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The Centre for Youth Literature is looking for a new team member – might that be you?

Events Officer – Centre for Youth Literature

• Fixed term to 30 June 2015
• Part-time – 3 days per week, with additional hours as required
• VPS 3.1 – $58,630 per annum (pro rata)

About Us

The Centre for Youth Literature connects Australia’s young people with literature, inspiring young adults to engage with books, stories and writing. The Centre sits within Reader Development unit of the State Library of Victoria’s Learning Services Division, and develops an array of reading, writing and literacy programs for children and young people.

About the Role

Supporting the Centre for Youth Literature’s 2015 events program, the role is focused on managing production of the international Reading Matters conference and events series, in Melbourne and interstate. Reading Matters is a major celebration of youth literature, and comprises:

• A two-day professional conference in Melbourne.
• A schools program for up to 1,000 students in Melbourne.
• A new public Festival day for teenagers and YA enthusiasts.
• Four touring schools and library programs, to regional areas of Victoria and other states.

The Events Officer will be responsible for:

• Coordinating the delivery of the Reading Matters conference and events.
• Supporting the development and implementation of the Reading Matters programming.
• Coordinating the delivery of the regional and interstate schools program.
• Providing operational assistance to the Centre for Youth Literature in areas including marketing, risk management, finance and administration.

How to Apply

For a Position Description and to apply, please visit our website – www.slv.vic.gov.au

We promote diversity and practice equity – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are encouraged toapply.

Applications close Thursday, 13 November 2014.

The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles. For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.

 Now to introduce….Claire.

I’m the children’s publisher at Pan Macmillan Australia, based in Sydney and responsible for commissioning, developing and producing a boutique list of titles, from junior fiction through to young adult.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
I was living in Cambridge, UK, and working for the literary magazine GRANTA. The first issue I ever worked on was GRANTA No. 19 – ‘More Dirt’. It was a who’s who of extraordinary American writers such as Richard Ford, Jayne Anne Phillips and John Updike.

Officially, I was the subscription manager but we were a very small team so everyone did a little of everything, such as proofing and actually pasting up the magazine (this was in the old days). I wasn’t very good at the pasting-up part and still remember the panic of searching for a paragraph I had accidentally chucked in the rubbish bin.*

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
This is an impossible question to answer in the singular so my most anticipated releases this year are GIRL DEFECTIVE by Simmone Howell in March, WILDLIFE by Fiona Wood in June, THE HOWLING BOY by Cath Crowley in September and the sequel to A CORNER OF WHITE by Jaclyn Moriarty in October.

Pan Macmillan has a year of magical YAs.

What are the popular themes in YA right now?
YA is such an elastic category but ‘voice’ and ‘heart’ are still as important as ever, regardless of the theme. As a reaction to the recent paranormal and dystopian deluge, ‘real teen’ fiction is possibly gaining more traction and GIRL DEFECTIVE, WILDLIFE and THE HOWLING BOY are all superlative examples of this.

Which fictional character would you like to be?
Oh no! Another singular question. Well, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. (I read this when I was sixteen and it was my first real experience of ‘voice’.) Or maybe Emma from Jane Austen’s Emma, or …

*I found it.

YA is magical, as has been your time on Read Alert.  Thank you Claire for sharing

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!

The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles.  For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.
My name is Mary Verney and I am an editor at Walker Books Australia, a subsidiary to the world-renowned English publisher of children’s books. The Walker office is based in Newtown, Sydney and we publish everything from board books to YA fiction. It is my job to work with authors to make their manuscript the best it can be before it goes to print and enters the world. It is a wonderful job and I consider myself very luck to be part of such a great industry. I started out in retail, managing a book department for Myer in Brisbane. After completing a Diploma of Editing and Publishing, I moved to Sydney to work for Pan Macmillan as an editorial assistant. I’ve been working at Walker Books for three years, first as a junior editor, now as an editor.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
The first YA book I worked when I was a junior editor at Walker, was The Project by Brian Falkner. It is an action-packed adventure that jumps between modern-day Iowa and Germany during World War II. A lot of fact checking was required and that was my job. Around the same time I was proofreading the first of the Rosie Black Chronicles, Genesis.

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
I’d have to say the second book in The Tribe series – The Disappearance of Ember Crow. I’m working on the manuscript at the moment, and it is wonderful – it starts with a bang, and the stakes just couldn’t get any higher for our protagonist Ashala and her Tribe. The author, Ambelin Kwaymullina, has really stepped up the pace in this second novel and the reader will be hooked from the very first line! It is being published later in the year.

