N.H. Senzai's Blog, page 4
April 25, 2010
Child Slavery
"No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."-United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
I came across two books that disturbed me deeply -- both deal with childhood slavery in South Asia, India and Pakistan. It's sad that in this day in age, such a things exists. There's a lot of work to be done...
The first, is BOYS WITHOUT NAMES, by Kashmira Seth. Set in contemporary Mumbai tells a harrowing story of child...
I came across two books that disturbed me deeply -- both deal with childhood slavery in South Asia, India and Pakistan. It's sad that in this day in age, such a things exists. There's a lot of work to be done...
The first, is BOYS WITHOUT NAMES, by Kashmira Seth. Set in contemporary Mumbai tells a harrowing story of child...
April 20, 2010
Writing Good
How many publishers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Three. One to screw it in. Two to hold down the author.
This is an oldie, but hilarious...
How to Write Good
by Frank L.Visco and originally published in the June 1986 issue of Writers' digest.Avoid Alliteration. Always.Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)Employ the vernacular.Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are...
This is an oldie, but hilarious...
How to Write Good
by Frank L.Visco and originally published in the June 1986 issue of Writers' digest.Avoid Alliteration. Always.Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)Employ the vernacular.Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are...
April 16, 2010
Numbers are Up!
If you're child says they're bored, hand them a book.
Source: Parent MagazineNo doubt about it, publishing sales, along with the rest of the economy are in a slump --- that is, except for children's books. R.R. Boker reported that the number of children's books produced in the U.S. rose 8% in 2009 to 32,348 - traditional books fell by half a percentage point to 288,355 titles. We're still below 2004 when 37,976 children's titles were produced, and 2003, with 33,469 titles, was the second...
Source: Parent MagazineNo doubt about it, publishing sales, along with the rest of the economy are in a slump --- that is, except for children's books. R.R. Boker reported that the number of children's books produced in the U.S. rose 8% in 2009 to 32,348 - traditional books fell by half a percentage point to 288,355 titles. We're still below 2004 when 37,976 children's titles were produced, and 2003, with 33,469 titles, was the second...
April 14, 2010
Kids Otter Read Day
Americas most literate Cities (per 10,000 population) -- 1. Seattle, WA, 2. San Francisco, CA, 3.5 Minneapolis, MN, 3.5 Cincinnati, OH, 5. St. Louis, MO , 6. Portland, OR, 7. Pittsburgh, PA, 8. St. Paul, MN, 9. Cleveland, OH, 10. Washington, DC - Central Connecticut State University, 2007
Mark your calendars! Come celebrate the San Francisco Bay Area's rich children's book community with your local independent bookstore on May 1, 2010 from 1 – 3pm. The Northern California Children's...
Mark your calendars! Come celebrate the San Francisco Bay Area's rich children's book community with your local independent bookstore on May 1, 2010 from 1 – 3pm. The Northern California Children's...
April 3, 2010
Spring Break
Gone East for Spring Break. Will be back in a week!
April 2, 2010
Darkly Delicious
"Sometimes his (Roald Dahl's) work was a little too strong for grown-ups. It was scary and messy, but children understood that this was only because lots of adults were not very nice themselves, beastly even." --Yorkshire Post
My favorite author growing up (well one of my many favorites) was Roald Dahl. I read his books over and over again (and still do!). Two of my favorites were FANTASTIC MR. FOX and THE WITCHES (JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH is a close third). The element of his books that I a...
My favorite author growing up (well one of my many favorites) was Roald Dahl. I read his books over and over again (and still do!). Two of my favorites were FANTASTIC MR. FOX and THE WITCHES (JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH is a close third). The element of his books that I a...
March 29, 2010
Another 2K10 Debut
March was an awesome month for readers as this is the fourth fellow 2K10 author's debut. Judith Grave's skin must have goosepimples as her YA, UNDER MY SKIN comes out.
All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life...
Redgrave had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Redgrave High's resident hottie, warns her the...
All her parents wanted was for Eryn to live a normal life... Redgrave had its share of monsters before Eryn moved to town. Mauled pets, missing children. The Delacroix family is taking the blame, but Eryn knows the truth. Something stalks the night. Wade, the police chief's son and Redgrave High's resident hottie, warns her the...
March 25, 2010
Preview just in...
There are an estimated 122,356 libraries of all kinds in the United States today American Library Association
Elizabeth Bird, of Fuse 8 Productions, just blogged about her preview session with Simon & Schuster where editors presented upcoming books to librarians. My own amazing editor, Alexandra, spoke about SHOOTING KAUBUL. This is what Elizabeth had to say -
"Alexander Penfold was up and talking about Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai when I came in. The book has a plot that has haunted me since...
Elizabeth Bird, of Fuse 8 Productions, just blogged about her preview session with Simon & Schuster where editors presented upcoming books to librarians. My own amazing editor, Alexandra, spoke about SHOOTING KAUBUL. This is what Elizabeth had to say -
"Alexander Penfold was up and talking about Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai when I came in. The book has a plot that has haunted me since...
March 22, 2010
Future of Children's Books
Nielsen BookScan reported that sales of juvenile books were the strongest of any category in 2008, rising 6 percent from 2007. In 2009, Nielsen reported, sales held mostly even. By contrast, last year adult hardcover and mass market paperbacks both declined nearly 4 percent, and trade paperbacks fell 2 percent - Washington Post
I never like such encompassing titles of articles as The Future of Children's Books. Its sounds so penultimate, as if the writer had a crystal ball and was making...
I never like such encompassing titles of articles as The Future of Children's Books. Its sounds so penultimate, as if the writer had a crystal ball and was making...
March 19, 2010
Hiding with Harry
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, dragon blood is revealed to be an effective oven cleaner (I just cleaned my oven and wished I had some)
I, like countless millions, loved the Harry Potter series and one of my favorite magical objects was his Cloak of Invisibility which had the power to shield the wearer from sight, and could not be worn out by time or spells. Invisibility cloaks are not a new concept and have appeared in literatue since the days of Brothers Grimm.
When I read about...
I, like countless millions, loved the Harry Potter series and one of my favorite magical objects was his Cloak of Invisibility which had the power to shield the wearer from sight, and could not be worn out by time or spells. Invisibility cloaks are not a new concept and have appeared in literatue since the days of Brothers Grimm. When I read about...
