Yay for Shaun Tan. He won an Oscar for his work on The Lost Thing in the Short Film category!
Bet his mum and dad are proud of him!
Category Archives: Children's Books
Shaun Tan up for an Oscar!
“The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann has been nominated in the Short Film Animated section of the Oscars.
Here’s what Shaun has to say about the nomination.
It’s not every day that someone you know is nominated for an Oscar. Not that I know Shaun all that well, but I have met him. A couple of years ago, when I was on the Queensland Writers Management Committee, Shaun Tan ran a workshop for the QWC and I took him out to dinner. Since then, one of my sons has become a mad Shaun Tan fan and has all his books.
His artwork is quite haunting, so take the time to look him up.
Shaun is one of those quiet unassuming types and I have to confess I have a very dark sense of humour and no impulse control. When I took him out to dinner his books had won the Children’s Book Council award several times and he may have a won a World Fantasy award at that time too. I asked him about his family and he told me about a brother and sister, one was a lawyer and one was a doctor (or something like that). Gee, I said, Where did you parents go wrong with you?
He stared at me for a moment, then gave a dry little chuckle. I don’t think Sean gets teased much, but he took it in good humour.
So, here goes Shaun, wishing you all the best and I’m sure your parents are be very proud of you!
Covers!
Here’s the cover for Marianne’s new YA book Burn Bright. Verrrry cool!
Burn Bright is the first books of marianne’s new YA series.
In Ixion music and party are our only beliefs. Darkness is our comfort. We have few rules but they are absolute . . .
Retra doesn’t want to go to Ixion, the island of ever-night, ever-youth and never-sleep. Retra is a Seal – sealed minds, sealed community. She doesn’t crave parties and pleasure, experience and freedom.
But her brother Joel left for Ixion two years ago, and Retra is determined to find him. Braving the intense pain of her obedience strip to escape the only home she’s ever known, Retra stows away on the barge that will take her to her brother.
When she can’t find Joel, Retra finds herself drawn deeper into the intoxicating world of Ixion. Come to me, whispers a voice in her head. Who are the Ripers, the mysterious guardians of Ixion? What are the Night Creatures Retra can see in the shadows? And what happens to those who grow too old for Ixion?
Retra will find that Ixion has its pleasures, but its secrets are deadly. Will friendship, and the creation of an eternal bond with a Riper, be enough to save her from the darkness?
Listen well, baby bats. Burn bright, but do not stray from the paths. Remember, when you live in a place of darkness you also live with creatures of the dark.
Burn Bright is due to be published early 2011.
Text YA and Children’s $10,000 Fiction Prize
It is hard to get noticed if you’re writing and you don’t have an agent. One of the best ways is to enter competitions. So here is the link to the Text YA and Children’s $10,000 Fiction Prize. Entries open on the 3rd of May.
Last year’s winner was Leanne Hall, with her book ‘This is Shyness’. From the blurb it sounds like YA magic realism.
The 2008 winner was Richard Newsome with his book ‘The Billioniare’s Curse’. From the blurb this looks like an upper end primary aged mystery/adventure.
Even if you don’t win, placing in a competition like this is a great recommendation when you approach an agent. What competitions have you entered and how did they help you?
Filed under Children's Books, Competitions, The Writing Fraternity, Writing craft
Anyone considering writing for Children?
While I think of it … the lovely (award winning) Kate Forsyth has done a post about writing for children over at the ROR blog. She talks about getting your story age appropriate and length, etc. Plus they’re giving away two copies of her book.
I’ve known Kate since she had her first book published around the same time as my first trilogy. She turned up for a panel only a couple of days after giving birth to her first child. You had to admire her dedication. I believe in supporting fellow Australian authors, so drop by the blog, if you can.
