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By:
jrpoulter,
on 3/5/2013
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Some time last year, Erica Wagner, Publisher at Allen and Unwin, is reported as having said that there was a lot to be gained by having a text already illustrated [not that Allen & Unwin published picture books]. This is seemingly a change in direction.
Some writers/illustrators I know have recently signed contracts for ‘print ready’ books. This is not self-publishing, but submission to a royalty paying publisher of a book that is ‘ready to go’ in publishing terms.
What constitutes a ‘print ready’ book? It is a book that has been -
- professionally edited,
- proofread, has been
- designed to industry standards,
- professionally designed cover and,
- if illustrated, has all images appropriately set.
This is a great way to go for authors who are able to pay illustrators and book designers up front. Most authors are not able to do this. This then means all creators involved in a book project agreeing to royalty share and working between paid projects to collaborate on their book.
What have I gleaned about such ‘print ready’ deals? One company, smaller and reasonably new, offered a small advance and a good contract, by industry standards, with higher than regular royalty share for creators. An offer of help with promotion was also part of the deal. Another company, medium sized and established, offered no advance but better than average royalty shares for creators and help with promotion and marketing of the book.
How does this stack up against what is generally on offer now?
- Small and middle range publishers, in general, do not offer advances.
- Larger publishers offer advances depending on the book, depending on the author, and depending on the agent involved.
- Smaller and middle range publishers often [there are exceptions] expect the author to do it all in relation to promotion, even requiring the submission of a marketing plan.
- Larger publishers vary greatly as to how much promotion they will give a book.
- Generally, publishers will submit copies of their publishing output for major awards, such as the CBCA, and to a selection of leading review outlets.
What’s the down side for author, illustrator, book designer, [often the illustrator], to go down the ‘print ready’ publishing path?
- It IS a lot of extra work for all creators involved to ensure the book is ‘professional’ standard even before it is submitted.
- There is no money upfront.
Are the rewards worth the effort?
- If you love collaborative work, it is a big plus.
- Creators have much more project control to create the book they have collaboratively envisaged.
- A quality product, ‘print ready’, is a major bargaining point for creators/agents. ‘Print ready’ saves the publisher heaps!
The first company mentioned does small print runs, sells out their print runs, reprints and even sells out reprints and so it seems to be gradually snowballing.
It is too early to know in the second instance. [I’ll keep you posted!]
My feeling is that, if Erica Wagner was sensing a ‘trend’ and if these companies make a success of it, we will see more such deals. It’s something to think about!
To be launched end of June – “Toofs!” a collaboration between J.R. and Estelle A.Poulter an illustrators Monica Rondino and Andrea Pucci. More to come on what was a ‘print ready’ deal.
TOOFS by J.R.Poulter & Estelle A. Poulter, illustrated by Monica Rondino & Andrea Pucci
This homage to Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That ALWAYS Work by Mark Waid and Jeremy Rock at The Gutters nails quite a few good ones. Go to the link for the other four—oh and a snark about a DC executive. CAN U GUESS WHO?
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By: Zoe,
on 8/7/2012
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One of the truly great discoveries for me this summer has been the Swedish author Ulf Stark. Last week I couldn’t resist telling you about his bittersweet exploration of identity, Fruitloops and Dipsticks, likely to be enjoyed most by kids in their early years at secondary school or there abouts.
Today, however, I want to tell you about a trio of books that will delight slightly younger children, all of them about a young boy, Ulf, his friendships, school and family life. Each is packed with humour and acute observations about relationships, between friends and enemies, and children and adults. They share an unpatronising approach to their readers, mirroring aspects of their own lives in a honest and yet thoughtful, nearly always funny, and sometimes heartbreaking manner. They struck me as the next step up from the naughty and adorable Nicholas books by Goscinny and Sempe – perfect for slightly older kids, who still love getting in to trouble but who can also appreciate meatier issues.
When we’re first introduced to Ulf, in My friend Percy’s Magical Gym Shoes, we soon discover he is chubby and poor at sports. But when a new boy, Percy, arrives at his school, Ulf finds someone he looks up to, someone he wants to emulate; Percy seems suave and full of self assurance, powers which apparently stem from his magical gym shoes. Ulf is determined to buy Percy’s shoes from him, so he too can be cool and confident. And indeed, once Ulf has the shoes, his life does become much more exciting as he and his new best friend get into all sorts of scrapes and japes. But these adventures are not appreciated by the adults around and Ulf starts to get a bad reputation. Does Ulf want to be known as a bad boy? Does he need to be so wild to gain the respect he wishes for from his peers? Will he and Percy manage to stay friends?
In My friend Percy & The Sheik we learn that Ulf’s father is a ham radio buff, and through his hobby has made contact with a sheik (True Fact: former King Hussein of Jordan was an amateur radio hobbyist and often chatted with ‘regular’ people all around the world). The sheik promises to visit Ulf’s father but will the trip come off? Will Ulf be the laughing stock amongst his friends? This second volume sees Ulf and Percy’s friendship cemented as they deal with bullying, a first crush, and the threat that Percy’s family will have to move away.
By the time we reach My friend Percy & Buffalo Bill the boys are 10, and 3 years into their friendship. They spend one summer together on a Swedish island at Ulf’s grandparents home and it turns out to be an amazing summer, the summer you dream of as a kid, building dens, taming wild horses, fishing and swimming around the island. But at the heart of this story is Percy and Ulf’s relationship with Ulf’s heartbroken grandfather. A curmudgeonly old so-and-so, Percy gains the grandfather’s respect by standing up to him, and gradually a friendship develops that in the end will bring tears to your eyes. I haven’t read many books which focus on male friendships that manage to be laugh out loud funny and also profoundly moving.
