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As you know, our Writer In Residence program over at Inside A Dog offers teenagers an opportunity to interact and workshop with authors.

Following is a line-up of our Writer In Residence program for the first 6-months of 2013. If you see a student’s favourite author, or perhaps are reading an author’s book, pop on by!

• February – Alyssa Brugman
• March – Myke Bartlett
• April – Raina Telgemeier
• May – Garth Nix
• June – Ambelin Kwaymullina

You’ll notice that from March to June we will be showcasing Reading Matters authors, who will be involved in the Reading Matters Student Day program.

Enjoy!

We’re getting close to the announcement of our Inky winners, but before that happens we’re taking a close look at another of our Inky Shortlisted titles.

Next up on the chopping block – hehe – is Kelly Gardiner’s Act of Faith.

When ideas were dangerous, one girl found the courage to act

England, 1640. Sixteen-year-old Isabella is forced to flee her home when her father′s radical ideas lead him into a suicidal stand against Oliver Cromwell′s army. Taking refuge in Amsterdam and desperate to find a means to survive, Isabella finds work with an elderly printer, Master de Aquila, and his enigmatic young assistant, Willem.

When Master de Aquila travels to Venice to find a publisher brave enough to print his daring new book, Isabella accompanies him and discovers a world of possibility – where women work alongside men as equal partners, and where books and beliefs are treasured.

But in a continent torn apart by religious intolerance, constant danger lurks for those who don′t watch their words. And when the agents of the Spanish Inquisition kidnap de Aquila to stop him printing his book, Isabella and Willem become reluctant allies in a daring chase across Europe to rescue him from certain death.

I know, terrible pun, but I couldn’t help myself.

Historical fiction scares me. Weird, to be so scared of one teeny tiny genre but there it is. I guess first thing off the bat you should know is that I’m a history major. I spent years happily learning about wars, revolution, bread and freedom; about big ideas that took years of fighting and death to explain; about beliefs so strong they ripped apart nations, neighbours and families. I find I just don’t like reading it as fiction. There’s no real rational reason why, I just prefer history as truth not a hybrid of the two. So I usually stand well away and leave historical fiction to those more adapt at being reasonable about it.

But when you have a book given a ‘notable book’ award by the CBCA, and a friend (or a hundred) giving it enthusiastic reviews, you must go where the book gods lead (even if that is into the scary realms of historical fiction).

Act of Faith is quite simply brilliant. The setting, plot and characters, while fantastic and enjoyable, come a distant second in comparison to the the theological debates that rage through this novel. Long sections of witty banter that hit on the most complex of issues in the simplest of ways. It is a book that invites you to be better, smarter, kinder. It is a book about tolerance and knowledge.

‘I have distilled all the great philosophers and theologians, all the great ideas of my faith, your faith; the three faiths of the Holy Land.’
‘But how can the religions live together in one book?’
‘Why shouldn’t they?’ he asked. ‘We live together in one world.’

Such a large complex idea, this. A book of all the religions living side by side. How? And yet the answer is so simple: we live together in one world. If in life, then why not in book? This week marks America’s 30th annual Banned Book Week. Almost four centuries from the setting of Act of Faith and we are still censoring the written word; still fighting for the right to access knowledge freely and equally. Gardiner spends her time exploring this. Just how much have we changed? Are women equal? religions tolerated? Ideas free to be expressed?

If you fear that such a seemingly grandiose tale about the state of the world, religion, politics and alike, will have your teens running for the hills, fear not. Because Gardiner’s writing is accessible. It doesn’t talk down to the reader, doesn’t tell the reader that believing X makes you stupid, Y makes you wrong and Z is the only answer. Instead, it asks questions and leaves you to fill in your answers. They aren’t labelled right or wrong. They’re just one possible answer amongst many.

Act of Faith would be a brilliant reading choice for your book clubs and reading circles. It will incite debate and challenge your students to query themselves, and the world they live in.

For previous reviews in the Inky Shortlisted series: The Fault in our Stars, The Reluctant Hallelujah, BZRK, A Monster Calls and Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

What’s that? … Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a Inky Awards winner?

As voting intensifies (I can already tell that the Gold Inky will be down to the wire!) and the finish line looms, we’d like to invite you all to attend our InkyFest events.

InkyFest Evening Event

The Winners Announcement will be made at our Inky Fest Booktalker event on the 23 of October. The event will not only applaud our 2012 winners, but include authors’ James Moloney (2011 Gold Inky Award winner) and Rhiannon Hart (Longlisted for the 2012 Gold Inky) in discussing reading and writing.