What are the popular themes in YA right now?
I think dystopian fiction has knocked the vampires off their perch. The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf has done really well; readers have connected with Ashala and her struggle and are also intrigued by the elements of spiritual wisdom that Ambelin has woven throughout the novel. Lara Morgan’s series The Rosie Black Chronicles is another fantastic take on the fictional future of Australia and has been very popular. Both books have environmental themes and that is quiet a hot topic.Many novels for the YA readership deal with belonging. Finding out who you are and where you fit in is such a big part of entering adulthood that it will always be something writers of YA fiction explore. I love novels like Little Sister by Aimee Said and Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron for their exploration of friendship, family and belonging.

Which fictional character would you like to be?
Oh, that is a hard question … I think at the moment I’d have to say Georgie Spider from The Tribe series. Her ability – to see various possible futures – is pretty amazing. Plus she has a calm dreamy quality that I really like. She always knows the right thing to say as well, which is a great trait to have. Plus I’m really keen to see where her character goes over the course of the series.

A big thank you to Mary for her time away from editing what is sure to be a great addition to the Australian YA scene.

The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles.  For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.

Why hello, I’m Stephanie Stepan, Children’s and YA publicist over at Text Publishing. You may not know me, but I’m certain you know our authors!

We publish children’s and YA authors such as Rebecca Stead, Paula Weston, David Levithan, John Green, Sally Rippin and Vikki Wakefield. Now, we publicists are a tricky breed to pin down. A large part of our job goes on behind the scenes where we organise things like interviews and reviews that later appear in magazines, newspapers, online and on radio and TV. You can also find us with authors at events and writers’ festivals around the country.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
The first book I worked on was an absolute gem called WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead. I consider myself very lucky to have worked on this book as a publicist. Firstly, it’s not every day that book like this lands on your desk and secondly, Rebecca Stead may just be the nicest author ever. If you haven’t yet had the joy of meeting Miranda in Rebecca Stead’s WHEN YOU REACH ME I suggest you don’t wait a minute longer. And I’m certain you’ll also love Georges, the narrator of Rebecca’s latest novel LIAR & SPY. He really is the most remarkable spy.

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
Where to begin? I note that this question seems to be asking for a singular title, but you can’t very well ask me for just one! Here at Text Publishing we can’t stop talking about Alyssa Brugman’s first YA novel in several years, ALEX AS WELL (Feb 2013). Refreshing and fearless doesn’t even begin to describe this unforgettable book. We’re also counting down the days until the release of debut author Tim Hehir’s JULIUS AND THE WATCHMAKER (May 2013). It’s a fabulous time-travel adventure set mostly in Victorian era London. If you loved Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret or Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan, then this book is for you.

As you can see, we love our home grown novelists here at Text, and this coming June we’re celebrating the best in Aussie writing with the Text YA Classics series.  Watch our for long-time favourites such as Joan Phipson’s The Watcher in the Garden, Ivan Southall’s Hill’s End, Patricia Wrightson’s I Own the Racecourse and Nan Chauncy’s They Found a Cave.

You’ve probably also noticed a lot of love for New Adult. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if this is really all that different from the YA we know and love. I feel like it could just be a new found excuse for older readers to join the YA fan club. And of course, all welcome.

Which fictional character would you like to be?
It took me all of an eye blink to find my answer to this question. And then I couldn’t stop smiling (ok, maybe blushing) at the thought of it. You can turn me into Gaby Winters any day. You probably know Gaby as one of the sassy lead characters in Paula Weston’s SHADOWS (Book I of the Rephaim series). Sure, she can kick-ass with some pretty top fight moves, but all I really want to do is hangout with the hottest boy in town, Rafa. The frisson between Gaby and Rafa has all our hearts racing at Text HQ and, for anyone who loved SHADOWS, there is a sensational scene in Book II, HAZE (June 2013), that really does require a fan while reading.

A big thank you to Steph for sharing what excites her about young adult literature and the interesting titles soon to hit the shelves.

Poetry can be a stumper for many teachers so why not take advantage of Australian Poetry’s professional development?

Australian Poetry presents: Teaching poetry in the senior years with Elizabeth Campbell.

These workshops are designed to make teachers confident and excited about teaching poetry in years 11 and 12. Using the poetry set on the VCE Unit 4 exam, Elizabeth Campbell will work with participants to develop a ‘thinking curriculum’ approach to poetry, focussing on higher-order thinking.

Teachers will leave the workshops equipped with extensive notes and resources on the poets studied, and practical skills for teaching poetry in the senior classroom. Suitable for experienced and beginning teachers of VCE.

Elizabeth Campbell is both a teacher and one of Australia’s most exciting younger poets.

Find more information here.