My friend Percy’s M
By: Zoe,
on 7/25/2012
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Yes, I know it’s not Easter, but I have two lovely egg themed books that deserve to be read NOW, not only in 9 months time so please go and scrabble in the back of your kitchen cupboards to find that secret stash of chocolate I won’t tell anyone about, break off a piece and enjoy whilst I tell about these two egg-tastic picture books.
Croc and Bird by Alexis Deacon explores how very different two friends can be (so different they come from quite separate species), and yet, how they can still be the best of friends if they listen to their own hearts, and are not forced into conformity by others. If you like, it’s a reworking of the themes explored in Stellaluna by Janell Cannon, but this time with a crocodile instead of a bat.
It asks questions about who your family is. Can long lasting ties only be based on shared customs and cultures, or can friendship and love transcend such differences?
Deacon’s illustrations have a magical and somewhat mysterious air about them; indeed they reminded me of William Blake‘s paintings. Unlike Deacon’s earlier Beegu, the characters in this book are not so cute. The young bird is as ugly as they come – and this too says something about friendship and brotherly love.
Croc and Bird is not a sugary, all sweetness-and-light picture book. I think its themes and images are somewhat more challenging and thought provoking than you’ll find in many books on the kids’ bestseller list, but its is not without humour and it’s certainly full of hope.
The Fishing Trip by Béatrice Rodriguez (sold in the US under a different title – Fox and Hen Together) is also about cross-species friendship, this time between a chicken and a fox.
In this wordless story Chicken entrusts the care of her Egg to Fox (it is clear they have set up home together), whilst Chicken goes off to bring food home for them all. The fishing trip referred to in the title turns out to be a rather hair-raising, risky experience, but
By:
jrpoulter,
on 7/25/2012
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Click to view slideshow.Books are created from the imagination and inspiration of authors and the insightful vision of illustrators. They are then crafted. The authorial crafting may be right brain with a touch of editing or slow and laborious left brain plotting. For an illustrator, it may be inspiration flowing like rivers from brush or stylus or it may be storybook or dummy creation then rethinks, scrap some ideas, adapt others. Eventually, a book emerges that is then ‘ready for submission’. These days, that may mean adding animation and audio to make the book a digital production for app developers like Utales or Flying Books, or for YA, formatting it for Kindle or Nook e-publishers. It may mean self publishing on Createspace or Lightningsource, Smashwords or Lulu. Or it will mean the long road via submission to traditional publishers.
If the latter is chosen, the publisher will often require more editing, changes and perhaps more changes. My own book, started under contract to one publisher, was already well underway with the inimitable Sarah Davis as illustrator. We were having a ball creating our book. Then our publisher was taken over and the new publisher wanted to institute changes. At first, the major change – ‘get rid of the dead bird’ – seemed straight forward. Then we realised the book needed the bird but, to keep it, we had to make some big adjustments. An injured bird can’t just disappear in a children’s book, it has to get better and be released, which, in our picture book, meant its story had to be woven into the fabric of the main story seamlessly. No problem, a few days and Sarah and I had nailed it! As book creators, you have to be flexible and, especially if going the traditional publisher route, you can’t be too precious about your creation.
SO! This exhibition is about the journey numbers of wonderful children’s and YA books took from creation to bookshelf! Each book has a different creation story to reveal - something the public doesn’t see, it’s behind the scenes. Now the reader can take a peek backstage, behind the scenes to how it all came together!
THE SET UP
Setting up was not straight forward. The spaces has to be utilised to best advantage and the items displayed needed to be seen from as many angles as possible given I had a two shelf rectangular glass case. I didn’t end up using everything I brought with me. It would have been too cluttered. Last minute inclusion, bulldog clips, proved life-savers! They held the photographic prints in place.
I had never ‘hung’ a painting before at an exhibition and that proved ‘interesting. Sarah Davis sent up her wonderful original painting via kindly courier, Peter Taylor, but it was unframed. I had no time to find a frame. Fortunately, I had one around the house that was a good match colour-wise though not quite the perfect size.
Given my exhibit was about my close collaboration with Sarah, the items displayed needed to reflect the two minds working together to make a new creative whole – our book! Sources of inspiration, stages in text change, changes in images, cover and trivia relating to the characters, objects and places in the book all combined to make a successful ( I hope you agree) exhibit!
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THE LAUNCH
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Journey of a Book – children’s literature creation under the microscope as of 1/1/1900
Sometimes this blog gives the impression that life in our home is idyllic, that I’m some sort of super mum and that our house gives off a continual pleasant, warm and loving glow.
Well. Let me assure you that this is not the case.
In order to get the material for this post I caused my kids to weep and scream at me. I even took photos of them yelling at me.
And why?
Well, I may score good marks on the glitter and glue front but I’ve failed utterly and totally when it comes to my kids and food: M is the fussiest eater I know, and J loves to copy her big sister so she too eats a hugely self-restricted diet (M will only eat 4 cooked things: sausages, egg noodles, fish fingers and, at a push, beefburgers. Yep, that’s it…).
So when along came a really lovely picture book about being a fussy eater I was delighted. Might it provide the breakthrough I’m constantly looking for?
One day Katharine Quarmby and Piet Grobler‘s Fussy Freya decides all the food she used to like is no longer yummy. She simply refuses to touch it. Her parents try to keep their cool but when the food they’ve lovingly prepared gets thrown on the floor they despair and decide to call on Grandma’s help.