Date:                    Tuesday 23 October 2012, 6:00pm – 8:30pm

Cost:                      $35.00

Bookings:           Book online or call 03 8664 7099 or email [email protected]

Inky Fest Schools’ Day

Bring your students for a fun-filled day of author and teen judging panels, an improv session and the winner announcement.

Date:                     Wednesday 24 October 2012, 10:00am – 2:00pm

Cost:                      $10.00

Bookings:           Book online or call 03 8664 7555 or email [email protected]

Or fill out the Schools’ Day booking form and post it care of the provided address.

Venue:                  Experimedia, Main entry, Swanston St

1. The new readers of Young Adult fiction.

I venture to say that having 55% of YA buyers be adults isn’t that much of a surprise. Ever since the Harry Potter books – and the rather ingenious marketing strategy to have ‘children’ and ‘adult’ covers – it seems like YA has found itself in the hands of the slightly older. Children books are an interesting and unique genre – being the only genre to contain age brackets. It’s great to see that the idea of ‘age’ is being less of a deciding factor.

2. Roald Dahl Day.

Last Thursday was Roald Dahl Day. In one of those rather panic-filled moments I was asked for my favourite Dahl book. I could no sooner choose a favourite pet. It was too much!

With the threat of life and limb, I finally whittled the list down to two: The Witches and Matilda. Do you have a favourite? It’s hard to pick just one, isn’t it?!

For when Dahl Day comes next around, there are Roald Dahl packs to entice your students with.

There is also a new biography out, written by Michael Rosen – yes that would be Michael Rosen of We’re Going On A Bear Hunt. Visit The Guardian UK for a short extract of the new book.

3. The Wordtamer.

Warning: words are wild creatures, which need careful handling.

Wordtamer follows the three necessary creative writing implements; plot, character and words. Wordtamer is a really fun and interactive way to teach your students creative writing exercises. This is one of those situations where you claim you’re testing the website out for your students, but really it’s just too much fun not to play with.

4. Secret Powers and Stickers?

I can’t say I’ve ever made the correlation between stickers and buying a book… but once I had a moment to reflect, I realised I do make book buying decisions based on stickers, although in a slightly different context – I am drawn toward books with award prizes on the front cover.

It is no doubt a great marketing tool for the teens when making a reading decision – a kind of follow-the-yellow-brick-road mentality.

5. KOALA Awards, Voting Open Now!

Much like the Inky Awards, the K.O.A.L.A (Kids Own Australian Literature Awards) Awards encourages voting by the readership; children and teens.

K.O.A.L.A is for New South Wales readers only.

Voting closes on the 21st of September, so encourage your students and book clubbers to log online.

Round three of the Inky shortlist goes to BZRK by Michael Grant. Earlier in the year CYL staffer Liz Kemp gave a brief review here for BZRK. I thought I would follow it up with my own impressions.

Set in the near future, BZRK is the story of a war for control of the human mind.  Charles and Benjamin Armstrong, conjoined twins and owners of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, have a goal:  to turn the world into their vision of utopia.  No wars, no conflict, no hunger.  And no free will.  Opposing them is a guerrilla group of teens, code name BZRK, who are fighting to protect the right to be messed up, to be human.  This is no ordinary war, though.  Weapons are deployed on the nano-level. The battleground is the human brain.  And there are no stalemates here:  It’s victory . . . or madness.
 
BZRK unfolds with hurricane force around core themes of conspiracy and mystery, insanity and changing realities, engagement and empowerment, and the larger impact of personal choice. Which side would you choose?  How far would you go to win?

I’m very much a fan of seeing my name (either first or last) in a book. It gives me a little celebrity thrill. So meeting Charles and Benjamin Armstrong (I know, great last name) was definitely a book highlight moment, especially being genius conjoined twins. It just doesn’t happen every day!

In all seriousness though, it was the teen judges’ reaction to BZRK that had me really excited because it was so enthusiastic. Many cries went out about the creepy ‘real life’ implications and possibilities of the nano technology. Is Wikipedia really embedded with government codes? It’s just real enough to have me joining the conspiracy theorists.

I think this is where some of the best YA literature lies: when it has the reader querying the world around them. What does it mean to be human? Is it flesh and bone, or is it memories and feelings? Is it free will? This and the reality of nano technology really spoke to our judges. They see the warring corporations, BZRK and The Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, in real life with groups like Coles and Safeway, or Amazon and everyone (alas). The reality of our world isn’t always comfortable, BZRK had me facing this fact.

