Nosy Crow's Blog, page 156

There's still time to bid for original, signed artwork by Axel Scheffler and raise money for the DEC's Nepal Earthquake Appeal

Last week we announced that we were auctioning some original, signed artwork by Pip and Posy illustrator Axel Scheffler in aid of the DEC’s Nepal Earthquake Appeal.

And there’s just over four days left to bid – so if you’re interested in winning one of these unique pieces, and helping an incredibly important cause, get moving! Both auctions will end at midday on Friday.

Here’s the first piece – an unpublished alternative to the cover artwork for The Grunts in Trouble:



Bid on this piece now.

And here’s the second piece – an unpublished alternative piece from Pip and Posy: The Scary Monster:



Bid on this piece now.

These two pieces of artwork are both signed and dated originals – this is your chance to own a unique piece of unpublished artwork by the best-selling illustrator of The Gruffalo!

The auctions will run for four more days and will end on Friday (May 15). So if you’ve always wanted to own a unique piece of artwork by Axel, now’s your chance! Please do bid generously for this incredibly important cause – and good luck!

Come and work for Nosy Crow: we're hiring a Marketing Executive

Nosy Crow is looking for a new member of our small, dynamic and highly successful team. Our new, rapidly growing sales, marketing and PR department needs a Marketing Executive whose key functions will be:

To work closely with the in-house sales team to constantly devise ways of supporting our key accounts, plus our UK, Ireland and Export Sales teams to maximise sales and liaise with international sales partners and rights customers over POS requirements and production.



To contribute innovative marketing ideas to agent and author acquisition pitches.



To write copy, and manage design and print of three substantial catalogues/rights guides (liaising with a freelance designer).



To devise and implement a range of strategic marketing campaigns around key titles/series/authors and identify appropriate, effective advertising opportunities and write briefs for print and online ads.



To manage external marketing agencies where appropriate.



To produce and arrange print for a number of pieces of printed point of sale, including leaflets and flyers, posters, bookmarks, and other bookshop-friendly material as required.



To act, where appropriate, as an ambassador for the company, presenting new titles and marketing plans at sales, retail and library conferences, for example.



To communicate marketing plans and activity in-house, and to authors, illustrators and agents.

We expect that you will already have had some experience in a publishing marketing environment – preferably in a children’s department. This is a key job in a fast moving young company which enjoys and is successful at what it does. You’ll need to be flexible, determined, and good at getting on with a tightly knit team and its external customers. You’ll report to the Head of Sales and Marketing and will liaise closely with our sales and PR team.

Applications (stating current salary) to Catherine Stokes (catherine@nosycrow.com) by Friday 29th May.

It's May Publication Day!

It’s an important day today, and we all have big decisions to make. Decisions that will define our way of life for years to come, and announce to the world what we want to be as a society.

I’m talking, of course, about the fact that it’s publication day – and we have some incredible new books out today! Here’s what you can find in shops:

Superhero Dad by Timothy Knapman and Joe Berger is out today – a vibrant, humorous and warmhearted picture book celebration of all the incredible things a dad can do. Dad might not have a superhero mask or wear his pants outside his trousers, but his super snores can be heard a thousand miles away, he tells super jokes and can even make super-scary monsters go away at bedtime! Here’s a look inside the book:



Buy the book online.

It’s publication day for Get Out Of My Bath by Britta Teckentrup, illustrator of the brilliant and innovative Playbook series – a BEAUTIFULLY-designed, interactive picture book for 2+ year olds, in which readers are encouraged to get involved in the story by tilting and shaking the book. And it has a very special tactile quality, too – spot UV on every spread creates a wonderful, glistening-water effect that you won’t be able to stop yourself touching.

Ellie the elephant loves to have fun in the bath, but she’s not the only one… Her fun is interrupted when a crocodile decides to join in, followed by a flamingo, then a mouse and even a tiger! Poor Ellie’s bath is ruined. What can she do? Suck all the water into her trunk, of course! Ellie then waits until the uninvited animals have left before squirting all the water back. Finally Ellie can enjoy her bath in peace! Here’s a look inside the book:



Buy the book online.

You can find The Big Monster Snoreybook, written and illustrated by Leigh Hodgkinson, in shops today – a hugely hilarious new picture book from the creator of Goldilocks and Just the One Bear and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize-shortlisted Troll Swap. This is a brilliantly inventive book in the manner of Rosie’s Walk – while the text introduces the readers to a cast of of curious characters, the illustrations suggest that something monstrous and pretty clever might be going on… Here’s a recent blog post from Leigh on where she works – and here’s a look inside the book:



Buy the book online.

We’re incredibly proud to be publishing beautiful, physical editions of the second pair of our award-winning fairytale apps today: Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk, illustrated by the amazing Ed Bryan. Gorgeously designed, and packaged with delightful detail and drama, these are books to treasure and enjoy over and over again. Here’s a look inside the two books:

Buy the book online.

