New home for the blog on my brand new website!

This month we have launched the brand new Jacqueline Harvey website which is also now the home of my blog.  I think it looks fantastic - it's been a while coming but well worth the wait!  The website has been developed to be highly interactive and capable of frequent updates.  There is also a place to subscribe to the monthly newsletter which will have regular competitions among other things.  I'll still be blogging my travels too.  The website caters for fans of the books, parents and teachers, (and those who enjoy following my travels) so there really is something for everyone.  I'd love for you to pop over and have a look and please feel free to sign up for the newsletter too.

You can now filter the blogs as well - so just click on whether you want to see the latest news from me, Alice-Miranda or Clementine Rose.

The website address is www.jacquelineharvey.com.au

A productive week filled with excitement!

Life as an author is never dull that's for sure.  I spent Monday this week with the English faculty at Pennant Hills High School, working through strategies for teaching writing on their Professional Development Day.  They are a great team and I came away feeling really excited about how motivated and enthusiastic they were -no mean feat given it was their first day back after a term break.

My other big goal for the week was to finish the manuscript for Clementine Rose and the Famous Friend. It's the seventh book in the series, so seems a way off in the future as we've just last month released Clementine Rose and the Seaside Escape which is number five.  Clementine Rose and the Treasure Box is set for released in July then Famous Friend will be out in October.  Many hours later and after the usual helping of self doubt, I pressed send yesterday and am now hoping that it passes muster.

There's no break between books as I've already started plotting the eighth story in the series and plan to have it finished by the end of the month.

In amongst all the writing and usual emails and other weekly tasks I was thrilled to learn on Tuesday that Alice-Miranda in Paris has been shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards in the Older Readers Category 8-14.  It's such a huge honour to be there alongside Anh Do, John Flanagan, Nikki Gemmel and James Phelan.

This morning the REAL awards shortlist was announced and Alice-Miranda In Paris is there too but on the Younger Readers list.  I guess that's a good thing, that the stories are read by young and a little bit older!

The REAL (Reading and Enjoying Australian Literature) awards are the shortlist used for YABBA, KOALA, KROC and COOL, the children's choice awards in Victoria, NSW, NT and ACT.  You can see all the books that the children have selected below.

It's incredibly rewarding and humbling to be recognised for doing something that I love - especially given that the books are not just my doing.  So many talented people work with me to create them and quite honestly they make me look much better at this than I really am!

To all of the fabulously talented authors and illustrators who have been shortlisted and the teams behind them, congratulations!

The icing on the cake was finding out this morning that a young writer I've been mentoring for the past year has just had a story accepted for publication.  I have had great faith in Corinne since we started working together - she's a star on the rise and to play a small part in helping her get there is incredibly rewarding.  We are definitely planning some celebrations!

Picture storybooks

• A Bus Called Heaven (Bob Graham, Walker Books)
• Alphabet Town (Bryan Evans & Kimberly Moon, New Frontier)
• Annie to the Rescue (Deborah Niland, Puffin)
• Fiona the Pig’s Big Day (Leigh Hobbs, Puffin)
• First Day (Andrew Daddo & Jonathan Bentley, ABC Books)
• Noah Dreary (Aaron Blabey, Viking)
• The Dreadful Fluff (Aaron Blabey, Viking)
• The Terrible Plop (Ursula Dubosarsky & Andrew Joyner, Puffin)
• The Very Brave Bear (Nick Bland, Scholastic)
• Too Many Cheeky Dogs (Johanna Bell & Dion Beasley, A&U)

Fiction for younger readers

• Alice-Miranda in Paris (Jacqueline Harvey, Random House)
• Andy Roid and the Tracks of Death (Felice Arena, Puffin)
• Billie B Brown: The Best Project (Sally Rippin, Hardie Grant Egmont)
• EJ12: Kimono Code (Susannah McFarlane, Lemonfizz Media)
• Extra Time (Morris Gleitzman, Puffin)
• Extreme Adventures: Monkey Mountain (Justin D’Ath, Puffin)
• Go Girl!: Style Stars (Chrissie Perry, Sonia Dixon & Danielle McDonald, Hardie Grant Egmont)
• Meet Grace (Sofie Laguna & Lucia Masciullo, Puffin)
• The Third Door (Emily Rodda, Omnibus)
• The Wishbird (Gabrielle Wang, Puffin)

