Patrick Ness. Image courtesy of Walker Books Australia
The author of the acclaimed Chaos Walking trilogy, Patrick Ness, will be visiting Australia and New Zealand shortly (his tour schedule is at the end of this post), so it seems like the right time to find out a little more about him as the focus of today’s Tuesday Spotlight.
Born in the US but resident in Britain for the past 20 years, Patrick Ness has written for corporate publications, penned another novel and some short stories, but only the Chaos Walking series has ended up for a YA audience. (It was not the original intention*). With some major awards coming his way in less than two years, we can only hope that he keeps on as he has begun with YA fiction as there is now a hunger for his writing amongst this target group.
About Patrick Ness
His website contains a diary, biography, list of books, events and engagements
As Booktrust’s first writer in residence, his pages on this site includes a residence blog, a new story which is a prequel to the series, writing tips, interviews and a lesson guide for The Knife of Never Letting Go.
The Guardian’s profile page on Patrick Ness that collates his reviews of other people’s writing
2010 Tour Schedule of Australia and New Zealand
WA: 25 – 28 February
Appearing at Perth Writers Festival at various times; see program on link. Venue: University of WA, Nedlands
Victoria: 3 March Venue: Deakin University Library, 3rd level, Waterfront Campus, Deakin University
Gheringhap St, Geelong
Time: 5.30 – 7.30pm
Bookings ph: 1300 360 436
4 March
Reading the Future – co-presentation with author Isobelle Carmody
Venue: State Library of Victoria, Melbourne
Times: Session 1 starts 10am
Session 2 starts 1pm Details
Bookings email: learning@slv.vic.gov.au
Ph: 03 8664 7555
5 March Venue: Ferntree Gully Library & Community Centre, Eastern Regional Library Services – Dandenong Ranges, Victoria Time: 10.30am – 11.45am
For Bookings ph: Ferntree Gully Library (03) 9294 8140
NSW: 9 March Venue: The University of Sydney, Lecture Theatre 351, Education Building, Manning Rd, Sydney Time: 6.00pm – 7.30pm
For bookings email: marketingwba@walkerbooks.com.au
Ph: (02) 9517 9577
New Zealand – Wellington only: 11 March Venue: Scots College, Monorghan Rd. Strathmore Time: 1:30pm
Bookings: The Children’s Bookshop
Patrick Ness will also be appearing on TVNZ Good Morning on 11 March
Queensland: 15 March Venue: Queensland University of Technology
Lecture Room N515, Kelvin Grove Campus, Brisbane Time: 6.30 – 7.30pm
For bookings email: ci.publiclectures@qut.edu.au
Ph: 07 3138 5466
17 – 19 March
Appearing at Somerset Writers Festival – Gold Coast
Somerset College, Somerset Drive
Mudgeeraba Qld Online bookings and enquiries
Monsters of Men will be published in Australia, UK and Ireland in May, and in the US and Canada in September.
* Also quote from the Booktrust account of the 2008 win: Although Ness did not set out to write for teenagers, he’s glad that the book went in the direction it did. Teenage readers, he believes, provide an author with both challenges and opportunities.
When we think international YA books published in English, it’s usually the USA or Britain first, New Zealand next, but rarely Canada (or South Africa, for that matter).
Household names might include Deborah Ellis or Tim Wynne Jones but we know far less about what else is happening in north of the US border than we should. And with the eyes of the world on Vancouver in coming weeks as the 2010 Winter Olympic Games get underway, let’s make a few amends.
Awards are a good starting place:
The most prestigious appear to be the Governor General’s Literary Awards, administered by the Canadian Council for the Arts. The ‘Children’s Literature’ categories are split between text and illustration, French and English, and do not appear to have an age qualification. The 2009 winner for a book in French was Harvey (graphic novel) by Hervé Bouchard, illustrated by Janice Nadeau, which for the first time in awards’ history took out both prizes. Caroline Pignat was the winner of the book written in English for Greener Grass, a YA title.
We often mention Papertigers in these posts. It’s an organisation with its lens fixed on the Pacific rim and south Asia and as Australia is part of the region, posts from PT give us an insight into what is being published and enjoyed by our near neighbours.
In its February update, Papertigers has announced the Spirit of Papertigers project (an initiative of Pacific Rim Voices) , which aims to place 100 sets of seven carefully selected books into needy libraries and schools across the region.
Quick to acknowledge the work of other organisations that also bring books into the hands of readers who might otherwise never see them (IBBY for example), PT aims to complement such outreach.
The seven books selected for the first set look wonderful, and for anyone interested in multicultural children’s literature, well worth perusing:
The central criterion in the mind of the selection panel was to give special recognition to books that, in addition to meeting conventional standards for excellence, will also contribute to PaperTigers’ broader aims of bridging cultures and opening minds, and of promoting greater understanding and empathy among young people from different backgrounds, countries, and ethnicities. Another criterion was that books selected had to be in English, or bilingual publications where one of the two languages is English.
The Papertigers blog will be posting feedback from recipient schools and libraries.
It’s worth taking a few minutes to read about the project and to find out a bit more about some lovely books from overseas.
Last year we experimented with regular Tuesday posts on book trailers that we dubbed ‘Trailer Tuesday’. We were reasonably discerning about the titles we featured but as the year wore on it became more and more difficult to find just what we were looking for.
So in 2010 we are broadening the scope a little and will focus on a different author each Tuesday. And if there happens to be a suitable trailer we will certainly include it.