Watch a preview for the app:

Buy the book online.

Watch a preview for the app:

It’s publication day for Hubble Bubble: The Messy Monkey Business, written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Joe Berger – three more stories of magical mayhem from the creators of the BRILLIANT Hubble Bubble picture book and illustrated fiction series. This time around, Granny gets the monkeys to paint the zoo, takes a wand-wielding toddler to a department store and builds the raft to end all rafts! Thank goodness Pandora’s there to sort things out… Here’s a look inside the book:



Buy the book online.

The paperback edition of The Grunts in a Jam by Philip Ardagh and Axel Scheffler is out today – the third book in the superlatively silly Grunts series. This adventure sees the gloriously grubby Grunt family head to a country fair so Mrs Grunt’s mother can enter her homemade jam in the Preserves, Jams and Jellies Competition. There’s nothing in that plan to suggest they’ll encounter sabotage, bad poetry and prison, is there? Hmm. This is The Grunts we’re talking about… Here’s a look inside:



Buy the book online.

And you finally, we’re VERY excited to be launching a brand new young fiction series today – The Secret Rescuers, written by Paula Harrison and illustrated by Sophy Williams. Set in a fantasy world populated by dragons, unicorns, storm wolves and firebirds, this superbly-realised series for 7+ year olds by the author of The Rescue Princesses is packed with magical adventures and baby creatures in peril.

The series stars with The Secret Rescuers: The Storm Dragon. Sophie is a maid at the Royal castle in a magical kingdom. When a small dragon crash-lands in the orchard, not only can she understand it, but she knows she must return it to its family, and protect it from bad-hearted noble, Sir Fitzroy, who wants to destroy all the kingdom’s magical creatures. And soon she realises she’s going to need some friends to help her keep them safe… Here’s a look inside the book:



Buy the book online.

Congratulations to all of today’s authors and illustrators!

Cowgirl has been shortlisted for the Branford Boase award!

The shortlist for the Branford Boase award has just been announced, and we are thrilled that it includes Cowgirl, the debut novel by G.R. Gemin!

The Branford Boase award is given annually to the author and editor of an outstanding debut novel for children – it’s the only award that recognises a book’s editor in this way, and alongside G.R. Gemin, Cowgirl’s editor, Kirsty Stansfield, is also shortlisted.

This is the first time a Nosy Crow book has been shortlisted for the award, and we’re all IMMENSELY proud of both Giancarlo and Kirsty.

The shortlisting is the latest in a series of accolades for Cowgirl: as well as the Branford Boase, it’s also been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the UKLA Book Award, and the Tir na n-Og Award, and nominated for the Carnegie Prize.

And it truly deserves every ounce of praise: Cowgirl is a very special debut. With strong female characters and big-hearted social realism (think Michael Morpurgo meets Jacqueline Wilson), this is a funny, moving story about communities coming together and finding happy endings in unexpected places

If you’ve not yet discovered the book, here are the first three chapters of Cowgirl:



Buy the book now.

The winner of the Branford Boase award will be announced on the 9th July at a ceremony in London. Congratulations, Giancarlo and Kirsty!

Bid for original, signed artwork by Axel Scheffler and raise money for the DEC's Nepal Earthquake Appeal

Today we are incredibly proud to be auctioning some original, signed artwork by Pip and Posy illustrator Axel Scheffler in aid of the DEC’s Nepal Earthquake Appeal.

On Saturday 25 April a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. It severely shook the lives of at least 8m people and left many homeless. Nepal’s major cities, including the capital Kathmandu, have been badly damaged and rural areas near the epicentre have been completely cut off by avalanches. Already over 5000 people have been confirmed dead and the figure is likely to rise significantly in the coming days. Even those whose homes are still standing are sleeping in the streets because they are terrified by regular aftershocks. DEC member agencies and their partners are working urgently to provide emergency shelter, food, clean water and blankets. Once immediate, life-saving needs are met they will work with individuals, families and communities to support them to rebuild their lives.

Axel has donated two beautiful pieces of artwork and asked us to auction them on his behalf, with 100% of the proceeds going to the DEC’s appeal.

These two pieces of artwork are both signed and dated originals – this is your chance to own a unique piece of unpublished artwork by the best-selling illustrator of The Gruffalo!

Here’s the first piece – an unpublished alternative piece from Pip and Posy: The Scary Monster:

Bid on this piece now.

And here’s the second piece – an unpublished alternative to the cover artwork for The Grunts in Trouble:

Bid on this piece now.

The auctions will run for 10 days and will end next Friday (May 15). So if you’ve always wanted to own a unique piece of artwork by Axel, now’s your chance! Please do bid generously for this incredibly important cause – and good luck!

