Pete Johnson interview

F E Higgins interview

Lari Don interview

SCOTLAND'S PREMIER CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCED
John Fardell, Lari Don (component/option,com_mtree/task,viewlink/link_id,4890/Itemid,99999999/) and Keith Gray (component/option,com_mtree/task,viewlink/link_id,5040/Itemid,99999999/) have been named as this year’s winners for the 2009 Royal Mail Awards, Scotland’s largest children’s Book Prize which is voted for exclusively by Scottish children themselves. Author/Illustrator John Fardell won the Early Years category (0-7) for his first picture book Manfred the Baddie (component/option,com_mtree/task,viewlink/link_id,4890/Itemid,99999999/) (Quercus), First-time author Lari Don won the Younger Readers category (8-11) for First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts (http:/

GAIMAN'S GRAVEYARD GETS THE TEENAGE PRIZE
Neil Gaiman, commonly known as the ‘rock star’ of the literary world, was revealed as the winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2009 at a ceremony in central London. His book The Graveyard Book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Graveyard-Book-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0747594805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 s=books qid=1258932790 sr=1-1) saw off competition from five other authors including Patrick Ness who was nominated for a second year. Ness won the prize last year with The Knife of Never Letting Go. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Knife-Never-Letting-Chaos-Walking/dp/1406320757/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 s=books qid=1258932872 sr=1-1) Chirs Ridell, illustrator of The Graveyard Book, is pictured here accepting the award

LITTLE LEAP FORWARD at the CHILDREN'S BOOKSHOW
Guo Yue and his wife Clare Farrow took part in the 2009 Children's Bookshow (http://www.thechildrensbookshow.com/). Geraldine Brennan went to meet them.Guo Yue was born in 1958, the year of Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward. The youngest of six children, he grew up in a musicians’ hutong (courtyard) in old Beijing because his father was a violinist in the state Central Dancing and Singing Ensemble. His father died when he was six and Mao’s Cultural Revolution began when he was eight. Soon afterwards his mother was sent for ‘re-education’ at a labour camp in the countryside. She returned when he was 15, her health ruined. Yue was cared for by his older sisters

PERFORM A POEM LAUNCH
At a recent event at the National Theatre, Michael Rosen launched the Perform a Poem website (http://performapoem.lgfl.org.uk/). This initiative is a joint venture by the former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, Booktrust and The London Grid for Learning. The site is set up to provide an opportunity for children to choose, write, perform, film and edit poems.Following the launch, Michael took to the Cottesloe stage for a poetry performance of his own. Pauline Drayons attended for Write Away and sent this report.Michael Rosen award winning author and champion of children's poetry gave an exuberant and seemingly spontaneous hour of anecdotes, poems and interactive material tailored

SPOOKY TUNES WITH JAMES MAYHEW
There are a few remaining tickets available for a children's concert which is being held int he Weston Lecture Theatre at The University of Hertfordshire at 3.30 pm on 8th November. Conductor Robin Browning and the de Havilland Philharmonic join children’s author and illustrator James Mayhew to present a special children’s concert which will be full of spine-tingling stories, spooky pictures and amazing music. The concert is presented by the University of Hertfordshire and the St Albans Children’s Book Group. Tickets £10 for adults, £5 for children.Booking and Informtion (http://www.herts.ac.uk/events/Childrens-Concert-Spooky-Tunes-with-James-Mayhew.cfm)