen since,
especially the Muppets’ Christmas Carol, which is so faithful to the original
(apart from the characters not all being human!). Although the final scene always
moves me, the one that stayed with me most is the image of little Scrooge alone
in his boarding school at Christmas, with only the characters from stories for
company. And when jaded old Scrooge sees this, it’s the friendship he felt for
these characters that awakens his capacity to love.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BALLET SHOES by Noel Streatfield, illustrated by Ruth Gervais, is another childhood favourite
of mine. I never did ballet, but I loved this story of three girls who have no
birth families, but find their own family with each other and a motley
collection of supportive adults. Always struggling to find enough money, their
Christmas is magical because of the simple things that don’t cost anything.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAJHGoXUrfD7tuhV5YHuBGa15SSGNjbEj4v-PKfn7VMt0LtbCnsxv0Zianai3qOLl7bVSY-Kd9x2Ey7pR3s_3UHJDLbsew3IbqIja9ScURsdM9RaNBceNrJ9zVPx2Ctny9LOkngqvtaw2/s1600/ballet+shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAJHGoXUrfD7tuhV5YHuBGa15SSGNjbEj4v-PKfn7VMt0LtbCnsxv0Zianai3qOLl7bVSY-Kd9x2Ey7pR3s_3UHJDLbsew3IbqIja9ScURsdM9RaNBceNrJ9zVPx2Ctny9LOkngqvtaw2/s640/ballet+shoes.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">That brings me to MILLY-MOLLY-MANDY, written
and illustrated by Joyce Lankester Brisley in the 1930s. These were
the most comforting bedtime stories when I was little. Not much happens but you
are in this calm and friendly village life with Milly-Molly-Mandy and her
friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The WILLIAM books by Richmal Crompton were
some of my favourite books when I was in the last year of primary school. It’s
nice to know that my dad read these same books when he was a child. I still
find them funny now because the stories are so completely from William’s point
of view and the writer is so strongly on his side. Christmas features in many
of the stories, but I especially like the scene from MORE WILLIAM, in which
William buys all his relatives presents he would like himself, knowing that
it’s only a matter of time before he can quietly get them back.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The HARRY POTTER books are ones which we
shared with our children. Christmas runs through them all, but for me the most
moving one is in HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE, when Harry has the
first happy Christmas he can remember. Like many other Christmas scenes, it
features a gift which is more than it appears – his father's invisibility cloak. This helps him in almost all his tasks, but most importantly of all it hides Harry as he walks to face Voldemort, meaning that he can make this most difficult journey alongside those he has loved and lost. It's not Harry's only gift, though. While Ron receives his mother's home-knitted jumper with resigned disdain, to Harry it represents a kind of
coming home.</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZb2lSnuyEfx6Jn-ZOmEkDYJ0W8by5MydU6aVfkJc34RoJKh9LYl0z1zDCiodcY-6pLHKPRaU2uoJHtrB7UpGTV7TkrU_suYgdjWcQsbkmy_LS8MD8B4D4rM2yB0C7wNrCMvFm9-QHex4E/s1600/harry+potter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZb2lSnuyEfx6Jn-ZOmEkDYJ0W8by5MydU6aVfkJc34RoJKh9LYl0z1zDCiodcY-6pLHKPRaU2uoJHtrB7UpGTV7TkrU_suYgdjWcQsbkmy_LS8MD8B4D4rM2yB0C7wNrCMvFm9-QHex4E/s640/harry+potter.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">FATHER CHRISTMAS, written and illustrated by Raymond Briggs is
another favourite. His version of Santa is a slightly grumpy, overworked but
kind man. He gets up on Christmas Eve and feeds the cat, dog and deer, still in
his dressing gown, in the snow. I love all the detailed illustrations of his
outside loo, butler sink and wooden draining board. His is not a glamorous life
and he lives very simply, but still he travels the world in horrible weather of
every kind to deliver his presents to everyone. One spread shows rain, sleet,
hail, ice – and poor Father Christmas hunched up in his sleigh. But at the end,
he and the deer, the dog and the cat are all tucked up in the warm.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsx04IhURQ-OBMkc9Kc3UJeja8H4usr3EdOzi8Ntd1dPTbH9uxRT7E2rav3_C5-zYm9M6qFB3E9TSewlRMsXl9_VOQlJ_L8YkodwZfcoLj3ox1AaJgDM_SO-HpCkF8LPsbWMZYVGDfQGk/s1600/father+christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrsx04IhURQ-OBMkc9Kc3UJeja8H4usr3EdOzi8Ntd1dPTbH9uxRT7E2rav3_C5-zYm9M6qFB3E9TSewlRMsXl9_VOQlJ_L8YkodwZfcoLj3ox1AaJgDM_SO-HpCkF8LPsbWMZYVGDfQGk/s640/father+christmas.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Our children loved all the JOLLY POSTMAN
books by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, especially THE JOLLY CHRISTMAS POSTMAN. He
delivers presents and cards to all the old favourites – the big bad wolf,
Humpty Dumpty, the gingerbread boy and the rest – and finally is given a gift