Fiction for older readers

• Brotherband: The Invaders (John Flanagan, Random House)
• Con-nerd (Oliver Phommavanh, Puffin)
• Eric Vale, Epic Fail (Michael Gerard Bauer, illus by Joe Bauer, Scholastic)
• My Life and Other Stuff I Made Up (Tristan Bancks, illus by Gus Gordon, Random House)
• Pookie Aleera is Not My Boyfriend (Steven Herrick, UQP)
• Rangers Apprentice: The Royal Ranger (John Flanagan, Random House)
• Specky Magee and the Best of Oz (Felice Arena & Garry Lyon, Puffin)
• The 39-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths, illus by Terry Denton, Pan Macmillan)
• The Ivory Rose (Belinda Murrell, Random House)
• WeirDo (Anh Do, illus by Jules Faber, Scholastic)

Fiction for years 7-9

• The Last Thirteen Book 1: 13 (James Phelan, Scholastic)
• Doomsday (Chris Morphew, HGE)
• Finding Serendipity (Angelica Banks, A&U)
• Hit List (Jack Heath, Pan)
• My Life as an Alphabet (Barry Jonsberg, A&U)
• Pennies for Hitler (Jackie French, HarperCollins)
• Red (Libby Gleeson, A&U)
• Six Impossible Things (Fiona Wood, Pan)
• The Whole of My World (Nicole Hayes, Woolshed Press)
• You Don’t Even Know (Sue Lawson, Black Dog Books).

Children in the ACT, NSW, NT and Victoria will vote for their favourite books in each category in October. The winners of the COOL, KOALA, KROC and YABBA awards will be announced in November. 

Signing at BIG W Katoomba Easter Saturday 1.00-2.30pm

I'm really excited to be doing my first in store event with Big W on Easter Saturday.  A brand new store has just opened in Katoomba and I am going to be there on Easter Saturday from 1.00pm. Fingers crossed that there will be lots of visitors to the mountains for the weekend as well as locals out and about.

I'll be signing and having photos as well as a short chat at the beginning of the event.

Come along and say hello.  I look forward to meeting everyone!

Brisbane Tour - A brilliant couple of days!

I love being on tour.  It's one of the most rewarding aspects of being a children's author - when you have the opportunity to meet the readers.  I recently spent a couple of days in Brisbane visiting schools and bookshops, and the lovely folks of the Children's Book Council, all of which was great fun.

The week started with another four am wake up call to get to the flight at half past six.  That was a little better than the six am flight to Melbourne the week before but I can tell you the barista in the Qantas Club never looks so good as that time in the morning.

Zoe and I were off on another adventure, our first stop, St Margaret's School for Girls.  I love the feeling at St Mag's as it's affectionately known.  The girls are sweet and the location of the school right on the river at Ascot is ideal - they get a breeze and the view is spectacular too.

I spoke to the younger girls then to the older students and had a ball answering their many questions. The Head of Junior School, Angela is a dynamo and I was thrilled to find out the the girls have an exchange program with a school in Japan.  There will be a copy of Alice-Miranda In Japan accompanying the students on their next trip.

We had to leave St Margaret's and zip around to Clayfield College, which fortunately is just around the corner.  Again it was wonderful to meet the students and I talked to them in their beautiful chapel.  The boys were especially responsive and I loved that when they ask me whether 'they're just books for girls' I can tell them lots of the boys' stories in the series' too.  It was a pleasure to sign lots of books and talk to the children one on one afterwards.
 

We then headed back to St Margaret's to sign the girls' books and were treated to a spectacular Japanese lunch with Angela and the librarian Claire.

I was really looking forward to the afternoon event with Riverbend Books in Bulimba.  Owner Suzy Wilson is one of those people who just make things happen.  I first worked with Suzy years ago when she started the Riverbend Readers' Challenge supporting Indigenous communities by providing books. That Challenge morphed into the Indigenous Literacy Challenge and is now the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.  Suzy should be so proud of what she and the team have achieved over the years and it was wonderful to see her after so many years.

The afternoon event was amazing.  There were so many children bubbling with excitement.  It was wonderful to see a group of local librarians there too and families who had come from as far away as the Gold Coast.  One little girl was having her birthday party in the back of the shop.  I went and sat with the girls and signed all of their books and they came to the talk out the front.  It was lovely to meet them all and see how excited they were.

It was great to catch up with Cath Dawson and her three gorgeous children too.  Cath and I used to work together at Abbotsleigh. It only seemed like yesterday but so much has happened since she and her husband moved back to Brisbane.

There were other very special children there - big fans who had left school early and two sisters and their mother for whom Alice-Miranda has provided a welcome respite from some fierce challenges.  I really had to hold back the tears at one stage.

That night I got to catch up with Julie who is my mum's best friend since they were little girls.  She lives in Queensland and we hardly ever see each other so it was really special to have dinner and time for a chat.

