Nosy Crow's Blog, page 132

The verdict on last night’s Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon with Sarah Warburton

Last night Nosy Crow returned to The Book Club in Shoreditch for the third edition of the Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon – featuring special guest Sarah Warburton, the highly-acclaimed illustrator of the Princess and the… picture book series and the brand new Invincibles illustrated fiction series, written by Caryl Hart.

It was another great evening, I thought – I loved hearing Sarah talk about how her work has developed over her 22-year career, how she creates her artwork, how she finds particular things in Caryl’s texts that give her inspiration, and much more besides. I think Kate, our salonnière for the evening, summed up the night perfectly afterwards:

VG 2C so many illustrators @ tonight’s Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon @ @TheBookClubEC2 w/ the fabulous, honest & self-deprecating @SarahWarbie

— Nosy Crow (@NosyCrow) April 18, 2016

And here’s what some of our attendees made of Sarah’s salon:

So excited for the @NosyCrow #IllustratorSalon this evening with @SarahWarbie. One of my absolute favourite illustrators!

— Jools Bentley (@joolsbentley) April 18, 2016

At the #IllustratorSalon with @SarahWarbie & @NosyCrow (awesome supporters of #PicturesMeanBusiness)! #Illustration pic.twitter.com/dnHpVKKkd0

— Sarah McIntyre (@jabberworks) April 18, 2016

Thank you @SarahWarbie & @NosyCrow for a lovely and inspiring evening of illustration talk #picturebooks #careers #makingswatches #ornot

— Shelley Revill (@wriggleplum) April 19, 2016

There will be some happy little kiddies tomorrow! Thanks @SarahWarbie @carylhart1 @NosyCrow @NosyCrowBooks pic.twitter.com/fnNDZPt4He

— Meredith Vigh (@MeredithVigh) April 18, 2016

Thanks for a fab #IllustratorSalon, @NosyCrow! Fab to see @tombonnick @ElissaElwick @SarahWarbie @carylhart1

The inspiration behind Pale Peak Burning – the new book by Paula Harrison

Today’s blog post is by Paula Harrison, author of the Rescue Princesses series, the Secret Rescuers series, and the Red Moon Rising trilogy, on the inspiration behind Pale Peak Burning – the final book in the trilogy.

Next month the last book in my Red Moon Rising series will be released. It’s called Pale Peak Burning and it’s set in the Dark Peak of Derbyshire. When I started writing it, back in 2013, I went to stay in the Youth Hostel in Eyam with my sister to explore the place and be inspired! The main character, Laney, moves to the area near the beginning of the story. It’s a long way from the woods and gentle rivers of her home. The rough beauty of the countryside really strikes her and certain places are key to unearthing secrets about who she is and why she’s there. No spoilers though!

I love the Peak District. It’s a magnificent place with chunks of stone lying around on the hilltops alongside abandoned mill wheels that were cut out of the hillside more than a hundred years ago.

If you like a good view it’s a great place to visit. There are also some great pubs to eat in. The photo above is Baslow Edge and the one below is Curbar Edge. Amazing places! I took inspiration from the place names too. In Pale Peak Burning there’s a mysterious peak called Groaning Tor. There are interesting place names all over the Peak District.

Red Moon Rising is a fantasy series following the fortunes of the Fair Eyes (faeries) who live as humans and who belong to the tribes Mist, Thorn, Greytail, Kestrel or Blaze. Each tribe possesses different elemental powers. Laney tries to find out who she really is and where she belongs in Pale Peak Burning. This book was great fun to write. Unfortunately not all the characters survive till the end! I’ll let you guess which ones don’t make it…

Pale Peak Burning will be published next month – if you’re new to the series, you can read the opening of Red Moon Rising, the first book in the trilogy, below:

Buy the book online.

Take a look inside My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord – sequel to the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize winner My Brother is a Superhero

This week we were absolutely THRILLED to learn that My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, was the UK’s Number 1 children’s book bestseller – beating David Walliams’ Awful Auntie and Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.

But that wasn’t the ONLY exciting superhero news: we’ve also just received the first finished copies of David’s brilliant sequel to My Brother is a Superhero: My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord. The book won’t be in shops until July -but today you can read the the opening chapter!