The Centre for Youth Literature has picked the brains of Australia’s YA publishers to gain insight into their work, and their titles. For the next few weeks we will be featuring interviews with a number of individuals on their work in YA publishing.  Join us every Tuesday as we gain insight into the Australian YA publishing industry.

My name is Jennifer Kean and I’m the Publicity Manager at Hardie Grant Egmont. There is a lot of variety in my role, particularly because of the way our company is structured. I am working across a variety of titles from picture books, junior fiction series through to stand alone YA fiction. These lists are both local and UK originated releases, so the publicity requirements for these books and their authors and illustrators differ greatly.

My job description involves tailoring publicity plans or campaigns to best suit the title that I’m working on. I look after publicity for our books across Australia and New Zealand.

I work with a variety of media – newspapers, magazines, teacher and librarian journals, industry publications, as well as TV and radio – to get review coverage, media coverage and interviews.

I also work with contacts at many bookstores, schools and libraries as well as a number of writing festival committees and publishing industry groups to organise book launches, book signing events and author/illustrator appearances.

What is the first book you worked on and in what capacity?
Go Girl! was the first series that I worked on in a publicity capacity back in 2008. I organised two back-to-back events at Readings, Hawthorn and Readings, Carlton. We were celebrating the launch of our Go Girl! HQ merchandisers with in-store “Draw Yourself as a Go Girl” events.

What is the most anticipated release of this year?
Our crossover-YA romance series Smitten is one of our hottest releases for 2013. These stories about adventures in far off places, amazing new jobs in glamorous cities and finding romance along the way, will sweep you off your feet and keep you up late at night. Just like any new crush should! We will be publishing 9 titles by the end of the year, each supported with an extensive marketing and publicity campaign.

What are the popular themes in YA right now?
Romance is a huge trend right now, whether it’s the falling over your high heels kind of love featured in Smitten or a sweet, quirky romance captured so well by Melissa Keil in her debut novel Life In Outer Space. I suspect most publishers will be looking at releasing YA romance titles that don’t have a vampire or werewolf in sight, particularly in light of the success 50 Shades of Grey had in the adult market last year.

Which fictional character would you like to be?
Tatiana Metanova from Paullina Simon’s ‘The Bronze Horseman‘ historical fiction trilogy. Her heroic spirit and the powerful love that she has for Alexander Belov triumphs over the devastation of a country at war. It’s a heart-stopping love story… aaah if only Alexander wasn’t just alive on the pages!

Thank you so much for your insight, Jen!

We are very excited to announce our incredibly diverse and supremely talented author line up for the 2013 Reading Matters program:

Libba Bray (USA)
Gayle Forman (USA)
Raina Telgemeier (USA)
Keith Gray (UK)
Tim Sinclair (NSW)
Paul Callaghan (VIC / UK)
Fiona Wood (VIC)
John Flanagan (NSW)
Alison Croggon (VIC)
Myke Bartlett (VIC)
Morris Gleitzman (NSW)
Ambelin Kwaymullina (WA)
Garth Nix (NSW)
Andrew McGahan (VIC)
Gabrielle Williams (VIC)
Vikki Wakefield (SA)

For more information on all our authors you can visit our biographies page.

More information on the conference, student day and special evening event (including bookings) can be found here.

Accommodation

We are pleased to announce that Reading Matters attendees can access special accommodation rates at select Accor hotels.

Photo: Miler Lagos, Book Igloo

Earlier this week the American Library Association announced their 2013 Youth Media awards, sparking immediate discourse on Twitter and listserv about the winners and honorees.  Being Australian leads to some unfamiliarity with these American titles, however I found myself reading the thoughts of many American librarians.  Their arguments were scarily familiar– the notion of literary quality versus teen appeal.

Is the priority in these awards to recognise the best writer?  Awards committees have an established list of guidelines in which to follow – it makes sense that a title’s literary qualities are more easily quantifiable.  A writing award should go to the best writer.  Good writing elevates young adult literature. However, in arguing for the best piece of literature, we sometimes eliminate books that resonate more strongly with teen readers.

Many librarians expressed dismay that some of the awarded titles would gather dust on their bookshelves despite vigorous booktalking and elaborate displays. Which begs the question – is the concept of quality made null and void if there is no hunger for what is being awarded?

Many readers read books that are the equivalent of Fruit Loops while growing up, yet will move onto works of literary genius.  Some readers like to dally in each end of the reading pool, some like the deep end, some do laps churning through everything.  Teens know what quality is.  They just prefer it when quality is also enjoyable to read.