When Freya throws down the gauntlet and tells her granny that she want to eat giraffe and other wild animals, Grandma calls her bluff and prepares precisely what Freya has requested. Warthog stuffed with cheese, grilled giraffe with cheese or mashed monkey, any one? Will this revolting food be a hit with Freya, or will she realise that what her parents offer her is actually rather yummy and so much more appealing than the exotic dishes her grandparents prepare for her?
Katharine Quarmby’s rolling, rhyming tale of a fussy eater is great fun. There’s a lovely little refrain that kids will quickly pick up on and join in with, and the mixture of humour, naughtiness and rather shocking dishes (most kids love a little bit of squeamishness, especially if it’s safely at arms’ length in the pages of a book) are great ingredients combined to make a satisfying tale. Piet Grobler’s illustrations are full of gorgeous colour and perfectly match the slightly grotesque story, being both full of love and warmth, and seasoned with a sharp edge.
One final aspect I really like about Fussy Freya is that Freya’s family is a mixed race family. This isn’t commented upon at all in the story – her’s is just a normal, “unremarkable” family. It’s great to see this in a picture book as it doesn’t happen often.
In the spirit of Fussy Freya I thought I’d offer my girls some really ghastly food in the hope that they’d realise that my offerings of “normal” food were actually quite ok.
For starters I gave them a bowl of snot. (Can you think of a child who doesn’t pick her nose?)
Cream cheese with a bit of food colouring, and bread st
By:
jrpoulter,
on 7/14/2012
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Andrea has gotten it spectacularly right! The CEO of Tell Me a Story launched 10 new titles on 30th June, this year. I was privileged to be guest speaker at an event that had even seasoned politicians, Ian Rickuss, MP Lockyer, and Steve Jones, Mayor, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, commenting on attendance numbers!
Assembled authors, illustrators and guest panelists with Andrea Kwast
Muza Ulasowski [Panelist] and Guest Speaker, J.R.Poulter
The audience was rapt. I have seldom been at a publishing event where everyone’s eyes shone! Andrea has the devoted support of her very wide community of readers and growing. She also has the good fortune to have a very devoted group of assistants in administrator, Rel, and local photographer and budding author herself, Jenni Smith.
Research and innovation, preparedness to think out of the box, are hallmarks of Andrea and her team. She believes stories are lurking everywhere and it just takes the right determination, editing and dedication to bring them out. That she is succeeding over and above expetaction is more than demonstrated by the sellout and reprint, within the first few weeks since the launch, of no fewer than 3 titles!
Hearty Congratulations Andrea and Team and to all her authors – keep writing!
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I couldn’t have written a better script… J was off ill a few days ago and M stomped to school with fury all over her face.
“IT’S NOT FAIR! Why can’t I stay at home?”
The pavement (and my ears) got a fair bashing from M that morning, and before 9am I was already exhausted! But my book-fairy-godmother must have heard my exasperated cries for help; as if by magic the postman delivered…
…It’s Not Fairy by Ros Asquith.
Siblings Bill and Mary complain that when they get different things, life’s just not fair. Fortunately, the kids’ parents know about the It’s Not Fairy, who’s on a mission around the world to help sort out what’s wrong and right, but who also likes to eat those who complain a little too much.
Bill and Mary scoff at the idea of the It’s Not Fairy, but when they hear their parents complaining about life being unfair (for example, when Mum does all the housework and Dad just slouches in his chair), they are quick to remind their elders about her penchant for gobbling up grumblers.
When the parents produce their supposed trump card, “It’s up to us to say what’s FAIR!” the It’s Not Fairy can’t hold back any longer and makes an appearance to berate the family. She ask them to think about what really constitutes fairness and justice, and to see their gripes in a wider context. If they can’t do that, she threatens to bake them all in one big fairy cake.
In lesser hands this could be a pompous moral tale told with a big wagging finger hanging over the reader and listener, but Ros Asquith has brilliantly written a tremendously funny, (and, yes, useful!) story I can’t recommend enough. Everyone has fun poked at them, not only the parents, but even the It’s Not Fairy herself, reminding us that even though we’re not all perfect, and we do all complain from time to time, it’s ok to have a moan, and it’s even more ok to take a deep breath and remember the bigger picture.
The rhyming text is fun to read aloud and also draws in listeners who will quickly be joining in. The illustrations, familiar to those who read Asquith’s regular cartoon strips in the Guardian newspaper, are full of textual detail that pack even more giggles into this book.
A punchy way to start a more meaningful discussion about what is and isn’t fair, every primary school should have this book for use in classrooms. Every parent should have a copy too because it’s a gift – now when I get moans from the kids about things not being fair, I just remind them about the It’s Not Fairy, and a grumpy situation is turned round into one where we can laugh and actually talk about what we’re feeling.
It’s Not Fairy comes with a great recipe for baking your own It’s Not Fairy Cakes so of course we tried them out. For “Fairy Dust”, to sprinkle on the icing, we made
Hey y’all! I created a little something for Canada Day (July 1st) –A free downloadable 5×7″ greeting card! Just a little something by me to share in the festivities. : )
Below is a sample of the front. The inside is blank. Just click on this link to open up a printable pdf version of the card. Then download, print, fold and trim (Careful with that X-Acto knife!). Voila! A card is born!
Thanks, and have a great weekend!
By:
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on 5/27/2012
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Interview with Nicola L. Robinson, illustrator turned author and the trials, tribulations and triumphs of a change of hats!
Hi Nicola
First off, HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS on the release of “The Monster Machine” with Pavilion Books – a sort of mad inventor meets Granny’s knitted nightmares joy of a book!
Have you always had a strong visual sense of story?