himself (a paper peep show) as well as a ride home in Santa’s sleigh. I used to
enjoy reading this story to my children on Christmas Eve.</span><span id="goog_1183626022"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHRTcVudtwjoRDOX5vrSfnkGCtG_HGWuH-MFcUwBUBudhQSUG5dIROcAIke0h6eFXUceey3vDDa711cuNDOwJ4wjU6ezCHzyf8or3znCJcAPlh5WDIcojMsMB7Fb3Cu_zkH0TT6VEkRc-/s1600/peep+show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHRTcVudtwjoRDOX5vrSfnkGCtG_HGWuH-MFcUwBUBudhQSUG5dIROcAIke0h6eFXUceey3vDDa711cuNDOwJ4wjU6ezCHzyf8or3znCJcAPlh5WDIcojMsMB7Fb3Cu_zkH0TT6VEkRc-/s640/peep+show.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I started this post with the presents from
LITTLE WOMEN so it seems fitting to finish with the presents from Narnia. The
first ‘chapter book’ I read on my own was THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
by C. S. Lewis. Father Christmas, coming from our world, doesn’t quite fit in
Narnia. But all the same, he turns up with his sleigh and reindeer to tell the
children and the beavers that the witch’s eternal winter with no Christmas is
breaking, and to give them each a gift. These really are special gifts – so
special that they feature in the following stories, giving the children the
power to fight evil and heal the harm it causes.</span></div>
Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-48177871046623190112016-07-25T13:42:00.000+01:002016-07-25T23:24:13.188+01:00Readers, libraries and awards<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In June, I was involved in three book awards - two as a shortlisted author and one as the visiting author who announced the winner.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When ONE OF US was published, I didn't even think about book prizes or awards. So finding out that it was shortlisted for the Lancashire Book of the Year award (LBOY) and the Bolton Children's Fiction Award was both amazing and very nice.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First up was LBOY, in Preston, for a two-day event. It's the 30th year of this award, which was the first to be entirely chosen by young people. I met David Lightfoot who had the initial idea for an award in which the judges are teenagers. He was Head of Library Services then and here he is with Julie Bell, current Head of Libraries, Museums, Culture and Registrar.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was impressed with how many hundreds of people come together each year with a shared love of reading. The University of Central Lancashire have supported the event for 15 years. </span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41JhAXsD-D4NEv4_GpnZvjxaMSrJ0BzAXwcJLwHRNHH18ApVoFtLZoWg8pVfzn-LgWGAXXwWYd9UJwHBcuQi4-ax-v0XAhssde3iXS1FVAaLu3kNnkyzoIx__IVKKOzu7FFaadHNGxPQU/s1600/Julie+hitchin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41JhAXsD-D4NEv4_GpnZvjxaMSrJ0BzAXwcJLwHRNHH18ApVoFtLZoWg8pVfzn-LgWGAXXwWYd9UJwHBcuQi4-ax-v0XAhssde3iXS1FVAaLu3kNnkyzoIx__IVKKOzu7FFaadHNGxPQU/s640/Julie+hitchin.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie Hitchin of UCLAN</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think it's wonderful that a university puts so much into an event centred around young people's experience of YA books.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I met so many people involved with the event - librarians, including Jill Connelly who organised the event from September 2015 to June 2016, councillors, teachers, bloggers, booksellers, parents and most importantly the young judges, who spoke with such eloquence and inspired me to read 'outside my comfort zone'.</span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZctLDa9xmdci35DQKhJFshPqMojEKRX3IQRYPXCq6GL94YoK1aTS2VbA6zFUm-dCebxfgyAK63EeJxbDXX4rCUZiHn-g46a8fBSlmNxvtsZP8Bso9OBgsX7zkHx6F1MH96TAkgv0vu7mD/s1600/with+jill+connelly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZctLDa9xmdci35DQKhJFshPqMojEKRX3IQRYPXCq6GL94YoK1aTS2VbA6zFUm-dCebxfgyAK63EeJxbDXX4rCUZiHn-g46a8fBSlmNxvtsZP8Bso9OBgsX7zkHx6F1MH96TAkgv0vu7mD/s640/with+jill+connelly.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Jill Connelly, Reading and Learning Manager</td></tr>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At a time when libraries are being closed across the country, it was both inspiring and heartbreaking to be part of something in which so many people of different ages come together in a shared passion for books. I couldn't help wondering if thirty years ago anyone would have believed that libraries would be lost all over the country. I think thirty years ago they felt like something that was part of the fabric of British society.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFLVmPNRDEiNncwzURRAxUqXKpPqacSFt8puLmkJOpj4hyxc7WLa-7bg7qcMmWsYofWRv4aRFf8cW2DZgsL5-B-jCSa5c0Cmi-nZwae1biKXQNeziGGXGpJGEl_lrPgwN7feuE3SethPh/s1600/lboy+judges.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFLVmPNRDEiNncwzURRAxUqXKpPqacSFt8puLmkJOpj4hyxc7WLa-7bg7qcMmWsYofWRv4aRFf8cW2DZgsL5-B-jCSa5c0Cmi-nZwae1biKXQNeziGGXGpJGEl_lrPgwN7feuE3SethPh/s640/lboy+judges.