Zack and Lara have superpowers. Luke has new school shoes and a burning sense of resentment. He KNOWS that aliens disguised as gym teachers are about to attack Earth but will anyone listen? No. So one dodgy pact with a self-styled supervillain later, and Luke is ready to save the world. He just need to find his trainers…

Without further ado, here’s a look inside My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord:

Hilariously funny, out-of-this-world exciting, and full of heart and character, these books are a PERFECT package.

And we’d love to know what you make of them! Let us know what you make of this first chapter of My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord on Twitter to @NosyCrowBooks, and we’ll pick some winners at random for some special My Brother is a Superhero prizes!

To stay up to date with all of our book news – and be in with a chance of winning early copies of My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord – sign up to our book newsletter, either at this page or with the form below.

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Nosy Crow achieves its first Children’s Number One Bestseller!

My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons was the UK’s Number 1 children’s book bestseller last week, beating David Walliams’ Awful Auntie and Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul with 4,356 copies sold.

The book won the overall Waterstones Children’s Book Award last month, which boosted already impressive sales. Rights to My Brother is a Superhero have been sold in 11 languages.

The book is currently shortlisted for both the Independent Bookshop Week and the Bookseller Industry Awards Children’s Book of the Year, and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award.

This is Nosy Crow’s first number 1 children’s bestseller in the company’s 5 year publishing history.

David Solomons’ second novel, My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord, the sequel to My Brother is a Superhero, will be published in July 2016.

This sales highlight is set against impressive overall sales performance from Nosy Crow: based on January to March 2016 TCM sales, Nosy Crow has increased its sales to consumers by 100%. This follows a full year’s TCM increase of 54% in 2015, and a 42% increase in 2014. Nosy Crow is currently the UK’s 15th largest publisher of books for children measured by TCM sales and is the 12th largest publisher of fiction titles.

Kate Wilson, Nosy Crow’s Managing Director, said: “We’re so proud of My Brother is a Superhero and of David. This was a book whose combination of high quality writing and commercial potential sang out to our Head of Fiction, Kirsty Stansfield, from the first moment she read it, and it’s very heartening to see all our efforts to bring it to the biggest possible audience coming to fruition. We’re particularly grateful to Waterstones Head Office and Waterstones shops up and down the country for supporting the book so enthusiastically from the beginning.”

Florentyna Martin, Children’s Book Buyer for Waterstones, said, “My Brother is a Superhero is a shining example of debut fiction that Nosy Crow have cared for from acquisition to publication, making it a dream to recommend to readers.”

Nicolette Jones said of My Brother is a Superhero in the Sunday Times, “Full of comic-hero references, the book is a hoot.”

Take a look inside Little Bits of Sky

Next month we are enormously proud to be publishing Little Bits of Sky – a breathtaking debut for 9-12 year old readers by S.E. Durrant. Moving, wise, and beautifully written, this is an incredibly special book – here’s what we said about it last year when we acquired it. And today, you can take a look inside for the first time.

Next week we’ll be holding a special edition of the Nosy Crow Reading Group to discuss Little Bits of Sky – our lucky attendees have received early proof copies in advance of publication in May. The reading group is fully booked, but if you missed the chance to register for a place, here’s your chance to read the opening chapter of Little Bits of Sky before the book appears in shops:

It’s already receiving some fantastic reviews. The Bookseller’s Fiona Noble wrote: “This blew me away, what a very special debut. Tender, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting.” Author Natasha Farrant said: “This is so beautiful! A perfect little book.” And author-illustrator Emma Chichester Clarke called the book “So good and fresh and believable.”

Next week’s reading group is currently fully booked, but you can add your name to the waiting list in case of cancellations with the form below.

And if you’d like to stay up to date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter below:


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Come and work for Nosy Crow: we’re hiring a Digital Publishing and Marketing Assistant

We have an incredible opportunity for a hardworking, bright individual with the right to live and work in the UK to join our team at Nosy Crow as a Digital Publishing and Marketing Assistant on a full-time basis, working in our London office near London Bridge.