Yes I have, I’ve always loved drawing (like all illustrators I should imagine!) but particularly loved drawing pictures with something happening in them, be it a big thing chasing a small thing or any kind of interaction between my creations. As a child I’d name the characters and make up stories around them..
I grew up and went to university and did a degree in Fine Art, which was fantastic, but I realised my work was more illustration and less ‘Fine Art’. I have always looked for the story in the picture, and love adding narrative details to things, be it a little mouse hiding behind a teapot or something more sinister watching through a crack in the curtain... I am a visual thinker, but at this point I didn’t consider writing the actual words down to go with the illustrations.
What were your favourite storybook images as a child and how did they influence you as an illustrator and the style you adopted as ‘you’?
I didn’t have many traditional picture books, I did however pour over photos of crocodiles and snakes from a really old book on ‘The Animal Kingdom’. One of my favourite storybooks was a book of Greek Myths which had a lot of colour plates inside of the various mythological beasts and some nice black and white ink illustrations, fairly traditional in style. My favourites were always the ones I could imagine myself being in, something with some perspective, or one where you can see inside an open door or window. I also loved the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, with Smaug the dragon. I have drawn many dragons since then and continue to do so today.
I have always loved the traditional fairytale illustrators like Arthur Rackham and others like Aubrey Beardsley and more recently Edward Gorey. Black and white ink illustrations in particular have always appealed to me, as has the sinister so I expect I have absorbed a little of their influence into my current working style. I certainly hope so!
Do you have a favourite among your previous illustrative projects? Would you tell us something of the creative process involved in bringing the images to light?
My favourites change all the time, but I am still very attached to a detailed illustration from last year titled ‘Downtown’
It started off like so many drawings as a few scribbles on the page, I could see a cityscape of sorts in my head… I often write lists of words and ideas to include in a piece, little descriptions like ‘Dark alleys’ and ‘Iron Bridges’ just as little word pictures, alongside thumbnails which I find very helpful.
1 The Rough idea is drawn
From here it gets its structure and is drawn out. If I’m going to be working in colour I usually stretch some paper at this point before transferring the idea to it.
I work up the details in pencil…
By: Zoe,
on 5/27/2012
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For last week’s book+activity session I held at the girls’ school we read and played aliens. First up was a new book by Sue Hendra, Wanda’s Space Party.
For Wanda’s birthday treat, her friend, the alien, takes Wanda to his planet for a special space party. Wanda is amazed by all the new things she sees on the way to the party and the different ways things are done on her friend’s planet. But will she like the what her friend has prepared for her birthday celebration? Or will alien customs be all a little too… well, alien for Wanda?
With her trademark gorgeously bright, bold, modern and zingy illustrations (which look oh so ripe for adaptation to tv animation – think Octonauts, which has a not dissimilar aesthetic) Sue Hendra has written a lovely story about differences and similarities across customs and cultures. Kids will enjoy the apparently far-out traditions on the alien’s planet (such as brushing your toes instead of your teeth before you go to bed). On a more serious note, it provides an easy route in to talking about how we’re not all the same, and that such differences are enriching rather than threatening.
Next we read Colin McNaughton’s The Aliens are Coming (I think originally recommended by a reader of this blog, but I can’t track down who it was – thank you to whoever you are!).
An alien invasion has been launched. All sorts of aliens are heading this way; wobbly ones, two-headed ones, ones that have eyeballs stuck on stalks, the list goes on… It’s a terrifying prospect! But as the aliens approach and catch sight of us, the readers, what do they do? What do they see? Who is more frightened? Us or them?
This book is so much fun to read aloud! It’s told in rollicking rhyme so the words just bounce along and the illustrations are hilarious (even when trying to be scary). The yuck factor is just right (with squelching, smelly gases and some burping) and the denouement is perfect – [spoiler alert] the penultimate page has a mirror in it, so we can see what the aliens see… and what they see is enough to stop the attack and get them retreating back to outer space. The listening kids emerge as the victors, more mighty and powerful than a whole host of extra terrestrial life forms. Hurray!
For our session at school we had several different activities on offer after reading the books (all photos below are from the dry run I did at home with M and J as I’m not allowed to take photos in school). Kids could make alien spaceships out of foil plates and plastic bowls, decorated with permanent pens and stickers.
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By:
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on 5/17/2012
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Interview: Joanna Marple on uTales.
Darshana Shah Khiani‘s interview on her Children’s Book Review site, “Flowering Minds”, with new children’s picture book author, Joanna Marple, is revealing on lots lof levels.
Joanna and Darshana met on children’s writer and illustrator FaceBook site, 12 x 12 , a very lively, supportive, share and learn community set up by Julie Hedlund. When Joanna released her very first picture book, a collaboration with the very talented Maja Sereda, Darshana jumped in with the interview offer.
“Snow Games” is a fun tumble and rumpus in winter’s wonderland aimed at 3 to 7 year olds. Maja’s wonderfully endearing little animal characterisations beautifully complement the story.
Joanna shares what it was like to collaborate with Maja to create “Snow Games”. Close collaboration between author and illustrator is a circumstance largely [and sadly] foreign to most traditional print publishing. For Joanna and Maja it was a fun and very rewarding experince. But the interview goes beyond the creation of ”Snow Games”. It also details Joanna’s experience of the uTales website and her thoughts on traditional and digital publishing.
Joanna mentions my collaboration with noted animal and wildlife illustrator, Muza Ulasowski, a story about surviving change, “The Sea Cat Dreams”. Muza was one of many wonderful illustrators I met on the uTales Facebook group and have since worked with to create a varied range of children’s books.
