Siobhan Dowd wins the Carnegie and Catherine Rayner takes the Greenaway

The Carnegie and Greenaway winners have been announced. Siobhan Dowd who has already scooped this year’s Bisto Award has also now won the Carnegie.

There’s a lovely piece by Siobhan’s publisher in todays Guardian blog as well.

Awards Awards everywhere

The Carnegie and Greenaway are announced on Friday – Both have very strong shortlists so it is impossible to pick a clear favourite.
Also the Reading Association of Ireland have announced the shortlist for the biennial RAI  Book Awards. Winners announced in September.

RAI SHORTLIST

1. The Poison Throne – Celine Kiernan ISBN-13 978-1-84717-170-2
2. Move – Conor Kostick ISBN-13 978-1-84717-010-1
3. The Story of Ireland – Brendan O’Brien ISBN-13 978-0-86278-881-0
4. Hal’s Sleepover – Maddie Stewart ISBN-13 978-1-84717-034-7
5. Wild Dublin – Éanna ní Lamhna ISBN-13 978-1-84717-142-9
6. Adolf sna hArda – Author and Illustrator: Marvin Halleraker, Translators: Treasa Ní Bhrua agus Magnus Vestvoll ISBN: 978-1-901176-81-

Congrats to all, its another strong shortlist – lot of them about these days!

Axel and Julia talk about two sides of the Gruffalo

I am making a firm resolution to get to the Hay Festival next year. Not only is the line up always fantastic, and I have heard great reports from former attendees but the background to these web videos make it looks like a cross between Electric Picnic and a Buckingham Palace garden party.

Anyway onto the content – a short interview with both Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler below. Interesting that they both touch on the nature of their relationship as author and illustrator – It is not a collaboration as often people presume. Instead their work is managed by the publisher involved and each works independently.

well worth the watch -

Axel Scheffler – http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/video/2009/jun/10/gruffalo-axel-scheffler

Julia Donaldson – http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/video/2009/may/26/hay-festival-julia-donaldson-gruffalo

Anthony Browne is the new Children’s Laureate

via Bookbrunch

Anthony Browne was announced this morning (9 June) as the new Children’s Laureate. He succeeds Michael Rosen, and will serve a two-year term.

Browne is the author and illustrator of acclaimed books including Gorilla, Voices in the Park, and Zoo. He has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice, the Kurt Maschler Emil award three times, and the Hans Christian Anderson award.

Edited to add that Michael Rosen outgoing laureate has yet another lovely piece in the Guardian today. and More information from Anthony Browne also in the guardian.

2010 Wish List

Now that the 2009 Children’s Books Ireland conference is behind us, we’ve been evaluating the weekend and beginning to think more about who we might feature in 2010. This can be the most fun part of programming – wish lists and notions and ideas floating around. This year’s speakers were so fantastic though that we are quite nervous that expectations for next year will be even higher.

We asked delegates to suggest some speakers  – have a look at their wishlists below and for those who attended and are still hungry for some more Shaun Tan – BookBrunch has a great post that mentions him today.

Delegates Wish List

Robert Munsch
Kelly Armstrong
Katherine Patterson
Holly Black
Madeline L’Engle
Oliver Jeffers
Alexis Deacon
Emily Gravett
Carol Ann Duffy
Philip Pullman
Quentin Blake
Neil Gaiman
Jon Berkeley
Anthony Browne
Maurice Sendak
Marcus Sedgewick
Mal Peet
Judi Curtin
Jenny Valentine
Jane Mitchell
Kevin Waldron
Malorie Blackman
Philip Reeve
Chris Riddell
Michael Scott
Elisabeth Zwerger
Lisa Evans
Darren Shan
Roddy Doyle
Conor Kostick
Sarah Dessen
Megan McDonald
Mo Willems
Raymond Briggs
Clare Benton
Leslie Patricelli
Scott McCloud
Kveta Pacouska
Jane Ray
Jan Pienkowski
Sally Nicholls
Mini Grey
Cressida Cowell & Neil Layton
Russell Ayto
Peter Horace

Sufjan Stevens on learning to read

Came across this gem via Damien Mulley

Sufjan Stevens provides the introduction to a  book edited by Dave Eggers.

Its a brilliant account of sometime the simplest of strategies can unlock the code that is reading – go read

Here’s a taster-

At lunch, she pulled me into the teachers’ lounge, unpacked her lunch on the table, and made me identify each object: juice box, banana, salami sandwich, potato chips. Then she pointed out the obvious packaging. Everything was tagged with its name, in clear, concise advertising. She told me about the wonders of the industrial age, how every item of food is mass- produced, wrapped, packaged, labeled, and sold to the public with its nametag right on front: Hello. My name is________. She called the grocery store a public library, a literary adventure, a reader’s guide for the learning- disabled.

Ebooks, digital publishing and children

Publishing, But Not As We Know It

For the first time, we have a generation of children who are reading more off screens than they are off paper. With developments such as eBook readers, writers producing novels and comics for mobile phones, online fan-fiction, digital book piracy and the panic-inducing Google Book Settlement, the book industry is in turmoil. Text is evolving and the traditional methods of production, marketing and even education are being left behind. This is nothing short of a revolution, and everyone involved in the book industry is faced with embracing it or losing touch with young readers.

CBI brings a panel of speakers together to discuss how to carry children’s books forward into this new age of publishing.

The Irish Writers Centre, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 Thursday June 11th 6.30-8.30pm

Chair Oisín McGann

Panel - Georgina Byrne, County Librarian, South Dublin Libraries; Sam Holman, Director, Irish Copyright Licensing Agency ; John McNamee, President European Booksellers Federation ; Peadar Ó’Guilín, Author

More information on www.childrensbooksireland.ie | 01 872 7475 info@childrensbooksireland.ie

PS – Eoin Purcell has some terrific links and thoughts  related to e books