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Early readers of You Are My Only encounter, in the final pages, a young, astute, and beautiful young woman who will become integral to Sophie's healing.  Her name is Miss Mandy.  She epitomizes all that is good, all that is future.

The real Miss Mandy walked into my life a few years ago; she's here to stay. Today she sits to the right of these words.  She is, you will have to agree with me, gorgeous.

I've been waiting to share Miss Mandy's new blog with you.  Today is the day that I unveil it.  On a Southern Breeze reports on her adventures in Australia—the birds, the chemists, the calories, the blooming things.  It tells us all about this fine reader of both life and books.  It reminds us of what happens when a young couple leaves the familiar haven of Colorado to live on the opposite side of the world. 

Please visit Miss Mandy.  She has stories to tell.  She has heart.

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Google is close to launching an Australian version of its e-bookstore, the first time the digital company has expanded the service outside the United States.

The move raises speculation that a UK launch could be imminent. Australian technology website Smarthouse reports: "The company is believed to be planning near-simultaneous launches of the e-bookstore in Canada, the UK and Australia."

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  Answers from Elena Ornig   Australia might not seem a likely place to find a castle, yet there are in fact numerous castles all over the country!   Australia might not seem a likely place to find a castle, yet there are in fact numerous castles all over the country! These castles do not rival those in European countries simply because the average castle age in Australia is really quite young. Many function as hotels or tourist attractions, whilst others are actual homes where people live. Castles in Australia tend to be built in the style of the medieval castles of Europe which are commonly depicted in movies and television shows.   ‘Kryal Castle’, in Victoria, sits at the foothills of Mount Warrenheip, near the town of Ballarat. It is an amazing replica of a medieval-type castle featuring Gothic architecture. Open to the public since 1974, it was created and built by the owner and has ... Read the rest of this post

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STATUS: I was very glad to hear that New York City didn't get as hard from Irene as anticipated but my contacts on Long Island are still without power. Eep.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? UPSIDE DOWN by Jack Johnson

As I'm based in the U.S., it's easy to get tunnel vision on what is hot because obviously I'm mostly focused on this territory. Now granted we sell a lot of projects abroad and some of our authors are wildly popular in places like Japan more so than in the US so I'm certainly aware of territorial differences but I still find it fascinating all the same.

So when I was in Australia, I had a chance to visit with a couple of editors. One publishing division was housed in a charming old Victorian-style mansion and others had sleek modern offices. I rather liked both settings.

Some things I learned took me by surprise. For example, in talking with ANZ children editors, they are still having a wonderful market for picture books. I don't rep this genre (so please don't send me queries for it) but I've heard any number of editors and agent friends who handle picture books in the US bemoan the state of trying to break out a new author in this arena. The climate is tough here but Down Under, they are still seeing really great success--even for new authors. This could partly be because the Indie bookseller market holds a significant sales percentage still in that country.

Two chain sellers--Borders and Angus & Roberson--had closed doors and editors were greatly concerned. With it went 20% of their sales market. In consequence, print runs were down by several 1000 depending on the author.

I was also surprised to see Costco in Melbourne and Sydney. I didn't realize that company was there. (I also saw a few Targets). Interestingly enough though, neither venue sells books in Australia yet. I mentioned that it tended to be a strong sales venue in the US so I will be watching to see where that goes, if anywhere, there.

In ANZ, for young adult, dystopian has not taken off in a big way yet. HUNGER GAMES is certainly popular and they've had nice success with some other dystopian titles but no big break out. Well, let's hope Marie Lu's LEGEND will help jumpstart that trend. I'd appreciate it.
In a similar vein, paranormal romantic YA is equally hot there as it is in US (no surprise). What has gotten harder is literary YA--and that use to be a good market for them.

For middle grade, the ANZ publishers bemoaned the dearth of MG boy adventure stories (that sounds familiar!) and Wimpy Kid blew it out there. No surprise really. That's a series that feels really universal.

In the adult realm, they publish a lot of Australian authors (as they should) and they always do it in trade paperback. There are very few hardcovers published there. They still love beautifully written stories so US imports like a recent debut THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS is having nice traction.

Another interesting tidbit is that an adult title called THE SLAP did mildly in the US but really broke out Down Under (and it was from an Aussie author so maybe no surprise) but it did well in Europe too.

Editors like what they call "watercooler" books. Fiction that tackles issues that readers can dig in and talk about around the proverbial watercooler.

That's a wrap. By the way, this blog entry is not meant to be the end-all be-all of the ANZ literature market. It's just smattering of random bits of info but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

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One Arm Point Remote Community School,
Our World: Bardi Jaawi, Life at Ardiyooloon
Magabala Books, 2010.