I have found the opportunity to collaborate with illustrators something eminently rewarding, an experience that enriches both participants and results in a more vibrant and much richer work. My first picture book, “Mending Lucille” was also a result of a collaboration. Working with the amazing Sarah Davis was inspirational! I have gone on to collaborate closely with illustrators all over the world to create numbers of other picture books, some digitally published**, some in process with p
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This series of links were included as part of an article I wrote for WQ Magazine,”Markets – from woe to go and getting a foot in overseas! ” [March issue 2011] . Sadly, the actual links had to be removed due to space restrictions so I have placed most of them here.
This list of resources, sources and publishing opportunities on the internet and elsewhere is far from exhaustive. Please do contact me if you have or know of a resource that can be included!
Review Blogs and sites
Book Review blogs
Debra Sloan – The Picnic Basket http://www.thepicnic-basket.com/
Carol Denbow – A Book Inside http://abookinside.blogspot.com/ Magdalena Ball – Compulsive Reader http://www.compulsivereader.com/html/
Susan Whitfield http://susanwhitfield.blogspot.com/
Jo Linsdell – Writers and Authors http://writersandauthors.blogspot.com
Betty Dravis & co-bloggers - Dames of Dialogue http://damesofdialogue.wordpress.com/
New Zealand Writer – http://new-zealand-writer.blogspot.com
Sarah Chavez-Detka http://minorreads.blogspot.com/
Kerry Neary http://kerryneary.blogspot.com/
Free Press Relese DIY site - http://www.prlog.org/submit-free-press-release.html
Sites
All genres:
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/
Children’s Literature:
- The Reading Tub
Terry Doherty Reading Tub http://www.thereadingtub.com/
Reading Tub Blog http://readingtub.wordpress.com/
Magazines that publish short stories and poetry
[I have submitted a list of online journals most on Facebook, some with links - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150093435850908 and growing.] New additions
Leaf Garden Press http://leafgardenpress.blogspot.com/
http://leafgardenpress.blogspot.com/2009/01/submissions-open.html
Dash Literary Journal
Rose and Thorn http://www.roseandthornjournal.com/Home_Page.html
Cross genre:
Good Reading – http://www.goodr
Many scriptwriters and comedian started their career by contributing ideas and one liners to topical sketch shows. The BBC have a new one starting in the summer and they will be actively seeking new writing each week. Newsjack takes a comical look at the week's news stories and the pilot will be broadcast on Thursday 4 June at 11pm on BBC Radio 7. The series proper will begin a fortnight later.
If you want to write for Newsjack, here are a few simple guidelines
* Listen to the show. It will be available on iPlayer after broadcast.
* Submit your material for each show on or before noon on Monday each week
* Be funny
For more information click on the title of this post
Photo was taken in Brighton Sealife Centre in 2007 by AtomicShed - featured here under the wonderful creative commons license
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A great source of ongoing opportunities is Hope Clark’s weekly/fortnightly newsletter: “FFW Small Markets”
The opportunities below, come from her newsletter for 15th April.
HOPSCOTCH MAGAZINE
http://funforkidzmagazines.com/hs_guidelines
—
HOPSCOTCH looks for articles, fiction, nonfiction, and
poetry that deal with timeless topics, such as pets,
nature, hobbies, science, games, sports, careers, simple
cooking, and anything else likely to interest a young girl.
We leave dating, romance, human sexuality, cosmetics, fashion,
and the like to other publications. Each issue revolves
around a theme. HOPSCOTCH is a magazine created for girls
from 6 to 13 years, with girls 8, 9, and 10 the specific
target age. Ideally prefers articles around 500 words.
We will pay a minimum of 5 cents a word for both fiction
and nonfiction, with additional payment given if the piece
is accompanied by appropriate photos or art. We will pay a
minimum of $10 per poem or puzzle, with variable rates
offered for games, crafts, cartoons, and the like.
=====
FUN FOR KIDZ
http://funforkidzmagazines.com/ffk_guidelines
—
Fun For Kidz is a magazine created for boys and girls from
6 to 13 years, with youngsters 8, 9, and 10 the specific
target age. The magazine is designed as an activity
publication to be enjoyed by both boys and girls on the
alternate months of Hopscotch and Boys’ Quest magazines.
We are looking for lively writing that involves an activity
that is both wholesome and unusual. We are looking for articles
around 500 words as well as puzzles, poems, cooking, carpentry
projects, jokes, riddles, crafts, and other activities that
complement the theme. Articles that are accompanied by good
photos are far more likely to be accepted than those that need
illustrations. We pay a minimum of five cents a word for both
fiction and nonfiction, with additional payment given if the
piece is accompanied by appropriate photos or art. We pay a
minimum of $10 per poem or puzzle, with variable rates offered
for games, carpentry projects, etc.
=====
CAT FANCY
http://www.catchannel.com/magazines/catfancy/writers_guidelines.aspx
—
CAT FANCY, the most widely read consumer magazine dedicated to
the love of cats. Length: 100-1,000 words. Query first.
Several columns to include profiles of people who champion cats
and rescue stories. 500 words for columns.
=====
YOUR CAT MAGAZINE
http://www.bournepublishinggroup.com/mag_yourcat.html
http://www.yourcat.co.uk/Contact-us/Your-Cat-contacts/
—
The magazine for caring cat owners, covering health and behaviour
issues, general care advice, breed information, and other practical
issues. Your Cat is also about the emotional pleasures of owning a
cat, with plenty of fantastic photographs of cats, readers’
letters and true cat tales.