Grant had me questioning the idea of villains versus heroes. Thrown into the role of ‘heroes’ is the BZRK group as they fight the ‘villainous’ Armstrong corporation. But what makes BZRK good? To limit this to a fight of good versus evil doesn’t do justice to what Grant is asking you to question here. Is a person or corporation good because they happen to perform a good deed, with evil intent? Is it a good act in the first place, if evil is always it’s intent? Is being a person or corporation that is ‘bad,’ mean your every moment is an act of evil?

While reading BZRK, I was constantly reminded of one particular History class where we had gotten a little off topic (not an irregular occurrence) and the lecturer was talking about the soullessness of corporations.

A corporation is without law or morality, for these are human inventions and a corporation is not a human.

Something to that effect, anyway. It really struck a cord with me at the time; would I become a silent cog in an immoral corporation? Would I find myself doing things, not questioning how they affected me or how they aligned with my morality for a paycheck? BZRK had me thinking on these things again, just in a different way. Every time I use technology am I making myself less human? Does Warcraft affect my ideas of morality? Does technology control me, not the other way around?

Questions to pond in an exciting and thrill seeking novel. For a slightly older readership than Grant’s Gone series, BZRK is suitable for 16+.

Don’t forget to send any fans of BZRK, or any of our other shortlisted titles to insideadog.com.au/vote

Bernard Caleo is this month’s Writer In Residence over at insideadog.com.au.

In his recent post ‘What’s the plan? What’s the power?‘ he is encouraging teens to help him out on story ideas for his upcoming comic book.

“I’d like you to let me know what powers they should have.  They’re both writers in their 70s: what would be useful? Levitation? Invisibility? Getting up from the seated position without rupturing something? Let me know. Seeing them exercise this ability could even be the big reveal at the end of the issue…”

He will be drawing the winner into his next issue of Mongrel.

Next up in our Inky Awards series is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming… The monster in his back garden, though, this monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It becomes quickly apparent to the reader that Conor is drowning. His mother is on her third round of chemotherapy and she is dying. In fact she has barely days to live. It is also apparent that the monster wants the most dangerous thing of all; Conor’s secret shame.

What is absolutely heartbreaking about this novel is the yearning Conor experiences. He’s whole world is about to open up and disappear before him. His mother will leave him, just as his father left him for a new family. He will be cared for by an emotionally cold grandmother. He has no friends (having found himself alienated from everyone after his mother’s sickness became public knowledge), he is being physically and emotionally bullied by a boy in his class, and he is unraveling in the face of his, and his mother’s, reality.

I’m not ashamed to admit I cried during a majority of A Monster Calls. Around page 100 I gave up the gig and just sobbed (opposed to the don’tlookatme crying I was originally attempting). The strength of the novel is in Ness’ ability to create voice. Conor feels as real as you and I. He is a character that you willingly emotionally tie yourself to. He compels your compassion and sympathy, despite knowing that there is only heart break around the corner.

A Monster Calls is a simple story. There are no surprises of plot or miracle cures, it is just the sad tale of Conor in the last days of his mother’s life. The complexity of Conor’s emotions -anger, shame, abandonment, hate, love, sadness -  all wrapped up in Patrick Ness’ accessible writing style, and it is Ness who is the conduit here, ties us deftly and (so very) easily to Conor.

Complimenting the text is the illustrations by Jim Kay. I cannot imagine one without the other; they are two parts of a whole. It was an extremely interesting partnership as Ness’ writing is often very visual. Accompanied by the illustrations, this novel felt like a silent movie. The impressions of the drawings follow you while you’re reading; the monster fills your conscience, large and imposing.

Another brilliant performance by Patrick Ness, after his success with the Chaos Walking Trilogy.

Walker Books

Last week Inky posed in front of the cameras (famous dog that he is), for something a little special! Unfortunately all this attention went straight to his head (what, with the photo shoot and the Inky Awards coming up), and he strutted around the office asking his CYL minions to give him a ear scratches and alike.

It was all worth it, however, as we bring you….

Inky Screen Savers. Oh yeah!

Below are several sizes that we hope will fit most of the computer screens out there.

iPhone

1024X768

1280X800

1366X768

1440X900

1680X1050

1920X1080

We hope you enjoy them and are able to utilise them in your library/ computer rooms/ classrooms or for your personal computer. They can be used as either a screen saver or wallpaper.

1. The importance of sex in YA books

It’s a controversial (and trigger-laden) topic, and this blog post by YA author Foz Meadows is sure to stimulate discussion.

‘Sex/y scenes in YA matter because, by the very nature of belonging to a permitted form of media, they help to disassociate sex from surreptitious secrecy: they make it something open rather than furtive, something that rightfully belongs to you, the reader, because the book was meant for you to read and remember. It doesn’t matter if the scene is detailed or not, if it’s only fiery kisses or much, much more: the point is that you’re allowed to have it, allowed to enjoy it, and that perhaps for the first time in your life, you’re viewing something arousing that doesn’t make you out to be a sex object in heels, but an active, interesting heroine who also happens to have a love life.’