Ages 8-11

Our World: Bardi Jaawa Life at Ardiyooloon is a stunning, encyclopaedic book that welcomes readers into the remote indigenous Australian community of Bardi Jaawi people at Ardiyooloon a.k.a One Arm Point, at the top of the Dampier Peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia. One hundred and fifteen children from the One Arm Point Remote Community School, along with their School Culture Team, School Staff, and Community Elders, as well as others from the local community, all came together to create this unique document of their culture and environment.

Colourful photographs show the children engaged in the many outdoor activities that form part of their curriculum, including camping and bushcraft. The book is filled with eye-catching artwork by the children, from illustrations for the traditional stories scattered throughout, to an identity parade of local “Saltwater Creatures”. The community’s connection with the sea is very strong. Many of the activities revolve around fishing, from catching to eating the fish. The variety of activities covered is reflected in the headings for each double-page spread, ranging from “Our History” to “Fish Poisoning and Spearing” to “Bardi Jaawi Seasons” (there are six seasons in the Bardi Jaawi calendar). And along the way, there’s “How to Dress a Snake Bite” with the check box “If you survive, you have done this right” – let’s hope so, then!

At the beginning, a colourful series of maps gradually hones in on Ardiyooloon, right down to One Arm Point Remote Community School itself. The Bardi pronunciation guide is useful since relevant Bardi words and their English translations are to be found encircling most pages, with a complementary English-Bardi wordlist at the end. The “Bardi Family Ties” section also teaches the Bardi words for all the different family relationships. Interestingly, birrii means both mother and aunt on the mother’s side; and gooloo means both father and uncle on the father’s side.

The obvious effort and enthusiasm that have gone into the project of putting Our World together have certainly paid off. As well as enjoying their visit to Ardiyooloon, readers will perhaps feel inspired both to try out some of the activities, adapted to their own surroundings, and to create a parallel record of their own communities and school lives. Congratulations to all involved, children and adults alike, in producing such a captivating book.

Marjorie Coughlan
August 2011

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On Wednesday, Older Brother, Little Brother and I had the thrill of hearing this year’s Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Shaun Tan speak at Seven Stories in Newcastle, during his whistle-stop visit to the UK. I’ve loved his work since being mesmerised by The Arrival four years ago; and we’ve also had the privilege of featuring Shaun’s work in our PaperTigers Gallery. Shaun’s picture books truly tap into something essential in our existence so that no matter how old you are and whatever your life experience, there is something there for everyone to absorb and distill. His books have had a big impact on the boys too, and it was a real eye-opener for them to meet their creator and hear about the drawn out process and sheer hard work that goes into producing a book. Now we are all desperate to see the Oscar-winning short of The Lost Thing!

Older Brother was most struck by Shaun saying that imperfection was a “very important concept for an artist”; and that he is always aiming for simplicity, because it’s through that apparent simplicity that he can achieve layer upon layer of meaning. Then accompanying the text with unexpected illustrations to create further tensions – but he pointed out that he wouldn’t call his work surreal per se: rather, the unexpected juxtaposition of familiar objects in his work is what is surreal.

Little Brother especially loved the first in Shaun’s series of cartoons depicting a day in his life: Waking to the Sound of a Solitary Cicada – a huge cicada looming in through the open window. He’s still laughing about that (but, as is so often the case with Shaun’s work, for me, the more I think about it, the more the funniness is tempered with a feeling of unease…). Little Brother also came home thinking about the humor and tensions achieved by people/creatures doing extrordinary things as though they are completely normal – like feeding Christmas decorations to a huge, friendly monster-machine aka the Lost Thing. And when Shaun pointed out that, as per the element of the familiar present in all his creations, the Lost Thing is a cross between a dog, a horse and an elephant, yes, you can absolutely see it.

I was bowled over by Shaun’s generosity in handing over his creations to their audience with an open invitation to interpret. He told us how in his writing, he pares the words down, excluding any emotional words because he wants the readers to have space to bring their own interpretation to his work. And he took us through his creation of the water buffalo giving directions to the little girl with a box from Tales from Outer Suburbia (you can see it in Shaun’s interview with Drawn here): how initially there was something peeping out of the box, and how he felt it wasn’t fair on the viewer to be so prescriptive, so he left it up to each person to imagine what was in the box.

It was also a real treat to see two extracts from the animated version of The Lost Thing and to hear about the ten-year project to bring the book to the screen, including Shaun’s determination to retain the fl

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Graphic designer Andrew Woodhead takes from his Parisian surroundings by consistently managing to make each typographic project truly elegant. Whether it is a logo or a full typeface, there is a running theme of experimentation and sophisticated stylistic choices that create Andrew’s cohesive style. Designing type & typography for companies big and small, Andrew is sure to be one to watch in the world of design.

