> Whose Muse is it Anyway?
> Illiana's first Bookstart pack
> Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist
> Bedtime Reading
> Josie Long interview
> Children's Laureate update
> Booktrust's Book of the Month: The Theory of Light and Matter by Andrew Porter
> Online Reading Group
> Competition: Win Young Adult Fiction books
Whose Muse is it Anyway?
An evening of funny improvisational performance poetry on 17 June 2010, hosted by former Booktrust writer in residence Nii Ayikwei Parkes featuring Dizraeli (winner of BBC Radio 4 Poetry Slam); Dockers MC (Times Literary One to Watch 2008); Doc Brown (rapper, poet, stand-up comedian and actor); and Luke Wright (Aisle 16, BBC Radio 4, Nasty Little Press).
Be part of the live audience. Tickets are only £5. Click here to purchase one
17 June 2010, 7pm, Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3GA
Or watch it streamed live on www.booktrust.org.uk/wmiia
Follow us on www.twitter.com/booktrust to get involved with the live Twitter games on the night.
Illiana's first Bookstart pack
After working for Booktrust for over seven years I know all about the benefits of reading with children but it wasn't until I had my own daughter, Illiana, 10 months ago that I really understood not only just how much babies can enjoy books and but also how much pleasure it can give parents. We have been reading with Illiana from an early age as part of her bedtime routine and often as part of her feeding routine - books provide great distraction. She enjoys exploring books with flaps, pointing and touching touch-and-feel books and smiling at herself with books with mirrors.
Last week Illiana had her 10-month check with her health visitor, once she'd had the all clear we were presented with our Bookstart bag. I decided not to let on that I knew about Bookstart so that I could experience it as a 'normal mum' and was delighted when the health visitor told me that it was never too early to start reading with your baby and encouraged us to visit and join our local library to get more books. It is so encouraging that parents who might not necessarily have thought to read with their babies are given these messages by an enthusiastic health visitor.
Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist
The shortlists for the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Orange Award for New Writers have both been announced.
'This shortlist achieves the near impossible of combining literary merit with sheer readability,' commented Daisy Goodwin, chair of judges. 'With a thriller, historical novels that reflect our world back to us, as well as a tragicomedy about post 9/11 America - there is something here to challenge, amuse and enthrall every kind of reader.'
The shortlist for the Orange Prize for Fiction is:
- Rosie Alison The Very Thought of You
- Barbara Kingsolver The Lacuna
- Attica Locke Black Water Rising
- Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall
- Lorrie Moore A Gate at the Stairs
- Monique Roffey White Woman on a Green Bicycle
And for the Orange Award for New Writers:
- Jane Borodale The Book of Fires
- Irene Sabatini The Boy Next Door
- Evie Wyld After the Fire, A Still Small Voice
The winner of each award will be announced on 9 June 2010.
Click here to read more about the Orange Prize for Fiction/Award for New Writers 2010
Bedtime Reading
Sharing books with your baby or child and reading aloud with them at bedtime for ten minutes a day will see them grow into eager, confident learners acquiring listening skills and gaining new words that are far beyond their reading ability.
Babies and children love routine and rituals. The joy of looking forward to a story makes a bedtime routine so much more fun and exciting. Ending the day with a loving cuddle and a book helps a child wind down ready for sleep.
Even babies that are too young to understand the story will be soothed and calmed by your voice when you share a book with them. Babies and children who love books and the pleasure of hearing stories and rhymes have a flying start when it comes to learning to read by themselves.
But remember to keep sharing books together even when your child can capably read alone. You can share in the magic of bedtime reading for many, many years.
So go on, share a book tonight ...
Click here for top tips on reading at bedtime
Josie Long interview
Not content with being one of the country's finest comedians, Josie Long is also a voracious reader. Having performed everywhere from London to Melbourne, with panel show guest appearances galore and a video of her second Edinburgh show Trying is Good out, with the 100 Days to Make Me a Better Person project for London Word Festival, how does she find time to read?
Click here to read our interview with Josie Long
Children’s Laureate update
Anthony Browne continues to have a busy time in his role as Children’s Laureate. As well as visiting schools across the UK from Bristol to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, this spring saw Anthony travel further afield, to South America, where he visited Argentina and Chile to talk about his experiences as Children’s Laureate. The trip included visits to libraries, schools, bookshops, universities and museums and even a meeting with Chile’s Minister for Culture. Anthony said: 'What a fabulous trip – and how wonderful to have the opportunity to share my experiences as Children’s Laureate, as well as my belief in the importance of creativity, visual literacy and picture books, with some of the warmest, friendliest, happiest and most vital people I have encountered!'
Back in the UK, Anthony has been continuing his work to promote the importance of picture books and illustration for children of all ages, taking part in two popular seminars at the London Book Fair, organised by Booktrust, including an ‘in conversation’ event with his editor at Walker Books, Denise Johnstone-Burt, and The Big Picture: Illustration for Older Children, alongside fellow illustrators Marcia Williams and Martin Brown. He has also been judging the entries for his special picture book competition in partnership with The Sun newspaper, in which children have been invited to complete a story Anthony has started, alongside fellow judges, Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and England footballer Theo Walcott.
For more information about Anthony’s events and projects, and the Children’s Laureate blog visit his website
Booktrust's Book of the Month: The Theory of Light and Matter by Andrew Porter
This debut collection of stories introduces a new and distinctive voice in American fiction. Winner of the Flannery O’Connor prize for short fiction in 2007, Porter has a unique and quietly heartbreaking range, examining everyone from small children to the disappointed adults they become. This might sound depressing, but there are sly seams of humour running through all of the stories, and moments that suggest that things aren’t quite as broken as they seem.
If there is a theme to all of these stories it’s that one has to live with one’s decisions – no matter how lightly or seriously taken. The title story, 'The Theory of Light and Matter', concerns a woman still yearning for a man she once might have loved, yet did not pursue; in another, 'Azul', a childless husband and wife try desperately to fill the void they both occupy; in 'Storms' a family is falling apart years after the man of the house dies. These are people battling their demons, and not always winning.
It’s usual to compare short story writers to the great modern American writers such as Cheever and Carver, and there is a similarity in Porter’s simple, unadorned prose. But crucially Porter has his own voice, his own style and one that suits these stories perfectly. Even if you usually wouldn’t consider a collection of stories, you really need to read The Theory of Light and Matter.
Click here to find more book recommendations
Online Reading Group
This month's book: The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. The Online Reading Group is a chance to read and discuss books with other book lovers. We discuss one book a month, choosing the next month's title when the discussion starts — so there's plenty of time to read up. The Little Stranger is a chilling and vividly rendered ghost story set in post-war Britain, by the bestselling and award-winning author of The Night Watch and Fingersmith.
Click here to take part in the discussion
> Competition: Win Young Adults Fiction
We have five Young Adult fiction books to give away to one lucky winner.
The books are:
- Z.Rex by Steve Cole
- Out of the Woods by Lyn Gardner
- Wow Inventions by Philip Ardagh
- Hacking Timbuktu by Stephen Davies
- Sylvie and the Songman by Tim Binding
If you'd like to win them, all you have to do is answer the following question by 5pm on 15 June 2010. We will pick a winner at random then and inform them by email. This competition is open to the UK only.
Which of the following authors is not featured on the 2009 Booked Up booklist?
A. Neil Gaiman
B. Emily Diamand
C. Frank Cottrell Boyce
Email us with your answer before 5pm on 15 June 2010