The Digital Publishing and Marketing Assistant will work across the company, but primarily with the Business Development Manager and Commissioning Editor on Nosy Crow’s award-winning digital publishing, audio publishing, digital marketing, and events programmes. While the job is predominantly an administrative role, Nosy Crow is a fast-growing company with opportunities for career development.

The ideal candidate is likely to be educated to degree level, and, in addition…

Will be able to demonstrate a strong interest in children’s books, and in digital publishing and marketing
Will be highly organised (and willing to do a lot of admin stuff), with great time management skills, and excellent attention to detail
Will have perfect written and spoken communication skills in English
Will have strong digital skills, an interest in various digital and social media channels, and be comfortable using content management systems
Will be a self-starter with lots of initiative who is ready to ‘muck in’
Will be able to produce great copy, and will have some experience at writing – a blog, perhaps, or a student newspaper

 

You can read the full job description for the position here.

To apply, please send Tom Bonnick your CV, accompanied by an application letter, as soon as possible via email (tom at nosycrow dot com).

The closing date for applications is Sunday May 1st at midnight (UK time).

Nosy Crow at the 2016 Hay Festival

The programme for the 2016 Hay Festival has been announced, and we’re very pleased to say that there are some FANTASTIC events lined up featuring Nosy Crow authors!

On Saturday 28 May at 4pm, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam creators Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton will lead a show-stopping event to celebrate the launch of their new picture book, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Diamond Chase. Tickets are £5 and you can book online here – and if you’re new to the fantastic adventures of Shifty and Sam, here’s a look inside their first book:

On Sunday May 29 at 10am, Cowgirl author G.R. Gemin will be sharing his new book, Sweet Pizza – the story of Joe’s struggle to save the family-run café in Bryn Mawr that was started before the war by his Italian great-great grandfather. He vows to keep it open, and find out more about his past at the same time, as well as trying to bring a diverse town together through good food and fine times. Tickets are £5 and you can book online here.

On Sunday May 29 at 4pm, Pugly Bakes a Cake author Pamela Butchart will be sharing the stage with Laura James, author of Captain Pug, to discuss all things pugs! Tickets are £5 and you can book online here.

And Pamela will be back on Monday May 30 at 10am with To Wee Or Not To Wee – hilarious, action-packed retellings of Macbeth, Hamlet, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Romeo and Juliet from a Blue Peter Book Award-winning author-illustrator team. Tickets are £5 and you can book online here – and here’s a look inside the book:

On Monday May 30 at 2.30pm, there’ll be an extra-special event for our first book with The British Museum, Secret Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Discover the Sunken Cities. Step back in time and explore the amazing lost cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus with the help of an expert, a British Museum curator of The Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds exhibition. Enjoy seeing incredible underwater photographs from the site and discover how these fantastic cities were rediscovered. Tickets are £6 and you can book here.

On Thursday June 2 at 2.30pm, The Many Worlds of Albie Bright author Christopher Edge will be taking part in a fantastic event with Time Travelling with a Hamster author Ross Welford – together they will explore the wonder of science as a way to explain some of the mysteries of the world. Tickets are £6 and you can book here  – and here’s a look inside The Many Worlds of Albie Bright:

On Thursday June 2 at 4pm, Rose Campion and the Stolen Secret author Lyn Gardner will share the stage with Katherine Woodfine, author of The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow, and Frances Hardinge, author of the Costa Book of the Year The Lie Tree, for an event that’s bound to be perfect for fans of mystery. Tickets are £7 and you can book here – and here’s a look inside Rose Campion and the Stolen Secret:

And finally, on Friday 3 June at 1pm, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize winner David Solomons will discuss My Brother is a Superhero – the HILARIOUS and exciting story of Luke, a comic-mad 11-year old who has only five days to rescue his brother and save the world after a dramatic alien visit and a case of mistaken identity… Tickets are £6 and you can book here – and here’s a look inside the book:

You can find the full programme of children’s events at Hay here – we hope to see you there!

To Wee Or Not To Wee: A book with unusual beginnings

Ideas for books begin in many ways, but it’s not often that they start life as a radio play.