=====
COLUMBIA KIDS
http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/kids/fall2009/guidelines.aspx
—
COLUMBIAKids is a free online magazine that features
exciting, interesting, and informative articles and
stories based in Pacific Northwest history. Our target
readers are children up to age 14 who live in the states
of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, but we also
welcome subscribers from all over the world. Features
are 800-1,200
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“Books Are Fun”
Children’s Book Festival 2011, Family Day 3rd April 2011, 10.00am to 4.00pm
State Library of Victoria and the Wheeler Centre
This free programme of ‘events’ over the Sunday was hugely popular. It was described as “the biggest celebration of children’s books that Melbourne has ever seen”. Families and children’s book lovers crammed into venues to hear a wonderful assemblage of Australia’s leading authors and illustrators. They queued for meter after meter to meet authors and illustrators and have their load of precious books signed. They waited for hours to be able to get into workshops, storytelling and performances.
The ‘Family Day’ was the brainchild of the State Library of Victoria and the Wheeler Centre who held, coordinated and promoted the various sessions. Authors and illustrators were fully utilised, most doing at least two events on the programme. [http://wheelercentre.com/static/files/assets/087ddc27/CBW_Childrensbooks_A4programme-DR7.pdf ]
Some notes from the day:
John Nicholson/Roland Harvey interview with SLV staffer
John Nicholson (architect) – author and illustrator
John started writing fiction. His publisher suggested he write non-fiction.
Working with A&U - John has an idea and approaches them with it or they have an idea and approach John. At one stage they seemed to take a turn about with this process. He now just develops ‘the ideas I want to’. He prefers to work alone now.
John agreed with Roland, in creating an authentic “Sense of place” it was important, if at all possible, to do the research for the text and images on location.
Roland Harvey (architect) author and illustrator
History was something that always fascinated him and which initially led him to writing and illustrating books.
Family activities have inspired some of his books – “At the Beach” and ‘To the Top End”. “You need to know, to “feel” the place you are writing about. To research you should “be there to be really successful”. Otherwise ther is the internet but Roland considered this sort of research “much harder” in trying to create a real sense of ‘place’.
He collaborates a lot. His latest book is a collaboration with Mem Fox which was launched at the Family Day. He doesn’t publish any more and mainly works with Penguin and A&U. He liked the freedom he had as publisher. He surrounded himself with experts in each area. He found his best books were done “against the advice of others”. It was risky but he LOVED the freedom to do what he was passionate about.
His next project is another picture book based on family travels. He is also avidly exploring Apps and is excited about this development in children’s books.
Terry Denton/Chris Morpeth interview with SLV staffer
Terry Denton author/illustrator
The place where I like to write/draw:
I have a studio in my backyard. It is quiet, no distractions.
“Gasp” is my favourite of my creations.
Denton and Andy Griffith go away for a week together when working on a new joint project to ‘get it started’.
Chris Morpeth (former teacher) author
The place where I like to write:
In a café over coffee – there are no distractions. At home, I get distracted with Nintendo and Mario. I make my stories up as I go along. I think the more you do the better you get.
Terry & Chris agreed re book writing/creation, “If it is too organised, it doesn’t work!”
Leigh Hobbs interview with SLV staffer
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Illustration by Hungarian artist Emy Róna
Having watched Eleanor’s secret (which, don’t forget you can win a copy of here) I got to thinking about other films which are about reading, the power of stories and/or storybook characters coming to life. With the help of friends on Twitter I came up with this list:
Inkheart
The Neverending Story
Stanley and Iris
The Princess Bride
Bedtime Stories
Akeelah and the bee
Nim’s Island
Veritas, The Prince of Truth
Who Would Kill Jessie?
Rampo
The Deadlines
Precious
I haven’t watched all of these so can’t vouch for their quality. Several are not suitable for kids, but I’ve included them here for the grown-ups amongst us to explore! If you’ve seen any of them, do leave me a comment so I and others can find out more 
As well as feature length films, I came across a whole slew of animations from the 1930s and 1940s which feature book characters which come to life. It seems to have been quite a popular theme in the inter-war years! Here’s my list of animated shorts, just bear in mind you might wish to view these without kids first to check whether you’re happy for your kids to see them – some of them contain racist characterizations.
Beauty and the Beast – A gem of an animation – very funny, good quality copy, great singing, and a cheeky bare bottom or two!
Three’s a crowd – Jekyll tries to kidnap Alice in Wonderland but Tarzan and others rescue her.
Loony Tunes Have You Got Any Castles? Look out for Heidi – she made me laugh!
Good Little Monkeys Rather unpleasant interpretation of Black Beauty, but great fun to see the Devil using peanuts as maracas.
Speaking of the weather The version here is in Russian, but is perfectly enjoyable even if you don’t understand Russian. Rather than characters from books coming to life, in this fun animation images in magazines come to life. Look out for the tongue sandwiches!
I Like Mountain Music Again, characters from magazines rather than books come to li
By: Zoe,
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What with the turning of the calendar to July and the activity books I’ve been researching, Summer is definitely in the air. And nothing sings summertime more than a trip to the seaside!
Today’s books is perfect for anyone, adult or child, dreaming of a day on the beach. Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey, the latest book (published today!) from Mini Grey, follows the adventures of superhero Traction Man and his fearless, loyal sidekick, Scrubbing Brush.
Traction Man, the favourite toy of a young boy, is taken on holiday to the seaside where a series of perilous adventures befall him; he is swept out to sea, then washed up in a dank cave, found by another child on the beach, and nearly lost in a tremendous earthquake when the sandcastle he is inhabiting is enthusiastically attacked by a dog.
