The Nutcracker at W5 Belfast

W5 in Belfast has created a magical walk-through exhibition of PJ Lynch's interpretation of 'The Nutcracker'. The art has been blown up to 12 feet in height and the effect is truly fantastic. W5 will show this exhibition again next year so be sure to bring your young children along. It's a far cry from the musty moving penguins in Santa's Grotto in Clery's that I remember as a child.
Click here to see PJ's photos.

Imminent (ish) Author visits to Ireland

There is (Justifiably) much talk of Patrick Ness (The Knife of Never Letting Go) these days so I should put fans out of their misery and confirm that Patrick will visit Dublin in May '09. The short tour will coincide with the release of the second part of Chaos Walking; The Ask And The Answer.

The plan at this stage is for him to address the audience at the CBI Summer School and I hope to arrange a major school visit much like we did for Anthony Horowitz last year. Press/Media unconfirmed at this stage but keep checking in for any updates.

Megan McDonald (Judy Moody) is coming to Dublin in Feb '09 to promote Judy Moody Goes to College. Megan has not been in Dublin since June 2003 but we have managed to sell heaps of books since then. Ireland currently accounts for one third of all UK & Ireland new title sales from the Judy Moody series. The first of Megan's new Sister's Club series will arrive in May.

Booksellers' Online Resource (Picture Books)

Any booksellers interested in art and picturebooks should have a look at www.bigpicture.org

This month there is an interview with Mo Willems.

It also provides a searchable database of more than 2,500 children's books, all of which are reviewed and categorised by reading age and interest level.

Robert Dunbar Review on Pat Kenny Show

The following titles were reviewed this morning by Robert Dunbar;

1. Smile: Giggles, Gas and Giddy Tales from Children in County Roscommon
2. The Great Paper Caper, by Oliver Jeffers HarperCollins 9780007182299
3. The Gift of the Magi, by O.Henry, illustrated by P.J. Lynch Walker Books 9781844280384
4. Airman. By Eoin Colfer Puffin 9780141383354
5. Tales of Terror from the Black Ship. By Chris Priestley Bloomsbury 9780747589877
6. Creature of the Night. By Kate Thompson Bodley Head 9780370329307
7. Strangled Silence by Oisin McGann Corgi 9780552558624

You can see the list at on the Pat Kenny website and listen to the show by clicking here
(Monday 8th show - review starts 1 hr 49mins into the show)

Publicity Update

The Gift of the Magi 9781844280384 will be reviewed and the cover art will be used for the Irish Independent's Childrens Book review on Saturday Dec 13th.

A feature on the research and production behind Niamh Sharkey's Cinderella 9781406307986 will appear on Thursday Dec 11th in The Irish Independent.

National Library of Ireland

Childrens Books Ireland inform me that the PJ Lynch event in the NLI on Tuesday Dec 8th has sold out.
The event will be in the form of a public interview with PJ conducted by Dr Pat Donlan and will also give lucky ticket holders the opportunity to view a selection of PJ's artwork from his 25 years of book illustration.
Books will be sold in the NLI before and after the interview.

Gift of the Magi is No. 14 in the Childrens Bestseller chart this week !!

Publicity Update

The Afternoon Show on RTE 1 today Dec 3rd featured Cinderella (Niamh Sharkey 9781406307986) and Ten Little Fingers (Helen Oxenbury 9781406315929) They also showed The Tale of Despereaux (9780744598698) as the film will be released on Dec 12th.

On Thursday Dec 4th they will review The Gift of the Magi (PJ Lynch 9781844280384) and Necropolis (Horowitz 9781406318531)

Sarah Webb has completed a double page feature on how Niamh Sharkey produced Cinderella. This will appear in The Irish Independant gift supplement on Thursday December 11th.