To Wee Or Not To Wee started with BBC radio. 23rd April 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and is a great time to celebrate his continued legacy. As part of their celebrations, BBC School Radio created ‘Shakespeare Retold’, a series of ten stories written by well-known children’s authors including Frank Cottrell Boyce, Andy Stanton and Pamela Butchart. Each story is inspired by one of Shakespeare’s plays, and is intended as a light introduction to his characters and themes.

BBC Producer Marie Crook asked Pamela to take on Macbeth. With its mixture of wild (murderous!) ambition, spooky witches and general mayhem, Macbeth was the perfect play for Pamela to tell with a comic twist.

At first Pamela was a little nervous about the task, as she hadn’t really got along with Shakespeare at school, but when she went back to the play she realised that it was dramatic, funny and exciting, and she was really keen to retell it in a way that was easy to understand and enjoy. You can listen to Pamela’s interview with the BBC here.

When Pamela’s editor Kirsty saw her Macbeth – now renamed MACDEATH – script, she knew it was going to be a hit. So quick as a flash she asked Pamela how she felt about giving Izzy, the audacious primary school heroine of Pamela’s Baby Aliens series, a whole book in which to retell Shakespeare’s greatest hits. Pamela was really keen, and so a whole new interpretation of Shakespeare involving Hamlet’s pyjamas, lasagne, and bridesmaid cats was born.

In order to publish in time for Shakespeare’s anniversary, everything had to move EXTREMELY quickly. Thomas Flintham, who illustrates all of the Izzy books, worked at illustration light-speed to create an impressive array of Shakespeare’s romantic leads, dastardly villains and gruesome ghouls ready for designer Nicola to work her magic with.

And all the work paid off because on 7th April the crowd hushed and the curtains opened on To Wee Or Not To Wee! You can take a look inside the book, and read Pamela’s re-telling of Macbeth, below:

And you can listen to Macdeath, and the other nine Shakespeare retellings, here.

 

If you’d like to stay up to date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter below:

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It’s Publication Day for our April titles!

As the Bologna Book Fair sadly draws to a close today, we still have lots to get excited about with the publication of all of our April titles! Today we’re publishing a couple of great novelty titles and two brilliant new picture books, along with a whole host of great new fiction titles, from favourite series like The Palomino Pony and Zoe’s Rescue Zoo, to brand new titles from established Nosy Crow favourites Lyn Gardner, Pamela Butchart and Thomas Flintham, and Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton. So if you need something to cheer you up on this gloomy Thursday, then look no further – we’ve got something for everyone!

First up this month are the latest two titles in our Listen to the series. Beautifully illustrated by Marion Billet and with six amazing real-life sounds in each book, adults and children alike will be enchanted by these charming board books. In Listen to the Jungle, you can hear a lion’s roar, a hippo’s happy splashing, and lots of parrots squawking. In Listen to the Things That Go, you can chug along with a noisy little train, ring the bell on a bicycle, and beep the horn of a little car.

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Buy Listen to the Things That Go.

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Buy Listen to the Jungle.

Also out today is There’s a Moose on the Loose, the latest title from the brilliant team behind Follow That Car. Written by Lucy Feather, and with fantastically intricate and enthralling illustrations by Stephan Lomp, this is a book to come back to again and again, with new details to spot every time!

A moose is on the loose and he’s in a serious hurry! As he rushes through town, Moose is chased by an ever growing crowd who are anxious to retrieve all the things that have been caught on his antlers. But where is he off to in such a rush? Hang on, it’s a PARTY! Readers will love trailing the mapped-out route as they follow Moose on his mad dash across a busy town.

Take a look inside the book:

Buy There’s a Moose on the Loose.

And it’s also publication day for Dave’s Cave, our very first picture book with the brilliant Frann Preston-Gannon, which follows caveman Dave as he discovers for himself that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and there really is no place like home. Written in hilarious ‘caveman speak’, this is a stylish, witty picture book with a heartwarming message.

“Dave’s Cave has all the hallmarks of a bedtime classic… The collage-style illustrations are bright, simple and funny, and the text punchy and short.” – Tim Auld, The Daily Telegraph

Take a peek inside the book here:

Buy Dave’s Cave.