Take a look inside the first book in a brand new series from Paula Harrison - and win a copy!

On Thursday, we’re launching a brand new series written by The Rescue Princesses and Red Moon Rising author Paula Harrison – The Secret Rescuers.

Set in a fantasy world populated by dragons, unicorns, storm wolves and firebirds, this superbly-realised series for 7+ year olds is packed with magical adventures and baby creatures in peril. And you can read the opening chapter of the the first book in the series, The Storm Dragon, today!

Sophie is a maid at the Royal castle in a magical kingdom. When a small dragon crash-lands in the orchard, not only can she understand it, but she knows she must return it to its family, and protect it from bad-hearted noble, Sir Fitzroy, who wants to destroy all the kingdom’s magical creatures. And soon she realises she’s going to need some friends to help her keep them safe… Here’s a look inside the book:

Pre-order the book online.

And to celebrate the launch of The Secret Rescuers, we’re giving away copies of The Storm Dragon on Twitter!

To enter our competition to win the book, just tweet us @NosyCrowBooks your favourite magical creature, with the hashtag #StormDragon. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday – good luck!

Come to the very first Nosy Crow Illustrator Surgery

Are you an unpublished illustrator? Then this blogpost is for you!

We’re always looking for new and undiscovered illustrator talent, and so we’re holding an Illustrator Surgery at the Nosy Crow office (10a Lant Street, London, SE1 1QR) on Friday June 5 – we’d like to meet you!

We’ll be offering timed, 15 minute slots to everyone who attends, to talk about your work and offer advice. You’ll be meeting one of either Nosy Crow’s Managing Director, Editorial Director, Head of Picture Books, or Head of Design.

Tickets for the illustrator surgery will be free, but extremely limited, and so we’re asking everyone who’s interested in coming along to apply for a place, by sending an email to tom [at] nosycrow [dot] com with a link to your website or online portfolio (please don’t include attachments).

We’ll be in touch with everyone who applies, and if you receive a place, we’ll email you with an exact time slot (please make sure you’ll be available between 11am and 2pm on the 5th, as we can’t guarantee a particular time in advance).

The Illustrator Surgery is open to all unpublished (in book form) and unrepresented illustrators – you don’t have to be a student to apply (although students are, of course, very welcome).

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

We hope to see you there!

Announcing a special edition of the Nosy Crow Reading Group!

Today we’re very pleased to announce the details of the next TWO Nosy Crow Reading Groups – including a very special edition of the reading group in June…

On Wednesday, May 20 we’ll be meeting at the Nosy Crow Office (10a Lant Street, London, SE1 1QR) to discuss Anyone But Ivy Pocket, written by Caleb Krisp and illustrated by John Kelly.

If you’d like to come to this event, just sign up for a ticket using the form below, or at this page. Tickets are free, but very limited! If the book group is full, you can add your name to the waiting list and we’ll let you know if a place opens up.

Online Ticketing for Nosy Crow Reading Group: Anyone But Ivy Pocket powered by Eventbrite

You can buy the book online here.

And on Wedneday, June 24, we’ll be holding a special edition of the reading group to discuss My Brother is a Superhero by David Solomons – before the book is officially published in July!

Super-exciting, laugh-out-loud funny, and with enough heart to fill an entire galaxy, this is a fantastic debut from a meteoric new voice in children’s fiction – perfect for fans of Frank Cottrell Boyce – and this is your chance to read it before it’s available to buy!

My Brother is a Superhero isn’t in shops yet, so we’re offering a FREE copy to attendees of this event. Once you’ve registered for a place, you can collect your copy of My Brother is a Superhero from the Nosy Crow office either at our May reading group, if you’re attending, or by emailing to arrange another time to collect the book.

You can register for a place using the form below, or at this page.

Sell Tickets Online through Eventbrite

Here’s a look inside the book:

And here’s an early review from one lucky reader who enjoyed the book so much that he filmed his response:

If you don’t manage to get a place for this reading group, you can pre-order the book online here.

We’ll email everyone some discussion points for each book a little closer to the dates – we hope you can join us!

Listen to this month's Down the Rabbit Hole

Yesterday I was a guest, alongside journalist Imogen Russell Williams, on Down the Rabbit Hole, the only radio programme dedicated entirely to children’s books, hosted by the fantastic super-trio of Katherine Woodfine of Booktrust, Melissa Cox of Waterstones, and Louise Lamont of LBA.

I had ENORMOUS fun discussing three new books with Imogen, Katherine and Melissa (while Louise live-tweeted): Beautiful Birds, written by Jean Roussen and illustrated Emmanuelle Walker (published by Flying Eye Books), Hamish and the Worldstoppers, by Danny Wallace (published by Simon and Schuster), and I’ll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson (published by Walker Books). As well as our discussion, Melissa also gave a run-down of some upcoming books to look out for, with a special mention for Cinderella’s Sister and the Big Bad Wolf, by Lorraine Carey and Migy Blanco.

