Read Alert

One of the most frequently asked questions recently goes something like this.

“What’s going on the Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas?”

Well, now you can find out by receiving regular email updates.

So now you know.

What is the CBWI, I hear you ask? Find out here.

The truth is, Crocodile Tears, the latest Alex Rider novel, is out later this month. But you can win a copy now over at boys, blokes, books - where Tristan Bancks is in control.

Salem Brownstone is a deliciously moody graphic novel for teenagers and older. When Salem’s estranged father dies suddenly, his quiet life managing a laundromat is turned upside down and inside out. He pitched into a world of ghosts, wraiths and destructive spirits.

The purple cloth and spidery cover illustrations give you a taste of what is inside. I must confess that some of the plot twists left me in the dark but I was charmed by the mad world envisioned. For more, including sample pages, see the website. The book, created by a South African pair, has an edgy, indie feel.

Definitely one for the goth crowd. Too late for Halloween, but maybe for Christmas.

The American trade journal Publishers Weekly have posted their best of 2009. Scroll down their list and see Shaun Tan’s Tales From Outer Suburbia taking its place in a list dominated, unsurprisingly, by North American writers.

The US cover looks like this.

Welcome to Mariko Tamaki, who has joined insideadog as the writer-in-residence.

Mariko is one half of the team that created Skim, currently on the Inky Award shortlist.

Juliet O’Conor, manager of the State Library of Victoria’s Children’s Literature Collection, talks about her rather brilliant Bottersnikes and Gumbles, a history of Australian illustrated books for children. She is joined by Mem Fox on Deborah Cameron’s Sydney ABC morning program.

The broad themes and lush visual design makes Bottersnikes and Other Lost Things a rewarding, engaging read: the scholarship makes it essential. Put it on the Christmas wish list!

The Kraken, the news group for fans of Russell Hoban, have let me know that that author of at least three classic books - The Mouse and His Child, Riddley Walker and the Frances books - has a young adult novel in the pipeline. Woot!

The book will be called Soonchild, which Hoban describes as having “some illustrations”, but won’t be a picture book. Not sure who is illustrating at this stage. Soonchild is scheduled for 2011. There’s another adult novel first.

I am pretty excited by the idea of Hoban once again messing around with writing and illustration. Hoban is now aged 84 (he was born in 1925 and served in World War II), and has written a number of highly influential books. Patrick Ness for example, happily acknowledges the impact of Riddley Walker on The Knife of Never Letting Go. Hoban has one previous YA novel, The Trokeville Way, and more than a dozen satisfyingly strange adult novels. His other books include Emmett Otter’s Jugband Christmas, How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen, and The Sea Thing Child.

Teenagers from Morwell, Geelong and Ballarat joined suburbanites this week to explore the business of being funny. Thanks to all the teachers who make the effort to enrich your students’ reading in this way. Around 600 teenagers shared Bring the Funny and met some outstanding authors.

David Metzenthen spoke about Jarvis 24, his latest novel, reminding us that it’s not just a humorous read: he’s right, there’s a depth charge of emotion smuggled in with the sharp portrait of two suburban boys. A great book. It’s currently on the Inkys shortlist.

Penny Tangey was the surprise packet. Her debut novel Loving Richard Feynman is a gem and Penny’s explanation of how keeping a diary shaped the way wrote Richard Feynman had members of the audience fighting for breath they laughed so hard. (I briefly wondered about the OH&S issues arising from incapacitating someone through laughter.) This is one smart and funny novel.

Kirsten Murphy’s latest Halfway to Good shows her developing into a very interesting and satisfying novelist. The book is halfway to an adult novel and I wonder if in the future Kirsten might have a go at a straight adult novel. Though I think Kirsten will always write funny. That’s just the way she sees the world. I’m thinking Toni Jordan territory.

And Barry Jonsberg reminded us that he hasn’t just been sitting around in Darwin eating mangoes since The Whole Thing About Kiffo and the Pitbull came out in 2004. Jonsberg has since written 10 books. He also used the time in Melbourne to work with his editors on a novel planned for next year, which all are excited about.

So if you if you are having time off over the Melbourne Cup period (what do you mean, Tuesday is only a public holiday in the Melbourne CBD?) hundreds of teenagers can attest that these books will bring the funny.

A reminder that for the next month we’re posting inspiration for the Inkys Creative Reading Prize over at YourSay.

The story so far…

Planning Notes

Plush Reads

Music

Twilight

And coming up next week we’ve got FOOD, video and mashups.

So, the hype for the movie of Where the Wild Things Are is beginning to lap at our ankles. We’ll try not to go overboard and keep it to the truly useful and interesting.

Clever boy Danny May from Film Victoria has posted a video of the locations used in the film. See it here.

There is also a movie trailer.

And for an informed review of the movie itself here’s Claire E. Gross, associate editor of the Horn Book. Me fears yet another case of Hollywood 1- Books 0.

Where the Wild Things Are, the movie, opens in Australia on 3 December. You can buy Maurice Sendak’s 1963 book in any good bookshop today. It has never been out of print.