It is nigh on impossible to sell a book to a teen if it doesn’t sell itself.  Quality or not, there needs to be a plot or a concept that ignites a spark.  Quality isn’t a selling point to a teen and this is something we need to remember as adults.  We might be over paranormal or dystopia, they aren’t.  We might choose to reference  Ferris Bueller in order to spark their interest, they probably haven’t heard of it.  At some point, we need to divest ourselves from the equation.

While teens are represented in the title of an award, they should also be a part of the award criteria.  Young adult literature is for teens.  That should count for something.  While we have a vested interest in cultivating taste, and having teens read about social injustice and inclusivity – sometimes teens just want to read what they want to read.

While quality is important, so is the teen reader’s engagement with reading. There are many authors who achieve this, John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Cath Crowley’s Graffiti Moon, or Markus Zusak’s The Messenger.  I am cautious of award winning books that have an “issue” clearly stated in the blurb.  Good writing for teens isn’t about an issue, it’s about living, loving and surviving.  It’s about bravery, and yearning, and sacrifice.  It’s about growing and changing, not learning.  It’s about feelings, emotions and the every day difficulties of ping ponging between who you are and who you want to be.  It’s these books, without social agenda, that connect.  It’s these books that fulfill teenage readers.

Quality in youth literature should represent exceptional writing, emotional awareness and a representation of a young person’s experience through an authentic gaze.  Some people will read this and believe I am a proponent of dumbing down teen’s reading.  This is not true.

Every year the Centre for Youth Literature hosts the Inky Awards, a teen’s choice award.  Teens have a strong voice in the longlist of ten Australian and International titles, and are primarily responsible for the shortlist and the ultimate winner.  The adults who oversee the teen judging panel usually approach the task assuming the teens will choose along popularity, quality-lite books.  They come away knowing they are wrong, and reevaluate their thoughts on teen readers and their perceptiveness.  Previous Inky winners, as decided by teens, have included John Green, James Roy, Simmone Howell, Jenny Downham and Lucy Christopher    Teens have taste, and quality ones at that, so why is teen appeal so often dismissed as popularity?

Why are adults deciding what is quality teen literature?  Where are all the judging panels that have teens sitting alongside librarians or teachers?  Often awards from teens are separated from the big awards.  Where is the teen representation for the Printz, The Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year or Prime Minister’s Literary Awards?  If awards are for teen literature, shouldn’t the audience be represented?

Adele Walsh is the Program Coordinator for the Centre for Youth Literature promoting ways and means to encourage young people to read for pleasure. Adele is an avid YA reader and advocate, and a successful YA blogger (Persnickety Snark). She has previously worked as a teacher in Australia, and Japan.

@CentreYouthLit

1.  It’s Smugglivus!

If you are not familiar with the book blog, Book Smugglers, then there’s no way you’ve heard about the joy that is Smugglivus.  Imagine if you will, YA book bloggers from across the world, listing there best of’s and most anticipated at one of the best blogs on the block.  This event is the bee’s knees in keeping abreast of what has been fantastic in 2012 releases and what is getting many excited for 2013. Every taste is catered for so you are sure to stumble across something that piques your interest.  Each year I ended up with a book list that makes my wallet significantly lighter but my imagination deliciously happy.  Check it out!

2. A trained librarian is a powerful search engine

…with a heart.  This poster was used as part of the US Mass Lobby of Parliament for School Libraries in October.  The artist behind this wonderful poster, Sarah McIntyre, received plenty of interest in her work and has allowed it to be downloaded for free.

All she asks is that she’s made aware of where  her posters have been posted.  I think she would love to know that they are gracing libraries in Australia.

3. NSW Premier’s Literary Awards

It is with pleasure that we congratulate Penni Russon and Kate Constable on their success this weekend.  Russon won the Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature ($30,000) for ‘Only Ever Always’.  Constable won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature ($30,000) for ‘Crow Country’.  Congratulations to both authors and one very happy publisher in Allen and Unwin!

4.Now for a little art

…of the skin variety.  Flavorwire has posted what they claim to be “amazing tattoos inspired by children’s books”.  The lamp post spun my wheels – which one is your favourite?

5. Best of…

We are entering that time of year when every one seems to create a list of their favourite titles of the year.  Here are some to choose from:  Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly.  There will be more to come in the approaching weeks.

1. To Infinity and Beyond.

Is this the future?

Sure, at the moment it’s a vodaphone ad campaign, in collaboration with a publisher, but who cares!

Romania, has turned the walls in it’s main metro station in to a digital library. You use your smart phone to scan the QR codes found on the spines of the ‘books’ and off you go.

This is part of Vodaphone’s new Vodaphone Digital Library technology. At the moment you can download free samples from 49 ebooks and 10 audiobooks. It is also available to anyone (no matter their provider).