Also worth viewing:
Function, Restraint, and Subversion in Typography
Mario Hugo
Jonathan Zawada

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Congrats to our winners in the Bike Print giveaway: Gianluigi Farnetti, Brian_HF, brianjbarron, Adrienne Wu

Grain Edit recommends: Karel Martens: Printed Matter. Check it out here.

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Liberty Mutual has commissioned a handful of animated projects over the past few years as part of their long-term ad campaign The Responsibility Project. The shorts each contain thoughtful messages that explore the theme of “what it means to do the right thing.”

The latest animated piece is Lighthouse, a solid three-minute effort directed by Stephan Wernik. He tells Cartoon Brew a little bit about putting together the film:

I was the animation director as well as overseeing all aspects of production from the animatic to the compositing. A script as good as this only comes along once in a while. It was a very intimate story, but at the same time had huge crowd scenes and needed very careful handling animation wise to show the Lighthouse Keepers thought processes.

I shot a lot of reference videos and collated a library of footage of actors doing similar scenes for each shot. Funnily enough, I also studied reality TV shows like The Biggest Loser as they’re not actors and you can see real emotions. I really worked with the animators on striking the right tone for each shot. I’m really proud of what the team did in every aspect of the production. The production company was Exopolis in LA and the animation studio was ProMotion Studios in Australia.

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Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | One comment | Post tags: Australia, Blender, Exopolis, ProMotion Studios, Stephan Wernik

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Just finished a visit in Plasticville where Barbie, Ken and the always problematic, G.I. Joe, are back in business. The gang has gone through a lot including embarrassing social faux-pas', romantic situations, gun shots and related injuries, being relegated to boxes in a warehouse, but they have decided to forget the past and start anew.

Given the situation in which G.I. Joe refuses to reliniquish his weapon of choice, which includes taking it to bed while sharing sleeping quarters with Barbie, trouble is on the horizon. Then there's always Ken whose visit to the hearing specialist on Barbie's advice, has not proved helpful since he still hears people calling out: "surf's up!" The Australian visitor, Blain, has still not regained full consciousness and add the Bratz attempts to undermine Barbie's popularity, and you've gone some potential problems.

Never a dull momemnt in Plasticville and we'll all be there to share it.

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I think it’s really exciting when animation breaks the confines of the rectangular screen and shares the physical space around us. MÖBIUS by Melbourne, Australia-based design and public art installation firm ENESS is among the more impressive examples of “environmental animation” that I’ve seen. It’s described by its creators as a “collaborative stop motion sculpture”. Dozens of people were required to animate the 21 triangular structures around Melbourne’s Federation Square over a period of six days. The ‘making of’ vid below gives a sense of the project’s scale.

Credits after the jump:

Commissioned By: FEDERATION SQUARE
Produced By: ENESS
Concept & Design: Benjamin Ducroz
Production: Steven Mieszelewicz, Nimrod Weis, Benjamin Ducroz
Music: John Bartley
Animators:
Nicole Schembri
Shiva Lai
Chris Newbury
Michael Stevenson
Hamish Storrie
Lauren Bezzina
Abby Woods
Lem Ozinger
Vanessa Vanselow
Adam Templeton
Alan Want
Kate Want
Jing Hui Yeo
Casey Kukolja
Erika Siabatto
Ed Bullen
Lucy Clone
Lorna Pettifer
Blythe Mary
Chris Cooper
Mario Krajewski
Edan Weis
Veronica Carrasco
Yochai Glick
Simone Kaplan
Asaf Weis
Yuno Maekawa
Jacob Pinto
Emma Schulman
Bernard Winter
Carla Turco
Huw Millar
Nick Found
Luke Farrugia
Peter Siemienas
Lucinda Aitchison
Sarah Cartledge
Rachel Wilson
Julian DeBono
Monika Batchelor
Sarpreet Dhindsa
Stephen Luke
Pat Dowling
Sarah No
Leath Mattner
Michael Couacaud
Andre & Russel
Elodie
Harry

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Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | No comment | Post tags: Australia, Benjamin Ducroz, Eness

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Shout out for our friends and neighbors down under! Check out www.yarr-a.com  Young Adult Reader Reviews-Australia, to find an amazing list of verse novels, as well as other great reads. Stephen has included US and UK title, too. The list is brilliant, and I'm sure he dedicated much time for this resource!

Have you read a verse novel this summer? You know I'm partial. :~) Choose one from the list and let us know how you liked it!

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A Merciless Place is a story lost to history for over two hundred years; a dirty secret of failure, fatal misjudgement and desperate measures which the British Empire chose to forget almost as soon as it was over.

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The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) is to ask the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate after Pearson reached a deal to acquire the REDgroup online businesses.

Pearson said yesterday (4th July) it had liaised with REDgroup administrators Ferrier Hodgson to acquire the failed book chain's Borders and Angus & Robertson websites from 28th July, including their online and app-based bookstores.

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