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The thing about this award that really blew me away was the young people who took part in the event. At the award ceremony, each of the judges (all from year 9) stood up and spoke about what they had got from the experience. I met one boy who read over 60 books! Their passion for reading was inspiring and so was their self-assurance and confidence - it was a very imposing room! This year's winner was Holly Bourne for <a href="http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/book/1~FY~FYCA~9231/am-i-normal-yet.aspx" target="_blank">Am I Normal Yet?</a> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It was also great fun to meet the other authors.</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiQLIcOUn-uOeborX8MwKBjInb3l3XA6OhYEcYfH59hZwymBDJ-Mvkds6IRHeTZdb5hCqLGZquy_wOAVIXQzxondSFNgKntuF_CYmqZU94PFlyStLUZZUWlWZuJYwd5qTnrKLENzu3kGn/s1600/lboy+authors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiQLIcOUn-uOeborX8MwKBjInb3l3XA6OhYEcYfH59hZwymBDJ-Mvkds6IRHeTZdb5hCqLGZquy_wOAVIXQzxondSFNgKntuF_CYmqZU94PFlyStLUZZUWlWZuJYwd5qTnrKLENzu3kGn/s640/lboy+authors.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shortlisted authors at LBOY</td></tr>
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</span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">Like LBOY, the
Ealing Readers’ Award is chosen completely by young people, this year from 8 high schools in Ealing. It was lovely to be in a room with Ealing
schools and I felt very at home because I went to school in Ealing myself from
14 on and I taught in an Ealing school when I first started teaching English.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hbbgbpud5mxc7wy9Yw2mffsO7TFVCoCfBsBICAr0T6PI08cIdaHoTwXlOwePsYEzqt7FKl2dYYw-R6UGpkyrbRz7lyvmWEPoW9qGX9a5s1gEyFSgchVN3MGSh60-1tncshumuQJH5qTn/s1600/students+ealing+readers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hbbgbpud5mxc7wy9Yw2mffsO7TFVCoCfBsBICAr0T6PI08cIdaHoTwXlOwePsYEzqt7FKl2dYYw-R6UGpkyrbRz7lyvmWEPoW9qGX9a5s1gEyFSgchVN3MGSh60-1tncshumuQJH5qTn/s640/students+ealing+readers.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">You can see what a happy and fun event it was. Each group put on
a presentation of their chosen book and these were very funny with some great
props and excellent acting. Here students from Acton High School psych themselves up for their presentation on Holly Smale's Geek Girl.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Bg4qku1fgzsY7pVJAJOGA4UsUSLw7AxIc7_SfHvf67MXbouDlcGkexg4tRkPjmPPVCPgSeiAR4UDAxIrPJqF1OlZoAKKwU6i-lW5rn09zxU4dvO0ErCAdDhAsdes2qXDubgwxet9ZHEy/s1600/acton+high+school+pupils+geek+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Bg4qku1fgzsY7pVJAJOGA4UsUSLw7AxIc7_SfHvf67MXbouDlcGkexg4tRkPjmPPVCPgSeiAR4UDAxIrPJqF1OlZoAKKwU6i-lW5rn09zxU4dvO0ErCAdDhAsdes2qXDubgwxet9ZHEy/s640/acton+high+school+pupils+geek+girl.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">When I was at school, going to the library was a solitary activity. I
would have loved the chance to be part of a book club, spend time with people
who also passionately loved reading and be able to choose the winner of a prize. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Lots of the students mentioned that they wouldn't have chosen the book themselves, but having read it, found lots to enjoy. The winner of the Ealing Readers' Award was <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/280396/girl-online-on-tour/" target="_blank">Girl Online on Tour by Zoe Sugg</a> and the joint winners for the presentation were Greenford High School and Cardinal Wiseman. You can read about it in posts by <a href="http://www.brentsidehigh.ealing.sch.uk/95/latest-news/article/153/grand-final-of-the-ealing-readers-award" target="_blank">Brentside</a>, <a href="http://www.draytonmanorhighschool.co.uk/Ealing-Readers-Award-1" target="_blank">Drayton Manor</a> and <a href="http://www.actonhighschool.co.uk/2016-Summer-Reading-Festival" target="_blank">Acton High School</a>. I've always wanted to be the person who gets to say: 'And the winner is...', and this was my chance!</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4l6sJUDR8CemR7S67EasW8PHRhwMp3xOOpwox77OQRCy6kyZw_MEnlgLg4Vmf3xkSqtulkS0Nek2GxueiMu0mpRnfJFbMvpw8hQW1uHGXYhvAc6DyByZpdtnDszcTT2Ub1Aoqp3WB5Inn/s1600/bolton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4l6sJUDR8CemR7S67EasW8PHRhwMp3xOOpwox77OQRCy6kyZw_MEnlgLg4Vmf3xkSqtulkS0Nek2GxueiMu0mpRnfJFbMvpw8hQW1uHGXYhvAc6DyByZpdtnDszcTT2Ub1Aoqp3WB5Inn/s640/bolton.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The winner of the Bolton Children's Fiction Award is also chosen by teenagers. This year it was won by <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thirteen-Hours-Narinder-Dhami/dp/1848531168" target="_blank">Narinder Dhami for 13 Hours</a> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">I read the shortlist as there were only 6 of us and it was a real treat.