I say anyone, and sadly I mean anyone in Romania. Oh to live in Romania right now. Is anyone else excited by this? It’s new and different, and demonstrates just where we can be heading.

2. Are We Reading…The Casual Vacancy?

Quite possibly the biggest book release of the year occurred last week – J.K is back with an adult crime fiction (no wands in sight). I did wonder what the reviews out would be like. The Harry Potter series is loved and devoured by so many children and adults. It was a world of magic, adventure and romance. You might ‘know’ going in it wouldn’t be anything like the Harry Potter’s, but did you expect the wands to be drawn at any moment? What about your students and book clubbers, are they reading it?And if so, do they like it?

The New York Times overall, had fairly lukewarm feelings about it.

But is it all a case of Potterfever? Are we just not ready to give up the lovable wand-weaving orphan?

3. YALSA and the Reasons Behind Adults Reading Young Adults.

Last month we were all not surprised by the report that 55% of YA readers are adults. YASLA have taken a stab at explaining the possible whys of the YA Adult phenomena

They touch upon the idea that adult authors, such as Jodi Picoult, James Patterson, John Grisham, etc, are making the move into the YA genre. These are the type of authors that inspire ‘I’ve read every book they’ve ever written’ emotions. I think it’s more than this though, I think it’s part of a very careful marketing campaign. Publisher’s will often brand the YA novel to the author’s style, but this style is often synonymous with the adult series. Take the James Patterson. I’ve pictured below a title from his YA series and a title from his adult series. Hard to tell them apart at the end of the day.

4. Twilight Poster Revealed.

We’re so close to the finish line! We will soon be Twillightmania free… yes? Alas, I doubt it. But a girl can dream.

The only question I care to ask about these Twilight movies is: why is everyone running? Is there a zombocalypse I’m missing?

5. Google, the book scanners.

It’s the settlement… that doesn’t actually settle anything.

Once, many moons ago, there was a disagreement between Google and the Publishers. Google began making digital copies of every book available. To be stored on a Google server… never to see the light of day (supposedly). One called it ‘fair use’ the other cried ‘copyright infringement’.

Oh what a beautiful morning…for some YA news!

1. New Collaboration and Cover

Did you know that  David Levithan (Will Grayson, Will Graydson) and Andrea Cremer (Nighshade) were collaborating on a paranormal novel together?  Levithan has co-written with Rachel Cohn and John Green and is now wandering outside the contemporary genre with up and comer Cremer.

EW.com launched the cover of Invisibility today which works wonderfully with the premise “…the story of an invisible boy who meets a girl that can see him.”  Head to the link to read more about Invisibility and what the readers might expect.

Just a guess, I think it might do well!

2. Libba Bray, an interview

On the eve of speaking as the key note at the Austin Teen Book Festival (oh how I wish I could attend), Bray shoots straight from the hip on YA on misogyny, consumerism and her advice to “…drop all your defenses and explore yourself with a sort of brutal honesty“.  (Language warning).

3. Calling out to all young writers

Express Media is looking for young writers to contribute to the Parks Story Poster.  They are looking for “… fictional stories from young writers aged 12-24 around Victoria which are based in or about Victorian Parks“.  The piece can be up to 1000 words and needs to be submitted by October 15th.  More information here.

 4.  Quidditch Fan?

We’ve all heard about JK Rowling’s foray into adult fiction but have you seen the documentary, Brooms Up?  It follows a series of team over a weekend as they aim to be win the fourth annual World Cup.    Learn how the game was crafted based on Rowling’s books, how it has grown and the art behind being a great Human Snitch.  The International Quidditch Association hosts this 30 minutes documentary on their YouTube channel.  Enjoy!

5. Who Will Create the Normal?

A wonderful posts on the lack of diversity on children’s and YA covers from Elizabeth Bluemle, a bookseller, blogger and author.  Some food for thought.

1. Coming soon…

Remember when Hardie Grant Egmont caught everyone’s attention earlier this year with the Ampersand Project? Well, they’ve now announced that Melissa Keil is the first author to be published as part of the project - congratulations Melissa!

Melissa’s debut novel is called Life in Outer Space. It won’t be hitting the shelves until March next year, but you can oggle the shiny cover design…

2. John Green continues to be amazing

Just when you thought it wasn’t possible to love the man any more, he goes and does an impromptu I Am A interview on reddit.com. He answers questions about his writing (from ”Why do all of your characters name their cars?” to “Can you tell us a little bit about your early days as a writer?”) and about life (from “What is the biggest regret of your life?” to “I’m a freshman in college. Do you have any advice about how to decide what the hell to do with my life?”).