This story will thrill any child who brings their toys to life and creates adventures, journeys and real-life personas for them. Like the two earlier Traction Man stories (Traction Man is Here and Traction Man Meets Turbodog), this too is pacey, creating just the right amount of manageable anxiety that dissolves in wonderful relief with the resolution of the story. It’s packed with humour and provides parents with plenty of perfect opportunities for silly voices and even singing theme music from thrillers should they really get into the swing of it (I like to read it to my kids with a Sean Connery-esque accent!)
Image reproduced with permission. Inside spread of Traction Man and the Beach Odyssey. Click for large scale image.
Appropriately enough, some of the illustrations recall Marvel comics. They’re eyecatching and reward repeated readings for all the added details tucked away in them. If you’re looking for a superhero story that’s got all the action, excitement and adventure you could possibly want, but without any violence or malevolence, the Traction Man stories are for you. Particularly loved by the boys I’ve been reading to in the year 1 classes at M’s school, the girls too have been asking each week for another Traction Man story.
Those who already love Traction Man will not be disappointed with this new story (let’s hope there are more in the future!), whilst those who are new to the delights of this superhero and his sidekick will be able to adore this book in its own right, before (I’m confident) wanting to track down the two earlier stories.
Now, where we live is just about the furthest you can get from the seaside in
This colour version of my illustration for the theme Remedy would make a good get well illustration. I might turn it into a card yet.
"We will tie the string to a door handle now , it won't hurt a bit" said mouse. Donkey wasn't so sure.
I spent the day sketching for a toy design contract and this evening while kiddies were asleep and hubby out I had a digi play. It was a bit of a break from all
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“With sensitive and humorous prose, J.R. McRae tells a story of family life, love, and acceptance with beautiful illustrations by Linda Gunn. When Pete finds a furry hero, Ink, to solve his dinnertime woes, a nosey neighbor jumps to conclusions that enlarge as Pete’s grandpa comes to visit. When Mrs. Allan’s mother-in-law, Nanny, and Pete’s grandpa take off for an early-morning drive, the assumptions increase until Ink and Grandpa solve the mystery. Perfect for young readers, this book speaks of a boy and his grandpa, a mother defending her son from gossip, and the surprise of love at any age.” ~Janice Phelps Williams, author, illustrator www.janicephelps.com
Promotional poster, by Tara Hale, for “All in the Woods”, Pixiefoot Press, 2011
Words with Jam are looking for a scene that is LOL funny. It can be a
stand-alone sketch, a complete scene from a novel/short story, play, script or
anything else you can think up.
You are also allowed to include a brief (40 word max) synopsis to
introduce the scene but the organisers stress that it really just the jokes that they’re
interested in.
So don’t worry too much about character
development/setting etc unless it is integral to the humour.
Word limit 1000 words maximun - no lower word limit.
Prizes: £200 First Prize (plus publication in Words with JAM) and
five runners up of £25 each (plus publication on the Words with JAM
Blog) and a hardback copy of Christopher Brookmyre's Where the Bodies Are Buried
Entry Fee: £5, plus £3 per entry thereafter
Closing Date: 19th August 2011
Winners will be announced in the October 2011 issue of Words with JAM.
For more details on how to enter: http://jdsmith.moonfruit.com/#/main-competition/4550153175
Just because it's a cold, grey day in August. Just because I am re-writing and revising and need a break. Just because humour is as important as the serious stuff and often so much harder to write...for all those reasons here are the ten best jokes from the 2011 Edinburgh Festival as decided by Dave - the digital TV
channel.
Scroll down to the bottom and you'll find the worst joke of the festival.
1) Nick Helm: "I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
2) Tim Vine: "Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so many different levels."
3) Hannibal Buress: "People say 'I'm taking it one day at a time'. You know what? So is everybody. That's how time works."
4) Tim Key: "Drive-Thru McDonalds was more expensive than I thought... once you've hired the car..."
5) Matt Kirshen: "I was playing chess with my friend and he said, 'Let's make this interesting'. So we stopped playing chess."
6) Sarah Millican: "My mother told me, you
don't have to put anything in your mouth you don't want to. Then she
made me eat broccoli, which felt like double standards."
7) Alan Sharp: "I was in a band which we called The Prevention, because we hoped people would say we were better than The Cure."
8) Mark Watson: "Someone asked me recently - what would I rather give up, food or sex. Neither! I'm not falling for that one again, wife."
9) Andrew Lawrence: "I admire these phone hackers. I think they have a lot of patience. I can't even be bothered to check my OWN voicemails."
10) DeAnne Smith: "My friend died doing what he loved ... Heroin."
AND THE WOODEN SPOON WENT TO...
Veteran entertainer Paul Daniels for:
"I said to a fella 'Is
there a B&Q in Henley?' He said 'No, there's an H, an E, an N an L
and a Y'."
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I spoke about those memories of Grandma, as opposed to Granny, who was Dad’s mother. Have to keep those straight, you know. I’d like to talk more about my maternal grandmother for one more day.
She was a tiny lady, who loved to shop when she had the opportunity. By the time I knew her she was already in her sixties and had triumphed over many obstacles and trials during her life. She had the soul of an artist, of a healer, and of a naturalist. Bundled within the diminutive frame resided a wicked sense of humor and a passion for professional wrestling.
Of course, the weekly broadcast of wrestling took precedence only when Perry Mason or Oral Roberts were not.
Her faith kept her going, I think, through all the lean years. In short, she was indomitable. What I learned from Grandma was reinforced by my own mother. She reflected many of her mother’s traits and strengths.
