Calling Book Bloggers & Aspiring Writers

I am very blessed to be doing the thing I love most in the world - working with books and literature, in a company that shares my vision and ethos. At Jacaranda Books I am currently managing my own list (I know, so exciting!) which affords me two great privileges: 1. to share the books I love with all you wonderful readers and 2. to provide opportunities to great writers.

So first, to the readers. This month will see us publish The Colour Black by Maia Walczak and I am seeking bloggers and book reviewers to interview, write about and hold competitions and giveaways.

A unique take on the American road novel, The Colour Black is the story of a talented, colour-blind, feisty young woman Silvia Cruz. Silvia lives a quiet but comfortable existence in San Diego as an artist, drawing abstracts and nudes. Then  comes Jack; free-spirited, athletic and a lawyer with a love for wild swimming, he is different from her other models, and though resistant to love or meaningful relationships, Silvia soon finds herself drawn to him.

Publishing, Diversity and the Power of Self Belief (by Jamal Edwards)

On 8th July I went along to the Bookseller Marketing and Publicity Conference with a publishing colleague. It was an excellent day and I am so glad I could attend; kudos to Alice Ryan for organising a great event.

Though some aspects were geared towards the bigger publishing houses and not small independent publishers like us, the advice was incredibly valuable, and I was able to take away brilliant information for our team regarding dealing with journalists and booksellers, and how to rethink our social strategy and content marketing. However, the highlight of my day was hearing Crystal Mahey-Morgan speak.

#Kindlestones: Amazon & Waterstones sign Kindle deal

So, the main news of the day is that Waterstones has signed a deal with Amazon to sell Kindle ebooks through its store. I kid you not. You can read about it for yourself on the Bookseller or watch James Daunt making the announcement on this YouTube video:

There have been many mixed reactions in the publishing world and beyond, but overall there has been a lot of confusion. I stand amongst the confused, and the reason for that is partly due to an article posted only yesterday on the Guardian website which finishes up with '"We'll be different from Amazon," he [Daunt] says, with characteristic ebullience, "and we'll be better."' Furthermore, Daunt is the last person I would have imagined making a deal with Amazon.

Now, I am no expert in ereaders or the digital revolution; though I am passionate about it, I know there is so much for me to learn and understand. But that is the whole point: the majority of readers are probably equally, or even more, ignorant of the detailed mechanics and politics of the digital reading revolution, and many probably don't particularly care – they simply want good books at a good price. As far as many are concerned, Amazon is a force not to be competed with, and it is the best company because it is so cheap, and many of them will be happy with this new partnership. On the other hand, there is a significant body of readers who do not want to be tied to Amazon, who have other e-readers, and who are desperate for those other e-readers to be given a fair chance - I know this for a fact because I have come across them.

An Awfully Big Blog Adventure Hosts First Ever Online Lit Fest

It is an exciting weekend for children, parents, authors, bloggers and the publishing industry! That's because this weekend, the 9th and 10th July,  An Awfully Big Blog Adventure are hosting the first ever online literary festival.

To coincide with the blog's third birthday, they have created this incredible idea.  The online festival has been organised by a range of wonderful children's authors, and will be the first of its kind. Every half an hour will see a contribution from an author, and the line-up includes a range of subjects, from blogging, to tips on writing, and insights into some of the inspiration and origins for their own incredible work.

In addition, there are some awesome competitions, including book giveaways and, for you aspiring writers, the chance to win a critique!

The New Guardian Books Website Preview

On Tuesday 5^th April I was delighted to be part of a small gathering at the Guardian offices in London, where we were shown a preview of the new Guardian Books website. I was not sure what to expect; having seen the brilliant work that was done on the Guardian Children’s Books pages, I knew I’d be impressed, but I was still very pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

Book Machine Meet-Up

As a relative newbie to the world of publishing, there is nothing that I desire more than to meet up with other publishing types. Until now I have managed to ‘connect’ with a good number of publishing people through social network sites, and as a result of my work experience, but nothing compares to meeting people face-to-face in a relaxed environment where you can be yourself, no expectations. So, considering that formal networking isn’t quite appropriate for me at these early stages of my career (what would I have to talk about, the importance of work experience?), the Book Machine Meet Up was the perfect choice.

I first got to know about the Book Machine through Twitter. Laura Austin, one of the organisers, was very welcoming, encouraging me to come along. Luckily, at this most recent meeting on Thursday evening (2^nd December) I was only two minutes away from our meeting point at the Hachette building, so despite having another arrangement, I was able to attend for a while and got there nice and early.  Bit by bit more people began to join us, and before long there was a nice group of publishing peeps just socialising, chatting and having a laugh. I got talking to a few people; there were many people from Hachette there, some I’d met, many I hadn’t, and also some people that I had seen before and/ or knew through Twitter, but had not connected them as one and the same person until that evening! Despite not staying  the whole evening I enjoyed myself; there was a nice, relaxed, friendly  vibe that removed the anxiety one can feel when you are still working your way up and have yet to land your first permanent role. The relaxed feel of the evening also meant that I spoke to people I had met before, only in a lot more detail, and I discovered that one of the girls from the Hachette office is actually my neighbour (not next door, but near enough), imagine that!

International Literacy Day – a time to be grateful & reflect

Today, 8th September, is International Literacy Day, a celebration of literacy but also a reminder of the problem of illiteracy that still exists for billions of people around the world. According to UNESCO, one in five adults is illiterate, approximately two-thirds of which are women. Also, 67.4 million children around the world are not receiving formal education.
The importance of literacy for the entire human nation cannot be stressed enough. Unfortunately, I cannot help but feel that for many people, especially young people and those blessed enough to live in ‘first world’ countries, there is not enough appreciation of the immense importance that literacy has for the world community. UNESCO sums up beautifully the importance of literacy for all:

Literacy is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy.
Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. There are good reasons why literacy is at the core of Education for All (EFA).
A good quality basic education equips pupils with literacy skills for life and further learning; literate parents are more likely to send their children to school; literate people are better able to access continuing educational opportunities; and literate societies are better geared to meet pressing development.

Man Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

Here we are fellow book-lovers, The Man Booker Prize Shortlist has just been announced. Those chosen are:

• Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore
• In a Strange Room by Dalmon Galgut
• The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
• The Long Song by Andrea Levy
• C by Tom McCarthy

Congratulations to all these authors for making the list. What a wonderful selection. So, were your predictions right? What do you think about the selection? Anyone not on the list you were expecting? Would love to hear your views.

What happened to good old pen and paper?

WARNING: This may come over as a bit of a rant, and is probably not that well written. Maybe I am just weird and possibly the only person who even thinks the topic is worth writing about, so be forewarned.

I sit here this morning recovering from a splitting headache. I spent the whole of yesterday evening suffering because of the throbbing, stiffening pain behind my eyes. It would appear that I have to get another screen filter because all this computer usage is really destroying my eyes. And as I suffered yesterday, I asked myself, what happened to the good old days of pen and paper??

Increasingly we are giving our lives over to screens. It almost seems normal now to type everything as opposed to write it, but that is not where it stops. As a result of us having transferred all our writing, and everything else in our lives, to the screens, we now even prefer our literature on a screen, as eBooks and eReaders like Kindle and the iPad take over the reading experience, sales soaring. One may think it strange that someone of my age would not be strongly behind all these technological advances; well in fact I am. I can't deny that an eReader would have been much more pleasant than the burden of 2 bags full of books and notepads that I lugged around daily to college and then to university; yes, technology has its place and its uses. What worries me is my younger cousin and his generation with terrible handwriting and atrocious spelling who don't seem to care much because they do everything by computer anyway.