Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Publicity for Amy Green - Summer Secrets


Following publicty confirmed;

RTE Radio Agenda (Arts show) on Tue 2nd Feb
Irish Daily Mail Saturday magazine 6th Feb
East Coast Radio 11.30am Wednesday 3rd Feb
Extract feature in KISS magazine
Woman Way piece
Competition in SUGAR
Competition in SHOUT

Monday, January 18, 2010

Sebastian Walker

This piece appeared in The Guardian over the weekend.

My Hero Sebastian Walker

portrait of Sebastian Walker of Walker Books

'He cared about his staff': Sebastian Walker of Walker Books

I started working as Walker Books' publicist in 1988. Less than a month into the job – not great timing – I found I was pregnant. But Sebastian's face lit up. "My dear, I'll start a nursery. You can bring the baby into work with you!"

Sebastian started Walker Books because he wanted to make beautiful and exciting books for children, so it was funny and touching that he knew so little about babies. He imagined the nursery could just be a line of carrycots – until someone reminded him that children tend to grow. But his generosity and imagination were entirely genuine. Just like the lunches we all ate together, the Walker nursery was absolutely free.

Sebastian's vision and energy were unique and infectious. He cared deeply about music, art, authors, artists. He cared about his staff. Late one night, he walked around putting a memo on every desk which declared that from now on, Walker Books would be a cigarette-free zone. Such an impulse was way ahead of its time, but quite simply he didn't want his friends and colleagues to die.

When Sebastian discovered he was terminally ill, he ensured the company couldn't be taken over, by giving it to its authors, artists and staff. He quipped to me that it was just "in case I go under the proverbial bus", and I remember laughing because no person I knew seemed more alive, more present, less likely to die.

I was too shy of him ever to know him well, but he transformed my life, made my early years as a mother relaxed and happy and secure. And I'm surprised to find I think of him more, not less, as the years pass and I miss him – his lively face, those white linen shirts, his complete lack of small talk, the odd mix of comfort and discomfort that was probably just shyness, the grand gestures that were so creative, so awe-inspiring. I would have loved to see what he did with the rest of his life, and maybe even to have dared be his friend.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Costa Book Awards Winner


Patrick Ness' The Ask and the Answer (Book two of the Chaos Walking series) has won the Childrens category!
ISBN 9781406322477
Paperback £7.99



The judges said; "From the first word, we were gripped by this dazzlingly-imagined, morally complex, compulsively-plotted tale. We are convinced that this is a major achievement in the making."