I will admit that oddities abounded around the little woman. Two massive native persimmon trees kept sentinel at the rear of her yard. In the spring, beneath those trees, grew mushrooms, morels to be exact. Those wrinkled beauties returned each year, spring and fall.
“Fall?” you ask. “Yes,” I reply. Morels aren’t known for appearing in the autumn, but hers did. The brilliant yellow buttercups would act as backdrop for them in the spring and the hickory nut bounty would accompany them in the fall. Sort of a two-fer event for the equinoxes.
She also had a passion for flowers and plants. Zinnias were her favorite annual, and she worked for years to develop a pure white zinnia. She didn’t get her project finished before she died. The ten thousand dollar prize must have gone to someone else, because not too many years ago such a flower was introduced to the public.
Grandma wanted a blue rose, as well, long before they were bred. My grandfather couldn’t find one for her and so settled for a favorite fruit tree instead. He brought her home a larger sapling peach tree. The first year it produced peaches, we were taken to see the tree. There, sprouting from the base of the tree was a blue rose; not a pale purple one, but a blue one.
At least that’s the memory of I have that event. She was ecstatic with her “miracle.” I can’t remember any other time seeing her that happy. Something precious had been validated for her that day, having to do with that rose. The rest of the adults seemed more stunned than ecstatic.
Grandma was one of those people who believed in all things being possible within nature. She could be staid, practical to a fault sometimes, and definitely opinionated, but for her things were always possible if she believed strongly enough.
She had her rules to live by and taught them with quiet modeling. If we were lucky, we got to learn those rules and emulate them within our own lives. That’s quite an accomplishment for anyone on this earth, I think.
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6 Comments on Nicola’s Monsters! An interview with illustrator turned author, Nicola L. Robinson, last added: 5/30/2012
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Pretty sure it’s Wally Wood’s 22 Panels that Never work.
It’s Wally Wood’s “22 Panels that Always Work.” Not Toth. Toth would have blown a gasket over the very thought.
Sneezy,
Yes, Alex would have. But I think Wally might have had his tongue in cheek when he put that “guide” together.
I ALWAYS get that mixed up. The first time I saw it someone said it was Toth and that primal scene has haunted me ever since.
For an example of how the artwork and the writing in a story interact, or don’t, people can look at last month’s NEW AVENGERS #28. Avengers are being held captive by the X-Men at the start; they’re being held captive at the end. Nothing happens in between, although the Avengers imagine that stuff does. There’s no change in the status quo for anything. If the issue hadn’t been published, what would have the effect on the overall AvX storyline been? Nothing.
The issue serves as an example of how nothing the artist does matters if the writer doesn’t give him material to illustrate. If the artwork had been bad, the reader might have thought less of that, but he can’t think less of the nonexistent story.
SRS
The gore panels stopped being shocking waaaaaaaaaaaaay before a year ago and it’s cheap to begin with. ..and not just from DC. Though it does seem to be very much a Johns staple.
I’m not someone who supports censorship but that the same time I really do not get why anyone wants horror movie levels of gore in a superhero comic. It gives nothing to it other than the smell of desperation to be looked upon as “edgy”.
Peter,
Yes and no to the tongue-in-cheek aspect of it. The subtitle is: “or Some interesting ways to get some variety into those boring panels where some dumb writer has a bunch of lame characters sitting around and talking for pages and pages.” It was, after all, a guide for Wood’s neophite assistants. Wood usually provided the inks on hack jobs and he wanted something to draw that wouldn’t bore him to tears. 22 Panels can be a master cheat sheet for hacks or a guide to vary pictorial storytelling. It all depends on the artist using it. I know for a fact pros that use it in earnest.
@Synsidar
Really? New Avengers 28 was fantastic. The devious and desperate method the Avengers were willing to use to escape captivity were on full display, and at the end we saw the cold cruelty of their imprisonment at the hands of the X-Men. The issue did a great job establishing AvX as a real war, showing both sides willingness to dehumanize the other. It didn’t push the story forward by leaps or bounds, but I as a reader want more than just illustrated bullet points doling out plot points.
But the Avengers weren’t actually doing anything. They were only fantasizing that they were, and the story doesn’t give the reader a basis for even thinking that the characterization of anyone is accurate, if what’s happening is only a fantasy or dream.
The alternative was to have the captive Avengers try to escape, have the X-Men guards try to stop them, and then have everyone responsible for his or own behavior. But that would conflict with the probable ending to AvX, which will hold the Phoenix Force responsible for every mutant’s bad behavior, so none of them is really guilty of anything except problems coping with stress.
There’s no comparison between imaginary drama and real drama.
SRS
Wood’s guide is a collection of visual tips, but Waid’s page isn’t really about visual storytelling at all – it’s aimed at writers.
Wally Wood didn’t actually assemble the “22 Panels” as we know them. He made guides for himself, three of which Paul Kirchner saved. Then Larry Hama wanted to help the Marvel artists he was editing and had Robby Carosella help him put them on a standard sheet of paper.
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2012/06/mike-oemings-homage-to-wally-woods-22-panels-that-always-work/
Playing now on http://www.Cerebus.TV an episode spotlighting “Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work”
I remember gore. And you say the kids are still doing it today? Woah.
I totally agree with MattComix!
I find myself reading the Silver Age Superman and Sci-fi comics from the Murphy Anderson era because they have an imagination and wit that is very lacking in today’s comics. There is nothing witty about a sword through the chest. Especially when you’ve seen it 3 times before.
Panels that don’t work for me include those
4-in-a-row-medium-shot panels where someone talks, talks, talks. Yet the art is exactly the same in panel after panel. Yawn.