Next up is the first fiction title by the best-selling picture book team, Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton, who are behind the wildly successful The Princess and the… series. The Invincibles: The Piglet Pickle is the first story about best friends Nell and Freddie, and revolves around a school trip, a local crime wave and a pig-napping! EXTREMELY cute illustrations accompany the hilarious antics of this troublesome twosome, and make for a story that beginner-readers are bound to whizz through.

Take a look inside the book:

Buy The Invincibles: The Piglet Pickle.

Also publishing today are two sequels to two fantastic animal series: The Palomino Pony and Zoe’s Rescue Zoo. The Palomino Pony Steals the Show is the final book in this heartwarming pony series, written by Olivia Tuffin. Georgia and her Palomino, Lily, have come a long way together but now, in their final adventure together, they face what might just be their biggest challenge yet…

Take a look inside the book:

Buy The Palomino Pony Steals the Show.

Zoe’s Rescue Zoo: The Happy Hippo is another lovely title in this cute and cuddly series for young animal-obsessed readers, written by Amelia Cobb and illustrated by Sophy Williams. Henry the hippo turns up at the zoo after his mother dies. But the zoo already has a hippo and horrible Mr Pinch wants to send Henry away! Zoe can’t bear to see the little hippo homeless, so she comes up with a hiptastic plan!

Take a peek inside the book:

Buy Zoe’s Rescue Zoo: The Happy Hippo.

It is also publication day for To Wee or Not to Wee!, the hilarious retellings of four Shakespeare plays by Blue Peter Award-winning duo Pamela Butchart and Thomas Flintham. When Izzy (star of the Baby Aliens series) is asked to tell her friends some exciting stories, she thinks of Macbeth – there are battles, loads of gore, excellent witches and even walking trees! Soon her friends want more, so she moves on to A Midsummer Night’s Dream (a man with a donkey’s head called Bottom!), Romeo and Juliet (kissing – eew!) and Hamlet (who left that skull lying about?) and now everyone wants to know more about the Bard!

Take a look inside the book:

Buy To Wee or Not to Wee!

And finally, we come to the brilliant Rose Campion and the Stolen Secret. Written by Guardian theatre critic, Lyn Gardner, author of the Olivia series, this book is chock-full of murders and mysteries set in the glitzy world of the Victorian music hall. Rose was left by her mother at the door of Campion’s Palace of Variety and Wonders as a baby. It is her home, and she loves it, but she never stops wondering who she really is. When murder threatens to destroy the music hall, Rose will need all her performance skills to crack the crime and delve into a murky past of blackmail, subterfuge and abduction…

Take a look inside:

Buy Rose Campion and the Stolen Secret.

Congratulations to all of today’s authors and illustrators!

Just under a fortnight to go until the next Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon!

There’s just under a fortnight to go until the next Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon – and there are just a couple of places remaining!

This will be the third instalment in our new series of evening events, dedicated to celebrating the importance of illustration, and featuring  the incredible Sarah Warburton, the highly-acclaimed illustrator of the Princess and the… picture book series and the brand new Invincibles illustrated fiction series, written by Caryl Hart.

The Illustrator Salon will be taking place on Monday 18th April, at The Book Club in Shoreditch. Doors will open at 6.30pm for drinks and conversation, and the main event will begin at 7.00pm.

Once again, our host and salonnière for the evening will be Nosy Crow’s founder and managing director, Kate Wilson. After an interview with Sarah, there’ll be a Q&A with the audience, followed by a book signing and drinks.

Booking in advance is essential – you can book your place with the form below, or at this page. And you can save money on a signed copy of any of Sarah’s books by buying one now with your ticket! General admission costs just £7. £11 will include entry to the salon, PLUS a signed paperback copy of either a Princess picture book, or the first book in the Invincibles series, Piglet Pickle. Or for £14, you can get a signed hardback copy of any Princess picture book.

You’ll also be able to buy copies of any of Sarah’s books on the night itself.

If you don’t want to miss out on any of our future salon events, sign up to our mailing list below. We hope to see you there!



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