The series begins with perhaps one of our most prolific writers. It’s likely that only Jackie French would exceed Margaret Wild‘ s output. Between writing and collecting awards, it’s no wonder she doesn’t have time for a website of her own. But we have done the digging and put together a few links that might help us all to know this writer a little better.
Margaret Wild does collaboration really well. As the one who puts the words behind so many award-winning picture books, there can be few Australian illustrators with whom she hasn’t worked. Although many of her books are for a much younger audience than Fiction Focus usually caters for, her work also embraces YA and her crafting of story is worthy of attention by everyone.
Fox (2000) – picture book illustrated by Ron Brooks Fiction Focusreview Teaching notes by Janet Anderson – Allen and Unwin Performance notes for a production by Monkey Baa Theatre. Sydney’s Seymour Street Theatre will premiere this production on April 10, 2010. The production will tour other states during the year.
Jinx (2001) YA verse novel Fiction Focusreview Browse inside (Simon & Schuster) Teaching notes by Dr Wendy Michaels - Allen and Unwin
Let the Celebrations Begin (1991, out of print) – picture book illustrated by Julie Vivas Review from La Trobe University Reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal
One Night (2003) YA verse novel Fiction Focusreview
Teacher reviews (Allen and Unwin)
Woolvs in the Sitee (2006) – picture book illustrated by Ann Spudvilas Fiction Focusreview Review – PaperTigers Collation of reviews from Front Street Books (US) Teaching notes by Dr Pam Macintyre (Penguin Books)
Part of a longer article, The Art of Communication, (on picture books for older readers) in Australian Book Review by Stephanie Owen Reeder
2009 – Notable Book CBCA Book of the Year (Early Childhood) – The Pocket Dogs go on Holiday (illustrated by Stephen Michael King)
* The CBCA website is currently updating lists of Notable books prior to 2003, so not all Notable Awards can be located at this time.
This reclusive author has done much to bring the love of books and reading to many, many readers. She is the recipient of the 2008 Nan Chauncy Award for services to children’s literature and a Centenary Medal (2001) for service to Australian society and literature. She is also a national treasure, even if it’s not Official.
OUP calls it ‘one of the most outstanding children’s books of the twentieth century’ so let’s hope the film does it justice. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for the trailer.
The image of the legionary fortress at Isca Silurum is used under Creative Commons licence and is the work of electropod on flickr.
It’s the 26th January – our national day - and while the day is an uncomfortable one for many Indigenous people and elements of jingoism are creeping in in other quarters (Anthony Eaton has a thoughtful post about this today), there is still much to celebrate about living in Australia.
The diverse landcape of this country makes a road trip a wonderful experience. Capturing a sense of place in fiction is important, so we have selected one title that seems to represent the setting of each area well. Most are YA, others have been published for an adult market but can be certainly be enjoyed by YA readers.
New South Wales – Raw Blue (2009)- Kirsty Eagar. The northern beaches of Sydney, the surf, a secret. And a strong female protagonist.
Queensland – Christine Bongers‘ first novel Dust (2009) evokes the remoteness of outback Queensland in the 70s.
South Australia – Try Don Henderson’s well-observed Keepinitreal (2009) for an urban take on South Australian life.
Tasmania – Wanting (2009), Richard Flanagan’s award-winning historical novel that weaves the stories of Mathinna, Lord and Lady Franklin and Charles Dickens into one compelling narrative, will be enjoyed by keen readers in the older age group.
Western Australia – can’t go past an older one here. It has to be Winton and it has to be Cloudstreet (1991. Yes, really).
Sorry ACT people – we can’t think of anything other than politics. Or Anthony Eaton because he lives there now. Please send some suggestions. The Nest (2009) by Paul Jennings is set in the high country, but it’s Victoria’s high country.
For an interstate experience, Philip Gwynne is back on the YA scene as he takes us from Sydney to Uluru in Swerve (2009).
Of course there are plenty of older titles. Let us know your favourites. Comments welcome: Which Australian novel captures a strong sense of place for you and why?
Justine Larbalestier’s Liar is a fascinating read. It seems to be one of those titles that divides opinion into clear love and not-so-love camps. Who knows what Micah has been really up to?
So if you have read Liar, or intend reading it, promoting it in your library or using it in your classroom you, and your students, are invited to visit the LIAR: creating collective truth blog, created by CMIS staff.
Users can leave comments about Liar and read comments left by others. (Comments will be moderated.)
As comments are left on the blog we will create wordles and post them on the blog’s wordles page to build a visual representation of readers’ responses to the novel. You are welcome to use these wordles in your literature programs.
We would appreciate your participation at this early stage so we can trial the system and build an initial collection of resources before teachers and students return to school. Please feel free to leave feedback on the blog and share this information with others who may be interested in participating.
Coming to the Liar blog soon:
Tips on using wordle and other online tools to support literature in learning.
An rss feed for ‘What’s new?’
The blog already has a Teaching Resources page for useful links to resources about Liar.
Our previous post tells you who is vying for the YA crown and also links to the contenders in the other categories. This strong YA list is sure to have kept the judges up late into the night deciding the winner.
The Fiction Focus Blog is published by Curriculum Materials Information Services (CMIS), Department of Education and Training, Western Australia. It is designed to provide news about current events, resources and research to assist teachers and teacher librarians engage teenagers with books and reading.
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