In the morning Zoe and I headed around to Dymocks in Brisbane to say hello to the lovely staff and sign all their stock.  Hopefully next time we're up there we can do some events with them too.  Then we were off to St Aidan's School to meet librarian extraordinaire Megan Daley.  She write a fabulous book blog and I was thrilled to be interviewed by Megan before my visit.  She's a stunning cook too - morning tea was delicious.

I talked to the girls in Years 4, 5 and 6 and then had another session with Year 7.  I looked into the crowd of faces and spotted someone I knew.  Mackenzie Curtis - an ex Abbotsleigh student.  I think she was surprised that I remembered her but I certainly did.  What a beautiful young woman she's growing into.

Our final school visit was to West End Primary.  It was hot and I was wilting a little by this stage.  Their lovely librarian Tania rustled up some frozen yoghurts for Zoe and me and that was the little sugar hit I needed to get through the afternoon.  The kids were fantastic and I really have to commend them on their almost perfect behaviour in a very warm space.

I signed lots of books and then we rushed around the corner for a small signing at Avid Reader.  It was wonderful to see so many children coming from school to meet me.  Avid Reader is an amazing shop with a phenomenal author program.  That night they were having Hugh Mackay but he was only one of the big names in for the week.  I love when bookshops really set themselves apart and offer things that patrons can't get anywhere else.  In this day and age with the fierce online competition that hand selling and expert knowledge is so valuable.

From Avid Reader we high tailed it to the State Library to meet the Children's Book Council group.  It was such a thrill for me to meet a lady I have become friends with on Facebook and who I felt like I already knew so well.  Coralie Ross is a sweetheart - always positive and encouraging, I feel like she's been with me on so much of my journey in the past few years.  I loved meeting her and everyone else - and what a treat to be able to talk to them about books and some of my experiences.  They also had delicious pizzas afterwards too!

Zoe and I then drove to the Gold Coast for the Somerset Festival of Children's Literature.

My time in Brisbane was way too short - and I can't wait to get back up there again soon.

Upcoming events February and March

I'm thrilled to be getting out and about in Sydney over the next few weekends to meet the readers.  It's certainly one of my favourite things about being a writer.  I love hearing the feedback and asking children where they would like Alice-Miranda to go next.  There are lots of wonderful things happening and there is a summary below plus individual posters for some of the events which are free but you will need to book.

Hope to see you out there somewhere!

Some very exciting news!

I've been bursting to be able to tell everyone my celebratory news but have been waiting for some official wording, and finally here it is!

Random House Australia (and me!) are delighted to announce that SLR Productions has optioned the television adaptation rights in the Alice-Miranda series.  Established in 2002 by CEO, Suzanne Ryan, SLR is recognised for creating successful brands such as the internationally acclaimed preschool property, Guess How Much I Love You™, the Australian comic book series GASP!™ and the Emmy Award winning animated series I Got a Rocket™.  We’re thrilled that Alice-Miranda will be in such great company and can’t wait to see her on the small screen.

I'm afraid I can't tell you any more than that, and all good things take time, but watch this space for updates.

SJI, UWC Dover, The Canadian International School and more

I've now arrived in London after a busy second week in Singapore.  On Tuesday I spent the day teaching writing at St Joseph's International School with the students from Year 5 and Year 2.  The children were delightful and they produced some great work over the course of the day.  SJI is a relatively new school but is extremely well resourced and in the secondary school is attended by many local students as well as expat children. I went there last time I was in Singapore and was really taken by the warmth and professionalism of Louise and Deidre, the Head and Deputy Head of the Junior School.  It was great to go back again.  One of the teachers presented me with a card from her niece who lives in the UK, telling me of her love of Alice-Miranda - it's so lovely when things like that happen.

Wednesday saw me at UWC Dover where I was working with Year 3 and the fabulous librarian Pamela Males.  Again I had met Pam last time I was in Singapore and really loved the feeling at UWC.  I had a ball working with the Grade 3 students and their teachers (equivalent of Year 4 Australia).  The children produced some great writing too.

Pam's library displays are fabulous and you can't help feel very welcome when there are whole walls dedicated to your visit.

On Wednesday night Sarah and I met up with Dave Seow and we headed down to Clarke Quay for dinner and a walk.  Dave is so much fun to spend time with and he and Sarah then arranged to take a walk to the Botanic Gardens on Thursday morning.  We ate at a place called Indochine - Thai inspired food so a little different to what we had been eating at other times.

The area around Clarke Quay used to be quite down at heel but now it's a bustling hub of activity with lots of places to eat and other entertainment on offer.  There's a reverse bungy for the more adventurous (not me that night) and you can also take trips along the river from there in one of the traditional boats.