Adulthood, for better and for worse, is not quite so simple in my experience. You are always figuring out what the hell to do with your life, and then the decisions you’ve made are always be changed by circumstance…

Look, I could copy and paste the whole thing. It’s brilliant. He’s brilliant. Just go read it.

3. The trouble with reading

The latest UK statistics say 17% of children would be embarrased to be seen reading. In America, a teen boy shares his experiences of being teased for reading:

Simply reading a book is considered passive or introverted. Or it’s considered a “white thing”—something black kids, especially black boys, shouldn’t be caught doing if they want to be popular.

What do you think – do these stories and statistics reflect your own experience?

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again – in Australia, at least (hey, we’d love it if we were international!) we want to help. We’re here to advocate reading for pleasure for all young people! If you’re looking for some support, email us at [email protected] and we’ll see what we can do. (Please note that we can’t do everything, but even in situations where we cannot be of assistance, we will attempt to refer you to someone who can be.)

Side note: We’re not sure that vintage library posters are the answer, but gosh are they fun to look at.

4. Loving the silver screen

Do you like your books adapted? Beautiful Creatures now has it’s very first movie trailer (compelte with stunning musical backing by Florence and the Machine). The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey also has a brand new, highly squee-worthy movie trailer.

5. Wikipedia in the classroom?

Do you use wikipedia in your classroom? ReadWriteWeb has put forward two great cases both against and in favour of the idea. Wikipedia - an unreliable source or a valuable crowd-sourcing tool?

6. Competitions and Awards

The winners of the 2012 WA Premier’s Literary Awards have been announced. Congratulations to Penni Russon, who won the Young Adult prize with Only Ever Always!

Vote! Vote! Vote! There’s just 2.5 weeks remaining for 12-20 year olds to vote for their favourite book in this year’s Inky Awards (and go in the draw to win all 10 shotlisted titles!).

Did you also see our Library Prize competition? Schools and libraries can enter to win all 20 longlisted titles for their collection.

Text Publishing is also running a very cool competition to celebrate Richard Newsome’s latest Billionaire book: 10-13 year olds can win a $100 book voucher + a $1,000 book voucher for their school, by writing a story – details here.

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.

1.  The Melbourne Prize

The Melbourne Prize for Literature finalists have been announced and amongst those recognised are children and young adult writer’s Alison Lester and Sonya Hartnett.  They have both been shortlisted in the company of those who write for adults, another step in recognising writing for the young as equal.  Winners will be announced November 7th.

 2. State Library of Victoria’s Children Collection

Children’s Research Librarian, Juliet O’Conor, invites the public to use the extensive children’s collection on offer. Steps to do so are available on the SLV website here.  SLV holds over 100,000 Australian and overseas children’s books published between the 16th and 21st centuries and is designed for use by researchers and therefore not available for browsing.   Definitely a fantastic resource to use should you be researching!

3. Nick Earls takes a stand

The Brisbane Times has adopted Nick Earls earlier blog stance on the National Year of Reading ambassadorship for their opinion section.  Earls’ article is definitely one to check out especially when discussing the role some of his fellow Queensland ambassadors have played in funding cuts for specific literacy programs.

4. Germaine Greer

Greer said quite a number of things while acting as key note speaker of the Brisbane Writers Festival.  You can read all of it here.  We’ll just draw your attention to her thoughts on schools’ programming at BWF:

“…should not include school children because it was the responsibility of schools to teach literacy.”

We would argue that the point of a schools’ program is to expose students to authors and literature, rather than the mechanics of reading.  Also, festivals do not cater to entire schools. Here’s hoping Greer has actually attended a schools’ event to present an informed opinion.

5. Congratulations Neil Grant

Last Tuesday the winners of the  Queensland Literary Awards  were announced at a presentation held at the State Library of Queensland.  Neil Grant, The Ink Bridge, was announced as the recipient of the QAL Young Adult Book award category.  Well done to Neil and the team at Allen and Unwin.

6.  Hugo Awards

Neil Gaiman is known primarily for his writing for both adults and young people but last year attempted something a little different.  Different as in Dr Who –  with Grant scripting the epsiode ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ which won the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Shortform. Yay for YA authors spreading their wings!

1. MWF In Snapshot.

Missed out on the Melbourne Writer’s Festival? Never fear, the very organised crew over at MWF have the whole 2012 experience in photo form for us.

They really give you a sense of the vibe throughout the festival.

You should also head on over to Danielle Binks blog for her posts about the sessions she attended (there are a lot). I think what’s so fantastic is the way Danielle has been able to be detailed (very) about the discussions and reactions from panel members and the audience.