I feel proud to be part of such a great line-up.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";"> The event was organised by the Library at Bolton School and held there with students from other local schools. We were made very welcome and all thought it looked like Hogwarts. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Many
of the young judges had read all six books and they had special bookmarks to tick off as they read. They queued up with their stacks of books and it was really lovely to meet readers.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucEVme7sG9Bl6T-m8S7hGvCEeAtR-umm5dBuCymGGu1_ZHkwWY43v-QuTaXZYWq5f4U7OTTr5NPEmxMiG99Ff6W5iPsOwPgyqXlr5MQrNQ8BktEm6idSg_1Pd2RQnQYu07weNN4XdwWF-/s1600/book+signing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucEVme7sG9Bl6T-m8S7hGvCEeAtR-umm5dBuCymGGu1_ZHkwWY43v-QuTaXZYWq5f4U7OTTr5NPEmxMiG99Ff6W5iPsOwPgyqXlr5MQrNQ8BktEm6idSg_1Pd2RQnQYu07weNN4XdwWF-/s640/book+signing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some pupils (from St James C of E High School) made
trailers for each of the books. These were amazing, not only gripping but also
showing such engagement with each book. I loved mine because it captured the
feeling I wanted to come across in the book. I particularly liked the crumpled,
scribbled-on paper they used as this showed in such a visual way what K’s life
is like at the start of the story.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2qHJEOcgGj_d4lPDKHfqwY90ndBGAjywDSbRE_KvvmR4KvI2o1VraWOGog0V8cBMFL-kN6xgajR6AiUfJSQhHRuFgomqeodPkJhOcOAQhlifro3o__aXUDAa1D-gL_LVqiuilrifpsJQ/s1600/trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2qHJEOcgGj_d4lPDKHfqwY90ndBGAjywDSbRE_KvvmR4KvI2o1VraWOGog0V8cBMFL-kN6xgajR6AiUfJSQhHRuFgomqeodPkJhOcOAQhlifro3o__aXUDAa1D-gL_LVqiuilrifpsJQ/s640/trailer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">The highlight for
me was once again meeting the young people. Some of them told me what they
liked about ONE OF US and that was the most exciting thing. There are moments
when it’s very tough finishing a novel, times when it isn’t going well and you
can feel plagued by doubt. The thing that made me finish this book was the
thought that my characters K, Greg, Oskar, Celestina and the others, could only
really ‘live’ if young people read their story. So to know that that has
happened, but even more to meet those readers is really something I will never
forget. I can’t imagine this ever feeling ordinary, however many books I
write.</span></blockquote>
Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-27404928267810323502016-06-15T22:05:00.000+01:002016-06-16T15:49:50.411+01:00Notes from Canvey Island<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've been meaning to go to Canvey Island for ages and yesterday I finally went! I've set a section from the middle of my current novel there, but I decided I couldn't do that without actually seeing it in real life. I love visiting places as research - somehow even the journey feels like an adventure, and it makes the story almost cross over into reality. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I put Canvey Island in my book because it's one of the nearest places to London where you can see the ocean.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTTVjU14JCYUobuUSb4oIE7Lzs6AN_jQAqdVHs_WYtYJzmxMX6Q8Ym5Sa1ZrmyslhiLuMBphv0zgEcwrqyqj6Zf4vu-_Yq06xVxZaejyvHblkAIHyimw6QoHgNbfaPcdw2BWRRijllPrh/s1600/the+ocean.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTTVjU14JCYUobuUSb4oIE7Lzs6AN_jQAqdVHs_WYtYJzmxMX6Q8Ym5Sa1ZrmyslhiLuMBphv0zgEcwrqyqj6Zf4vu-_Yq06xVxZaejyvHblkAIHyimw6QoHgNbfaPcdw2BWRRijllPrh/s640/the+ocean.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And there it was, in the far distance between Essex and Kent, under a sky just waiting to pour down. That's when I realised that I must have seen this bit of coast before. My first ever sight of Britain would have been here, from </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a P&O liner called the </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chu San. I was only three so</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I can't remember seeing the Thames estuary narrow into the river that leads to London, but it was nice to think I'd been here before, only in the sea rather than on the land. As I walked along the seawall, taking photos and working out where various things could happen in my story, it started to rain torrentially and I got so wet that my jeans were dripping. But that was good, because it rains the whole time my protagonist, Logan, is there. In the moments between showers, there was something beautiful about the light and the huge expanse of sky.</span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other thing I loved was watching the ships, boats and sailing boats passing to and from London. Some of them were so near that I could hear the rumble of the engines. I could look at them for hours, and other people obviously do this too because even in the worst of the wind and rain I met people cycling and walking along the sea wall or sitting in the shelters watching the boats.</span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After getting so wet (including my notebook and the inside of my bag), I decided to write up my notes inside the Labworth cafe, a 30s' building that looks like a ship and serves delicious apple pie and piping hot tea. Was it worth it? I asked myself. Will my book be better because I came here? I think it will - even if these scenes change beyond recognition. Because I spent the day walking round Canvey Island in Logan's shoes, his story came alive for me in a different way.