What do you think? Is there a lack, and a need for, positive sex/y scenes in YA novels?

2. You’re The Voice

We’re very excited about a brand new feature on insideadog.com.au - You’re The Voice will host a different teenager each month, showcasing their thoughts on reading and writing.

Our very first contributor is Chelsea, a 15 year old from Victoria. She tackles the tricky topic of popular fiction:

‘What I am upset about is that readers do not go out of their comfort zone when it comes to reading and that they go on the opinions of others, and I believe that you will not know how you really feel about it until you read it for yourself.’

3. Anne-with-an-e meets generation Z

A Canadian comany wants to reboot Anne of Green Gables for the modern audience, and is shopping for international partners to assist with the development.

4. Making the Queensland Literary Awards Pozible

In April it was announced that the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards would be discontinued. In response, a Queensland Literary Awards Committee has come together and launched a Pozible campaign to keep the awards going (sans-Premier). A month and a half, and just over $7,500 to go…

5. 2012 Davitt Awards for Crime

The longlist for the 2012 Davitt Awards has been announced. Congratulations to the following Children’s & Young Adult authors:

•  J.C Burke, Pig Boy (Random House)
• Ursula Dubosarsky, The Golden Day (Allen & Unwin)
• Susan Green, The Truth about Verity Sparks  (Walker Books)
• Jacqueline Harvey,Alice-Miranda at Sea (Random H
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Tonight six lucky teen reviewers from insideadog.com.au will have the pleasure of some time with international award winning author, Cassandra Clare.  In order to win this opportunity the six teens composed well written and thoughtful reviews of one of Clare’s titles for insideadog.com.au.

Reading a book and being swept away by the characters is a joy unto itself but it has been a pleasure for CYL to offer this chance to Australian teens.  We are hoping to offer similar opportunities for regular reviewers on the website.

All the more reason to check out insideadog.com.au and recommend it to young readers!

Which author would you like to meet face to face?

The Inkys are the award in Australia that reflects what teenagers want to read. Voted for online by the readers of Insideadog (a project of the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria), there are three awards: the Golden Inky for an Australian book, the Silver Inky for an international book, and the Creative Reading Prize, won by a young person for a creative response to a book they love, in any format they choose.

Today, August 20, the 2009 Inky Awards have been launched online with the announcement of the award longlist by two of this year’s judges, Steph Bowe and Adele Walsh. Australian youth, their teachers and anyone else interested in Australian youth literature were encouraged to join in the free, interactive on-line launch - but if you missed it, you can still watch it by following the link at the end of Insideadog’s announcement here. It’s great to see The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki up for a Silver Inky!

On October 9 the shortlist will be announced and on-line voting begins. The winners will be announced on Thursday, November 26 at the State Library of Victoria. Everyone is invited to join in this free event, meet the winners, talk books and enjoy some special surprises!

The Centre for Youth Literature promotes reading as an active, pleasurable and essential activity for all young people. It also offers exciting and affordable book events for young people and professionals. Teenagers and children meet great writers and talented young actors - bringing reading to life. Professional learning programs and the biennial Reading Matters conference keep adults in touch with crucial issues and ideas in youth literature - read about events at this year’s conference in May here, here and here.

The Insideadog website is Australia’s number one website for teenagers about books. It’s chock full of features including news, book reviews, a writer-in-residence blog, author interviews, links, competitions and lots of opportunity for contributions from young readers! For anyone interested in youth literature, teens or otherwise, I highly recommend taking some time to browse this amazing site!

The splendiferous Brigid Lowry is in The Residence over at insideadog, and is encouraging a creative spring clean. And lists! I love lists.

I'll be at the Coburg Library on Thursday evening, talking about Me and My Books and My Job. I might even read from one of my New Books...

7pm, Thursday 10 April
Coburg Library
Cnr Victoria and Louisa Streets
Coburg.

To book, call 9353 4000

There is a multitude of unique stories about how people became involved in the children’s book industry; some knew they wanted to write or illustrate books from the time they were young, others studied the industry and their art form for years, and still others taught themselves and worked hard to break in to the industry.

On this edition of Just One More Book!, Mark speaks with illustrator Ben Hodson about his versatile illustration style, the role of illustrations in social justice and how hard he worked to establish himself as a children’s book illustrator.

Books mentioned:

• How The Moon Regained Her Shape
• In Arctic Waters