2. Australia’s Biggest Harry Potter Fan Revealed

To celebrate 15 years since publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Bloomsbury put out a call to all of Harry Potter’s younger fans.

13 year-old Charlotte from NSW was revealed as Australia’s biggest Harry Potter fan, for her drawings and the very detailed Harry Potter family tree.

3. Publishing in Gif Form

Ever asked how an author does it? Author Nathan Bransford lets us in on the publishing process.

I think a strong case can be made for rewriting the title to read: Teachers At Report Writing Time.

4. CBCA Announcement

There are changes afoot!

CBCA national council have changed the rotating administrative executive with a new board of management. The new system will be one of consistency and continuity. They are also in development with a new constitution.

5. How Reading Helps The World

Reading fiction is fun. It helps us escape, arouses us, entertains and educates us. But is it doing us any good? 

1. Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards

Congratulations to the authors shortlisted for this year’s Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. The Writing for Young Adults shortlist is:

• All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield
• The Shadow Girl by John Larkin
• Shiny Guys by Doug MacLeod

We are honoured to have Vikki Wakefield in conversation with Fiona Wood (author of Six Impossible Things) here at the State Library of Victoria on Tuesday, 28th August. The event is free, but bookings are required: click here for more information.

2. Calling all entries

The John Marsden Prize for creative writing by those aged 24 years and younger is open once again. It’s one of the biggest prize pools for writing specifically by young people. Entries close 3rd September, so get writing now!

3. Young Adult Championship

Have you been keeping up with the Kill Your Darlings championship? So far 7 of the 11 championed titles are up (here), and don’t forget to vote for your chance to win an amazing pack of YA titles.

4. Gamifying classical literature

Oxford University Press is digitising and gamifying classical children’s literature (including Alice in Wonderland and Arabian Nights) to entice and engage young readers. Do you think the development is really a “strawberry” or just more chocolate-covered broccoli?

5. What grown-ups can learn from kids’ books

This utterly delightful article expresses perfectly how good books have no age limit on them. One of my personal favourites to re-read is Sonya Hartnett”s The Ghost’s Child. What are yours?

6. Resources for the writers

Got some older teens struggling to tie-up their creative writing? This piece tells you what not to do.

Kelly Gardiner defends adverbs. (Hey, if JK Rowling can work with them…)

And Hazel Edwards (yes, that Hazel Edwards) shares some worthy advice on how you might actually be able to make some money from it all.

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 Harry Potter Reading Club.

J.K. Rowling, in conjunction with publisher Scholastic, has launched an online book club for younger readers. The club will be hosted by scholastic, but will regularly feature Rowling in global webcast (October to be the first) to interact with her fans. Scholastic hope it will be used by librarians and teachers as a tool to engage new readers with the Harry Potter world, describing it as ‘live virtual author visit to classrooms’.

2. The Soul of the Library in the Digital World.

A fascinating article that talks about what the ebook phenomena is doing with the morality of the librarian. The choices that digital print offer, has created a new set of values and morality that the librarian has to consider. Andromeda Yelton discusses how the digital world affects (what she considers) the core librarianship values: privacy, sharing, preservation and access.

3. Back from the Grave: Queensland Literary Awards.

Formerly the Queensland Premiers Literary Awards, The Courier-Mail People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year will be announced in September.

4. Book Sculptures.

In one of those feel good life moments, a series of ‘book sculptures’ (objects made completely from a book), anonymously left at a local Scottish library last year, are being taken on the road for a national tour. The anonymous artist wanted to celebrate “libraries, books, words and ideas”. One of the best ode’s to libraries I’ve seen.

5. Underground.

The Underground New York Public Library is a visual library featuring the Reading-Riders of the NYC subways.

It also happens to be my new favourite blog. To see the utter absorption on the face of the readers, to know that the fictional works have transported them from a smelly (I assume), crowded and loud train carriages to literary worlds rife with imagination… well it’s just an absolute delight.

6. Reading for the Visually Impaired.

I had the occasion, during my former life as a bookseller, to come across a lovely woman who was in search for large print books for her visually impaired daughter. Her daughter loved to read, but had a degenerative eye condition that made reading difficult and slow. Desperate to help, I began to research. I fo

1. 2012 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing 

Congratulations to A.J. Betts, whose manuscript Zac and Mia has won the 2012 Text Prize. Zac and Mia, is a contemporary novel that deals with serious illness and friendship, and will be published in August 2013.

Last year’s winning book, Fire in the Sea by Myke Bartlett is released this week. (Seen our review?)