</span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I found it inspiring to go somewhere new. I'd like to go there again. There is an interesting mural about the flood of 1953, memorial benches under the sea wall, and palm trees dotted alongside the beach:</span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And there's also this!</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-9959685450744081352016-03-03T20:08:00.001+00:002016-03-03T20:08:53.143+00:00World Book Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXG1EunDS6CteRlXJUe0eCZGZo89Fm0PlRYDnVIxdA-oTMD9nG5Cevr_QvA-NliKVIWuDSbyScim0awbh4SYaus8zrdCQkn6-zx9cLm8vU1UeOBBtlPfDZl4jita3ZprjzAPJvf8LaJVe/s1600/HVS.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaXG1EunDS6CteRlXJUe0eCZGZo89Fm0PlRYDnVIxdA-oTMD9nG5Cevr_QvA-NliKVIWuDSbyScim0awbh4SYaus8zrdCQkn6-zx9cLm8vU1UeOBBtlPfDZl4jita3ZprjzAPJvf8LaJVe/s640/HVS.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I had a lovely day today at the friendly and welcoming Hoe Valley School in Woking for World Book Day.<br />
It was great to read some of the students' fabulous stories and chat over lunch with them.<br />
I really enjoyed hearing the interesting ideas they came up with in a very short time.Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-56573542544524377602016-02-29T20:43:00.000+00:002016-02-29T20:43:36.446+00:00Open doors<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you look at this picture of my local library, what do you see?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9Y1Dzs85g43q9Rqmp-XUBu0HvZStHLI5h7ZKT39BGubnLWXuOaAV_NxsD28in92PAtBZM9g3rEupJNTCsO64PiH0d6cwLDE2_KtNmtQEWjlC4PLWiPM0POOYztvCUH6xJ8wT7jFok6Dp/s1600/gtown+library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9Y1Dzs85g43q9Rqmp-XUBu0HvZStHLI5h7ZKT39BGubnLWXuOaAV_NxsD28in92PAtBZM9g3rEupJNTCsO64PiH0d6cwLDE2_KtNmtQEWjlC4PLWiPM0POOYztvCUH6xJ8wT7jFok6Dp/s640/gtown+library.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been thinking about libraries a lot recently. These days, every week there seems to be another group of libraries closing somewhere in the UK. I've always thought of libraries as a constant - just there, full of books. But now I feel that libraries are like a precious endangered species.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I joined a library for the first time aged three. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My family were ‘home’ on leave from Hong
Kong where we lived (home to me) and my dad, who used to be a librarian, took us
our local London library. On the way, as we crossed the railway footbridge, he
explained that we could take home any book we wanted without having to buy it.
I chose Thumbelina because it had a beautiful yellow cover, and that was my
first encounter with Hans Christian Anderson’s haunting fairy tales. Somehow the
book’s temporary status made it all the more precious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back
in Hong Kong, joining the public library was a much more serious business. We had
to have photos done, and then go on the tram to an official building where we
were issued with library tickets. After that, every Friday before catching the
boat back to the island where we lived, we went to the public library. It was
enormous, with whole floors of children's books in Cantonese and English . Any book was mine for the
taking. I remember the joy of running back to Queen’s Pier with my haul of books
weighing down my bag – the heavier the better.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later
there was the high school library too and before my last summer in Hong Kong,
aged thirteen, I went there to take out my holiday books, among them ‘A Long
Way from Verona’ by Jane Gardam and ‘The River’ by Rumer Godden, books that
perfectly captured how it felt to be almost grown up. Jane Gardam’s heroine
Jessica wanted to be a writer and made it seem possible for me. Like me, Rumer
Godden’s heroine Harriet (also a writer) was growing up far from her parents’
home. Because of these two books, the hours I spent in the cool of the verandah
scribbling down my novel in a blue notebook seemed like time well spent.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For
me the special thing about libraries is the openness of experience they offer.
Nobody chooses your library book for you. It can never be too expensive. You
can have the hardback edition, in its plastic cover, and it’s yours for as long
as you need it. However many books you have or don’t have at home, at the
library they all belong to you.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I look at that picture of my local library, I see an open door. I hope it stays that way.</span></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-49969299660170982232016-02-07T22:45:00.000+00:002016-02-08T22:59:31.543+00:00Fellow travellers<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last week was special for me. On Monday my
friend Kathryn Evans celebrated the launch of her debut novel <a href="https://mrsbung.wordpress.com/more-of-me/" target="_blank">MORE OF ME</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We’ve
been in the same online critique group (SCBWI YACritique) for years and during
this time we have all watched each others’ stories grow, helped each other
through the difficult times and even met up when possible – very special when
the furthest away member of the group is based in South Africa. In between, we
stay in touch by skype and email. I’ve enjoyed many wonderful book launches,
but Kathy’s was special for me because this is the first time I’ve been to the
launch of a book I followed from its beginning.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Writing is generally a solitary thing –
even if you write in a café, once you start it’s just you and the laptop/notebook/pen.