After Clarke Quay we caught a taxi over to Little India to see the lights for Deepavali (or Divali as we more commonly say in Australia).  They were so pretty.  Little India is busy, and has the most amazing smells - with so many great restaurants it will definitely be on my list of places to eat next time I'm in Singapore.

There is a department store there called Mustafa's which is the only 24 hour department store in the city.  We didn't get there though because after a week of wearing the same shoes (which are usually quite comfortable but by this stage were having a rebellion against the humidity), my feet were so swollen that walking was proving very difficult.  Next time.

Thursday was a busy day with four sessions at the Canadian International School - two at the very beautiful purpose built Lakeside Campus and two at the older and smaller Tanjong Katong Campus.  Both were fabulous and I had such a warm welcome from Lisa and Isabel the Junior School Librarian and Head of Library at Lakeside - which has one of the most incredible librarians I have every seen.  Set over two floors it's literally breathtaking.  The 500 seat theatre where I talked to the children was right beside the library and is a magnificent facility too.

I was telling Lisa that there was possibly a student there who I had met on my previous visit to Singapore.  I couldn't remember the little girl's name but her mother is an Australian diplomat.  I couldn't believe it when I picked one of the children to come out the front and do some drama and the little girl said, 'you've met me before - I'm

Sasha.'  Seriously what were the chances of that happening in an audience of 500.  She was stunningly good at the role too - I haven't heard a piercing scream that loud in years!

We had a delicious lunch in the cafeteria where the school was hosting visiting chefs.  I had chicken pad Thai.  The cafeteria is huge too and it was great to see lots of the older students dressed up for Halloween.  There had been a Halloween dance the night before too which is apparently always fantastic.

The Tanjong Katong Campus is not too far away.  The librarian, Audrey had arrived in the position from Canada in August and told me she was struggling with the heat a little - I can imagine, seeing that the school is set over four storeys and there is no lift.  I was struggling too by the time we reached the classroom at the top.  Audrey was lovely and very excited about my visit.

I talked with a much smaller group of children but certainly no less enthusiastic.  They were fabulous and it was a fitting end to the tour.  While I was giving the talk there was a huge thunderstorm - the clap of thunder and lightning made me leap into the air which gave the kids a good giggle.

Cheryle and I then headed back to Bookaburra to sign some more books and complete some orders.  I have been so thrilled with the book sales on this trip and apparently the book fair at the local school, CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity was something to behold.

Sarah and David had a great walk to the Botanic Gardens and saw the orchids, which I hope to get to next time I'm there. 

Wonderful Cheryle drove Sarah and me to the airport where we had a fabulous dinner before saying goodbye to Sarah who was catching a very late plane home to Sydney and I was going to another terminal to meet Ian before heading to London.

I have really fallen in love with Singapore.  It's a beautiful place, safe and lots to do, with amazing people and an enviable lifestyle.  I can't wait to go back again and will be planning a longer trip probably around the same time next year.

It was great to see my gorgeous husband as he got off the plane from Sydney about 9pm.  We had a while to wait before we boarded for London.  The flight was just that way I like it - uneventful and I managed to sleep quite well - I'm definitely getting better at that.

We arrived in London at 5.15am and met up with Charlotte, one of the fabulous publicists from RHUK.  We went to breakfast at a stunning place called Daylesford - a café in Pimlico.  The shop is gorgeous and is quite like a farm shop that you'd find outside of London.  The food was beautiful although there was some unexpected excitement when one of the light globes exploded overhead, showering glass all over the place.  Fortunately we were sitting away but I felt for the two women  who were almost underneath it.  It was a bit of a shock.

Ian and I then went for a walk to Victoria Station and down towards Buckingham Palace.  We were trying to adjust to the time zone and climate.  It was quite mild for this time of year - about 13 degrees.  We decided to have a look through the Palace Mews and met some of the Queen's beautiful horses and saw the carriages, cars and the facilities of the working stables adjacent to the palace.  The gold coronation coach is something to see - it's over 400 years old and has been used for every coronation since it was built.  It weighs four tonnes and they have to spend about three days taking the room apart in order to get it out of the stables.

 

We arrived at the RH flat just after 1pm and spent the next few hours getting organised for the week ahead.  I managed to stay awake most of the afternoon and get a good night's sleep.  Today was grey to begin with but the sun is now shining and Ian reported that it's not too cold out either.  I've been catching up on emails and the blog and am about to start the final page proofs for Alice-Miranda In Japan.  Tonight I am so excited that we are going to see Matilda the Musical.  A full report to come!