Tampilkan postingan dengan label Omnibus. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Omnibus. Tampilkan semua postingan

Minggu, 02 Maret 2008

... well not Monster-blood Tattoo anyway. The top dog in the Childrens' Literature section of the 2008 Festival Awards for Literature was actually (the roll of drums - or "flams and parradiddles" as Craumpalin would call them):

Don't Call Me Ishmael by Michael Bauer, published by Omnibus Books (my own publisher BTW)

CONGRATULATIONS!

Worthy worthy worthy.

It is a funny feeling when another gets the prize; certainly no bitterness or rage or any such thing, just a honest yet muted disappointment overborne by delight a/ just to have been shortlisted & b/ that someone has one - everyone likes a winner - in this case a someone I very much admire.

Truly it is just amazing to me that a 'fantasy' book (I used the term loosely) was even allowed to inhabit the shortlist of a literary prize, that not just you and I believe that the genre does not only have to be thin and/or derivative but can be done to a higher level.

It also struck me recently that it is a most Providential thing that I am a part of the YA scene where eyes and minds are wide open and hearts ready to receive what ever innovations authors care to cunjour. I do not think ol' MBT might have received quite the same attention had it been released through the more usual adult channels. How things can work out, even from the depths I found myself in during 2003 still amaze me. Halelujah! All those years of fuddling about with book after book of obscure little ideas only a very few understood, like some nerdy Jekyll suddenly, with the insight of one woman (Dyan Blacklock, Omnibis Books) I am propelled to bigger better things.

So to all of you, fellow Jekyll fuddlers, fuddle on - who knows where it will take us!

Selasa, 05 Februari 2008

A slight revamp of ol' Monster Blog Tattoo - as you can well see. What might have occasioned this you are probably NOT asking. Well, partly it is because I am a restless soul, but also I thought I might have a little graphical celebration at some good news.

Out of nowhere I recently learnt that MBT Book 1: Foundling has been short-listed for the 2008 Festival Awards for Literature (winner to be announced at Adelaide Writers’ Week in March). Huzzah!

Other titles in the Childrens Literature Shortlist include (from a total of 212 entries):
  • Home by Narelle Oliver (Omnibus Books)
  • Don’t Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer (Omnibus Books)
  • Macbeth and Son by Jackie French (Angus & Robertson)
  • Danny Allen Was Here by Phil Cummings (Pan Macmillan)
  • The Worry Tree by Marianne Musgrove (Random House)

Good news for us all and too for those authors making it in the other categories. It also means that my ANZ publisher Omnibus Books (my original publishers) have three of their authors in the short-list, so huzzah!s all round I reckon.

Also there is a MySpace now for MBT. It has been set up by my US publishers, Putnam. Being a novice to MySpace (dare I admit it) I am not sure yet what we'll do with it all but I hope I'll see you there sometime soon.

So things small and some what larger are afoot.

Minggu, 26 Agustus 2007

I just wanted to happily and gratefully acknowledge the CBCA Junior Judges for also nominating MBT as an Honour Book. A double honour in the CBCA is so brilliantly encouraging (I know I use these words a lot but it just so true, what else can I say?). Thank you Junior Judges, I hope your Participation Certificates look snazzy on the wall.

This might be a good place to note that I am a tad disappointed with the meagre, near non-existent coverage the CBCA Awards receives here in the general OZ media (with a few excellent exceptions). It is almost as if outside of the community that is Childrens Publishing, we do not really exist - unless of course there is talk of DEAL$ Yet that is hardly a useful topic of discussion when what we are on about is children reading and adults acknowledging this as being important, indeed necessary. I do not recall caring much about DEAL$ when I was looking for books to read - indeed I still do not - I just wanted to know what was worth reading and what was not. Good thing for the electronical interweb, loads on kids lit and YA just there for the finding.

Back to more positive things I am offering belated congratulations to Omnibus (ahh dear precious Omnibus) & Scholastic Australia for their win in the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards in the Australian Export Success Award 2007 catagory with my own wee tome (and the further books in the series - they have made a huge assumption there that there will be more books in the series - just jokes!!!) You can grab a .pdf of all the winners from the ABIA 2007 here, but only if you really want to of course.

BTW I would also like to say Happy Birthday Blogger - apparently it is its 8th birthday today! (... and now you know)