So to have travelling companions on this journey is very precious, and it’s not
surprising that they become friends as well as writing partners. I also belong
to a face-to-face critique group and again we have supported each other over
the years and kept each other going, becoming friends in the process. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also found out last week
that ONE OF US is on the longlist for the <a href="http://www.branfordboaseaward.org.uk/BBA_Current/BBA_Long_List.html" target="_blank">Branford Boase Award</a>. This is really
thrilling for me because the award recognizes the joint work of editor and
author. I learnt so much from my editors Rachel Leyshon and Imogen Cooper. From
my perspective as the writer, I felt that they could take a bird’s eye view,
finding aspects of the story that I had been too close to see. The things I
learnt from them have stayed with me and when I’m writing now I sometimes get
little reminders in my head of things to look out for. In the metamorphosis
from manuscript to book, editors and authors are also fellow travellers.</span></span><!--EndFragment-->
Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-55334946446393816622015-11-25T13:42:00.000+00:002016-02-07T14:37:14.952+00:00Ten things I love about the SCBWI Conference<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk-naAdtKOBbSWhe5JQBd9sObSYfT2EqotFfmKhEG0b2gqZ9ZZ42fRxnoRmAMsS1KdLjgTrxFYt5auTtOTr7h1iBRnt_UoVUqF_sZ1TQdt_pMhXjusLh8oXRDHQFCz7eGTI4VWxm8VblZ/s1600/conference+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGk-naAdtKOBbSWhe5JQBd9sObSYfT2EqotFfmKhEG0b2gqZ9ZZ42fRxnoRmAMsS1KdLjgTrxFYt5auTtOTr7h1iBRnt_UoVUqF_sZ1TQdt_pMhXjusLh8oXRDHQFCz7eGTI4VWxm8VblZ/s640/conference+photo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Candy Gourlay for photo! <a href="http://candygourlay.com/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.36px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">candygourlay.com</a><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #373e4d; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15.36px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<ol>
<li>The people. I've been going each November for some years now and I have friends who I look forward to spending time with there each year.</li>
<li>The generosity. The conference is planned and run by volunteers. And there's also a generosity of spirit in the way in which people share ideas and experience.</li>
<li>The new ideas I come away with. It's always inspiring because of the talks and workshops but also the ideas which somehow spin off and stay with me.</li>
<li>The inspiration. It is fascinating to hear about other people's journeys. One of the nice, and maybe unusual, things about this conference is that it reflects writers and illustrators at all different stages. </li>
<li>The support. Writing can feel solitary so it is is lovely to be with so many people having the same experience.
</li>
<li>Sharing success. Every year there is a Mass Book Launch Party and this year One of Us was part of it.</li>
<li>The cake. As well as featuring all the SCBWI members' books published this year, it also tasted very nice.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7iYWuuTouXnf0mfJ_euYNloqNZOY-aj-CnZUSD7y3dIdruM5f4562TlGqckNJpZIpI5g299-7texQf0NXWqIkApWQmxdhRLfej5J56D-LMTKVttAmJ5QgNBUMycuAOSSbL2VpEM8uM7A6/s1600/cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7iYWuuTouXnf0mfJ_euYNloqNZOY-aj-CnZUSD7y3dIdruM5f4562TlGqckNJpZIpI5g299-7texQf0NXWqIkApWQmxdhRLfej5J56D-LMTKVttAmJ5QgNBUMycuAOSSbL2VpEM8uM7A6/s640/cake.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
The place. I love Winchester. Its glorious architecture forms the perfect backdrop to the weekend. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Thanks to P Tolley for photo.</span></div>
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<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The Friday fringe. This year I had fun on the sketch-crawl and at the Critique Meet - a great opportunity to have your work critiqued by people coming to it with fresh eyes.</div>
</li>
<li>The fact that it will happen again next year! </li>
</ol>
Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-84399044237558530342015-11-16T19:13:00.003+00:002015-11-17T11:15:58.357+00:00Researching a novel.It’s fun researching a novel. I once spent an interesting morning on my birthday talking to a historian in my local library about the battle of Culloden, its causes and aftermath.<br />
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<a href="http://bodley19.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ilej/images/gm/gm1747/000001-r.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://bodley19.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ilej/images/gm/gm1747/000001-r.gif" height="320" width="183" /></a></div>
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He found me some bound copies of an 18<sup>th</sup>
century magazine - 'Gentleman's Magazine' - and it was shocking to
read the language used to describe Highlanders. (Now those magazines are all online.) Although the research was fascinating, I haven’t actually written the
book it was for, though…</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Another fun afternoon involved going to the
St Bride Foundation in London, looking at the printing presses and re-familiarising
myself with how they work. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSZguUU_rwHiKEA9lgX_h7efqxS9nWl7iADH7B3fsK1kF8EZP5WoxxGXg7CgwRaNPwHMc6SAUsm-twNYr23toJWZ1cv3HaSBMt4evkXANDP3Simj_DMEZ5kMUi4ZUlrb4IceE8aG7WNzT/s1600/printing+press.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSZguUU_rwHiKEA9lgX_h7efqxS9nWl7iADH7B3fsK1kF8EZP5WoxxGXg7CgwRaNPwHMc6SAUsm-twNYr23toJWZ1cv3HaSBMt4evkXANDP3Simj_DMEZ5kMUi4ZUlrb4IceE8aG7WNzT/s320/printing+press.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I worked in a printing press years ago, setting type
by hand, so it was strange to hold the stick and set a sentence again. I’d
thought my hand would remember where to find all the letters, upper and lower
case, but after all these years I had to look at the guide. That book is second
on my list to finish. I still need to make a fun research trip to a stately home to
check out a staircase. It’s almost a guilty pleasure because the link between
the research and the actual finished book is sometimes quite tenuous.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcdlz4BsjqsQ4cHuqfER9jvLqF7e07YWTvwpp4JQoAs_zxaXz0BsLQeL1oBwtiU_ikHhxS1JcwVtAtbPX29uh2TIL0GGxjbFSGyOKqIL4dKKj5PB1KtPYwJZoA9XiCvxz20AVFguCSnE_/s1600/stick.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcdlz4BsjqsQ4cHuqfER9jvLqF7e07YWTvwpp4JQoAs_zxaXz0BsLQeL1oBwtiU_ikHhxS1JcwVtAtbPX29uh2TIL0GGxjbFSGyOKqIL4dKKj5PB1KtPYwJZoA9XiCvxz20AVFguCSnE_/s320/stick.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