And if you missed it, you can find the entire episode online now! Listen to it below:

Down The Rabbit Hole – 28th April 2015 by Resonance Fm on Mixcloud

Here’s a look inside Cinderella’s Sister and the Big Bad Wolf:



Buy the book online from Waterstones.

The next episode of Down the Rabbit Hole will broadcast on May 26th – and you can stay up to date with all their news on Twitter, here, and Tumblr, here.

Thanks for having me!

Seeing Yourself: Diversity in Picture Books - a guest post by Sharon Fried-Jones

Today’s guest blog post is by Sharon Fried-Jones, a children’s book blogger and aspiring author, on a recent Children’s Book Circle event on diversity in picture books.

Next time you’re in a children’s bookshop, head over to the picture book section. What do the most popular books have in common?

No, the answer isn’t they’re all written by Julia Donaldson, although that’s a pretty good guess. It’s not that they all feature animals either, although there’s certainly a lot of truth in that.

I’d bet good money that there aren’t many ethnic faces featuring in those titles. It’s an issue I’ve blogged about before and as an aspiring children’s writer and parent of three mixed-raced children it’s a real effort to seek out books with a range of diverse characters.

Then again, what springs to mind when you hear the word ‘diversity’? Perhaps you think of different ethnic types, or a range of characters including those who are disabled or gay.

Whatever you’re thinking, it’s one of the hot topics in publishing at the moment. From the We Need Diverse Books campaign on social media, to our current Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman raising awareness around the topic, it’s something you can’t avoid.

Are publishers bringing out enough books which reflect our culturally mixed consumers? Where are all the authors and illustrators from ethnic backgrounds? How can the industry move forward to be more inclusive? What are the barriers they face?

These were the questions asked at the Children’s Book Circle’s lively panel event last week; Seeing Yourself: Diversity in Picture Books.

Chaired by Nosy Crow’s Tom Bonnick, the panel included Alexandra Strick, the co-founder of Inclusive Minds, an organisation which focuses on ‘inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children’s literature’, Joe Marriott a picture book editor at Penguin Random House who also works closely with the multicultural imprint Tamarind, author Jonathon Emmett, whose Cool Not Cute blog seeks to readdress what he believes is the female bias in picture books, and publisher Janetta Otter-Barry, who has an award-winning list at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and has recently set up her own publishing company.

Interestingly the panel was mainly white and middle class, a fact that Jonathon Emmett said was one of the problems with the publishing industry as a whole.

He admitted that ‘you write what you know,’ so if your ‘default set of values’ come from a particular race or class you subconsciously write with that context in mind. This was especially true for his book If We Had a Sailboat which he envisioned the characters as white, but illustrator Adrian Reynolds made one of the main characters black. Since then on he’s specified to publishers what gender and race he’d like his characters to be.

In a recent UKYADAY twitter chat Malorie Blackman answered my question on how she would change the publishing business and she said: “I would make it more diverse, from the boardroom down. And have more diversity in output.”

SharonFJones</a> I would make it more cultural diverse, from the boardroom down. And have more diversity in output. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UKYADAY?src=hash">#UKYADAY</a></p>&mdash; Malorie Blackman (malorieblackman) April 12, 2015

For Alex, ‘diversity’ covered so many things – family structure, gender diversity, disability, it wasn’t just about the skin colour but how characters are portrayed in general. For instance depicting a disabled character shouldn’t mean automatically using a wheelchair.

Jonathan wanted to see more dads going to the library or buying books with their children, he sees the female dominated publishing industry as the gate keepers of gender bias towards girls and suggested that interns should be paid as that would open up the industry to a wider range of people.

Shockingly Janetta revealed that she’s come up against resistance in other countries when trying to sell co-editions of her list. With 15 Things Not to do With a Baby which features a mixed race family, she was asked if the illustrator would make the baby’s skin paler for fear it wouldn’t sell in their territory. Um, check your calendar. It’s 2015 everybody and yes, this is still happening.

Another problem lies with the lack of people coming through the business. Janetta said it would be ‘great to find more illustrators of different cultural background.’

Joe added that ultimately, from the point of view of an editor it’s about ‘choosing really good stories which aren’t tokenistic.’ He wants to see books which are fun and where any notion of diversity is incidental and not shoe-horned in, like in My Mummy Is Magic which shares the special moments between a mum and her baby who just happen to be mixed-race.

With such a big subject to cover in a short space of time, what was clear was that there is no one answer to tackle this issue. Publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors and illustrators are definitely trying to make a change.

One thing’s for sure, it’s an area which definitely isn’t black or white.

Thank you very much, Sharon! You can find out about upcoming Children’s Book Circle events here.