2. 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards

Congratulations to Robert Newton, whose novel When We Were Two has won the 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for young adult fiction.

3. Catching Fire casting news 

Does this man look like Finnick Odair? Rumours say yes.

4. Championing YA

Esteemed journal Kill Your Darlings has announced an online championship of favourite Australian YA books. Not only can you vote for your favourite (from July 30), but if you do you’ll go in the running to win an awesome prize pack.

Champions include Centre for Youth Literature founder, Agnes Nieuwenhuizen, CYL Program Coordinator Adele Walsh, CYL Learning Programs Officer Jordi Kerr, and the mother of Inky (and an award-winning YA author to boot) Lili Wilkinson.

5. You’ll never get into this clubhouse

Brontë sisters action figures – these historical heroes are determined to get their books into print!

1.  WA Premier’s Literary Awards

The lovely folk over in Western Australia have announced their choices for the 2011 WA Premier’s Literary Awards.  Congratulations to the following shortlisted authors (and their publishers)  in the young adult category:

• Crow Country by Kate Constable
• Horses for King Arthur by LS Lawrence
• The Coming of the Whirlpool by Andrew McGahan
• The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner
• Only Ever Always by Penni Russon
• Whisper by Chrissie Keighery

2.  Interview yourself 20 years into the future

Last week a video went viral of a 32 year old man interviewing his 12 year old self.  What resulted is mind bending hilarity.  Special credit for the Dr Who mention.

Link to video.

3.  Jodi Picoult on tour

Jodi Picoult and her daughter, Samantha, have co-written the novel  Between the Lines which was released on 2 July 2012.  Perfect timing for an Australian tour, we say.  And so it is – you can catch Jodi and Samantha in various locations throughout WA, NSW, Queensland and Victoria from mid-July.  Click here for dates (booking is sometimes necessary).

Keep up with the Australian tour through the Facebook fan page.

4. Your e-reader is reading you

The Wall Street Journal published an article last week on the way e-readers have allowed reading to become quantifiable.  Data on the way in which you read, and purchase reading material, have helped make reading an increasingly measurable exercise.  How long you read, how quickly it take you to finish, do you purchase the next in the series etc all this assists in crafted a more detailed sense of today’s reader.

This article is full of interesting pieces of analysis on people’s reading habits, including:

“Nook users who buy the first book in a popular series like “Fifty Shades of Grey” or “Divergent,” a young-adult series by Veronica Roth, tend to tear through all the books in the series, almost as if they were reading a single novel.”

Not surprising but helpful all the same.

5.  Vale Pamela Lofts

It is with great sadness that the Centre for Youth Literature notes the passing of illustrator Pamela Lofts. Lofts’ beautiful work graces such titles as Mem Fox’s Koala Lou and Hunwick’s Egg, and (perhaps most famously) Marcia Vaughan’s gooey, brewy, yummy, chewy, Wombat Stew. May her wombat live on to entertain many generations, ever unstewed.

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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1. The Very Dramatic Saving of Kensal Rise Library.

This story has it all: impassioned protesters, a library on the brink of extinction, a secret book heist and a (hopefully) happy ending.

2. Gay Comic Book Characters: The New Green Lantern.

DC Comics have announced that the original Green Lantern (I learnt today that there is more than one!) is being recreated as a gay character. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Green Lantern is one of several gay characters through out the DC and Marvel universe.

3. Magic and Sony.

Don’t ask me how it works (pixie dust?), but Sony have recently announced The Wonderbook; the first in a new line of interactive gaming with books. The Wonderbook is a collaboration with JK Rowling, who has written a series of spells (Book of Spells) from her Harry Potter universe. Tied in with Pottermore (new an interactive ways of experiencing the Harry Potter world), the Wonderbook is a wand (your controller) and Book of Spells (book) that pops off the page and throws you into the world of wizardry.

4. Book Expo America 2012.

BEA12 is finished. Swimming with book fever, weary librarians would have taken their tired feet home. I was really intrigued by their podcasts (Middle Grade and YA). If you have some spare time I’d suggest a listen through to see just what the publisher’s are excited about this year.

5. Profanity and YA.

The following article can be taken with a grain of salt as it focuses exclusively on an analysis of foul language in the New York Times Best Seller List for Children’s Books, but it did make me wonder. Is there too much swearing in YA? Is the amount of swearing a true reflection on teens today?

6. YA Ratings.

Following from ‘Net News 5 is the question ‘Should YA books have ratings?’ It’s an interesting question, but what really had me interested was the link to Common Sense Media. They’re reviews indicate readership age and any contentious themes or issues that are in the books. Great guide if you know your reader is put off by violence or perhaps swearing.