That’s why I almost think that the real
research isn’t planned at all. It springs from life, creeping up on you
unawares and sneaking its way into your story. I read a great blog post by
Kathryn Evans recently, about voice. I was really struck by what she said:</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #ffd966;">“I
think the spark in your story is <i>you</i>. Your voice is <i>your</i> <i>voice</i>.”</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span>You can read
the whole post <a href="http://www.notesfromtheslushpile.com/2015/09/frankenwriter-how-to-bring-your.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It made me think about finding the truth in your story and
how it has to be your truth, something from deep inside you that finds its way
out.</blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US">My research for the book I’m writing now
never felt like research at all. It began years ago. I was on an aeroplane on
the way to Scotland, leaving Heathrow. It was an especially sunny, clear day
and I was by the window. The plane looped round over west London and I suddenly
realised that I could see the Wembley arch. Then it was easy to find the
running track in my local park, red against green. From there I traced the path
where I walk my dog, and even the roof and garden of my house. But the thing
that really struck me was all the green. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Where I live is busy and built-up –
main roads, industrial estates, trains and tubes. You can always hear sirens
and traffic. And yet all around, seen from the sky, are huge areas of green. So I started
looking for them on my bike. Now I love to find an off-road route to somewhere
I need to go. It feels amazing to think that I’m still in London, yet cycling
along a peaceful canal. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtJyYN3zMZCVRIYMwt82MHRTSpkW7ODH0OK8qDrCWDW4Hwy62zwSMKPH8yPIrispSCoSdhej06-QkpovFhIa37fR5FDVFVmcrUC8TdLmQben46655j3W_4LZ8WkBQFWFZCOI-2w7qshnx/s1600/canal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtJyYN3zMZCVRIYMwt82MHRTSpkW7ODH0OK8qDrCWDW4Hwy62zwSMKPH8yPIrispSCoSdhej06-QkpovFhIa37fR5FDVFVmcrUC8TdLmQben46655j3W_4LZ8WkBQFWFZCOI-2w7qshnx/s640/canal.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It wasn’t meant to be research, but the
canals and footpaths, golf courses and allotments have nudged their way into my
story. Of course now that I know that, I can plan a fun day’s research cycling
all the way to Paddington along the canal.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It’s not exactly essential research, but I’m
really looking forward to it.</span></div>
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Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-67716227387474431582015-07-02T23:02:00.002+01:002016-01-31T18:34:39.390+00:00<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the things I have enjoyed most this year has been going into schools for author visits and creative writing workshops. I love the way that young people are so creative and ready to try something new.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently I had the chance to take part in Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School's library exhibition, EXEGESIS.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Contributers selected a passage</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> from their favourite book and each</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> book has its own display, with</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> contributions from staff and students.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> You can read about it <a href="http://www.wiseman.ealing.sch.uk/page/?title=Exegesis&pid=219" target="_blank">here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> The exhibition has been so</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> popular that it's been extended</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> until Friday June 19th.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's always difficult to choose just one favourite book, but whenever I try, the book that pops into my head first is Amy Tan's THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES. I love its fusion of Chinese and American culture and the stories from the past that weave through the modern-day story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The passage I chose is quite short, so I'll include it here.</span><br />
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</i></span><br />
<div style="background-color: #fff48a; color: black; margin-bottom: 30px; overflow: hidden; padding: 30px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">From THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">chapter 24</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">:</span><br />
<i><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></i>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think Kwan intended to show me the world is not a place but the vastness of the soul. And the soul is nothing more than love, limitless, endless, all that moves us toward knowing what is true. I once thought love was supposed to be nothing but bliss. I now know it is also worry and grief, hope and trust. And believing in ghosts – that’s believing that love never dies. If people we love die, then they are lost only to our ordinary senses. If we remember, we can find them anytime with our hundred secret senses. </span></b></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is one of my favourite books. I tried to choose a passage that doesn’t give anything away, because it’s a story with exciting twists. I grew up in Hong Kong and my parents are from England and Scotland, and Olivia, the heroine of THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES, has an American mum and a Chinese dad. The book has lots of resonances for me in the mingling of the two cultures. This passage is from the end of the story. I love this way of looking at love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The exhibition also includes a response to THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES by a student, Aoife Mac Elhatton, who writes movingly on Diaspora and cultural inheritance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A week before the exhibition, I joined the Library Group for a workshop to create a patchwork of pictures representing each of our special books. Everyone used different materials and as we shared the glue, scissors and coloured paper we chatted about books - lovely! The Library Group members all came with an idea in their head and I couldn't believe how quickly they worked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was great to go back the next week and see the exhibition as a whole, entering through the Narnian wardrobe door.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">Inside, there are displays about new books as </span>well as classics like ALICE IN WONDERLAND and BLACK BEAUTY</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and beautiful artwork by the students, including these stunning woodcuts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are in Greenford before it closes, it's a lovely exhibition. <a href="http://www.wiseman.ealing.sch.uk/page/?title=Exegesis&pid=219" target="_blank">Here </a> is the link again.</span></div>
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Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-47063865755399756922015-03-20T21:27:00.001+00:002015-04-05T11:57:01.308+01:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The UKYA egg hunt is finished now! It was a great opportunity to win lots of signed YA books by great UK writers. My contribution to the prize is a signed copy of ONE OF US. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teri Terry kindly hosted me on her blog. I'd like to say that my post didn't go live due to a technical hitch, but it was because I scheduled it (feeling quite pleased with myself as running a website is new to me) for the right time ... in America!</span></div>
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Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-354513087295011942015-03-01T23:05:00.002+00:002015-11-16T11:15:47.514+00:00My first school visits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">Last week I did my first author school visits for ONE OF US at three London schools – St Cecelia’s in Southfields and The Charter School in Dulwich on Thursday and Bishop Ramsey in Ruislip on Friday.</span></div>
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Talking about plotting in The Charter School library</h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I really enjoyed all three visits and was
made very welcome by the Library staff and Pea Green Boat Books who took
me between the schools </span>on Thursday, and by the English Department at Bishop Ramsey on Friday.</span></div>
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At The Charter School</h4>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The thing that really struck me was how
creative and engaged the students were. We had a short activity writing first
lines and they came up with some great ideas – in just three minutes. It was
also nice to finally come across a few other people who read books in the wrong
order! And to spend time in school libraries which are so vibrant, well-used
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<span lang="EN-US"> Broxbourne School</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">Yesterday I had a great day at </span>Broxbourne School with Hoddesdon
Bookshop. Here the emphasis was on creative writing and I was struck by how strong the students' story ideas and first lines were. One story was so scary that it gave everyone a collective shiver! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At lunch time, the Library group spread out a feast which they had brought in themselves, and we sat round a big table eating and talking about the books they love and their own writing - lovely!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My first four school events have been interesting and fun. All the schools were very welcoming and I value being able to spend time talking with teenagers about books and writing. </span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-12951263170903640062015-02-05T23:03:00.000+00:002015-03-08T15:28:38.596+00:00One of Us book launch<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday was my book launch at Daunt Books, Holland Park. It was a lovely experience because it was amazing to see so many friends together in one shop. I wish I could have had more time to spend with people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arriving at the bookshop and seeing the window full of my books was a fairly unbelievable and amazing moment. The only thing I can really compare it to was when I went to work in China, looking out of the aeroplane window and seeing the Great Wall winding its way over the hills below, thinking: I knew it existed but I can't believe I'm actually looking at it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used to plan my book launch years before I had a publishing deal. It was my go-to way of distracting myself from things I didn't want to think about. So I've had imaginary book launches all over London, but I can definitely say that the real one was by far the best. Daunt Books was lovely with its friendly staff who made us feel very welcome. The shop is beautiful with wooden bookshelves, lovingly arranged books and so much colour.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Photo by Candy Gourlay www.candygourlay.com</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writing is a mostly solitary activity, but before the last edit for One of Us, we had an editorial meeting at Chicken House with Barry Cunningham, Imogen Cooper, Rachel Hickman and Rachel Leyshon. So it was lovely that Barry, Imogen and Rachel Hickman were there last night, and I also felt very lucky to have experienced working with two editors, first Imogen and then Rachel Leyshon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd like to thank everyone who came, and everyone who couldn't come but sent such lovely messages. It was something I'll always remember, to see family, old friends (from when we were 3!), school friends, friends from university, Greenford friends, friends from work, SCBWI friends and friends from my two critique groups (online and real life).</span><br />
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<br />Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-60216555798172002272015-01-12T23:28:00.002+00:002015-03-06T19:32:19.477+00:00Interview about ONE OF US with Claire BoldersonHere is an interview about my book:<br />
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<br />Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-841942715652595701.post-41589679162148885082014-12-22T11:09:00.006+00:002015-03-06T19:32:26.559+00:00ONE OF US TrailerWelcome to my new website! My book ONE OF US is coming out in February 2015 and this is the trailer.<br />
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Jeanniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18153826649245862065noreply@blogger.com0