Read Alert

You bet! The school sessions are all booked out so this your last chance: Thursday 30 July at the State Library of Victoria, the Centre for Youth Literature presents:
Shakespeare: Raising the Bard (a panel discussion)
With Andy Griffiths, John Marsden, Tony Thompson and Jenny Lovell
Get to know Shakespeare old and new at this panel discussion featuring [...]

The Big Issue is looking for stories for its upcoming Big Fiction issue. Previous editions have featured – among others – Christos Tsiolkas, Michel Faber, Alexei Sayle, Shane Maloney and Cate Kennedy. Am I the only one who thinks that YA writers might have something to add?
To submit, send two printed (not electronic) copies [...]

Read Alert will take a break on Monday to celebrate the Queen’s birthday*.
To mark the occasion we have a booklist featuring five other great English women.
Before I Die Jenny Downham
Broken Soup Jenny Valentine
The Game Diana Wynne-Jones
Forever Rose Hilary McKay
My Sister Jodie Dame Jacqueline Wilson
*Actually, the Queen’s real birthday is on 21 April. Readers in [...]

Randa Abdel-Fattah is among the panel tonight on ABC1’s Q&A. Q&A is the program where you can ask the questions. Go to the program website, register and send it in your questions. Other panellists include Crikey founder Stephen Mayne and Tony Burke, (opposition spokesman on immigration prior to becoming the now federal minister for Agriculture, [...]

Morris Gleitzman marks the publication of Then, a companion novel to Once, with a special in-conversation event at the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre Elsternwick, next Tuesday, 3 June.
The event is from 4.30pm for 5.00 start, winding up at 6.30.
You can reserve seats by phoninng (03) 9811 2416 or email rsvp@au.penguingroup.com
Then continues the story [...]

If you have read The Long Patrol by Richard Plunkett you will have seen the striking photographs by Stephen Dupont. Tonight, ABC 1’s Foreign Correspondent reports on Dupont, who last month was blown up, but survived, a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan.
For a look at Dupont’s recent work in Afghanistan, there is an online [...]

Word of Honour, the third book in Michael Pryor’s Laws of Magic series won’t appear in shops and library shelves until September. Meantime here’s a taster, courtesy of our friends at You Tube.

Melbourne-based publishers Text have just announced an unpublished manuscript prize for a young adult novel. The prize naturally includes publication and (here’s the nice part) an advance against royalties of $10000. On one hand, it’s canny marketing, but on the other, a real opportunity to attract the best and open up discussions with a range [...]

Joe Hill wrote a book called Heart-Shaped Box, and sent it to an agent. The agent bought it. A publisher bought it. A Hollywood producer bought it. It won some kind of fancy crime award. Only then did Joe Hill admit that he is Steven King’s son.

Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List, David Levithan and [...]

Oh, Heather Mills is NOT writing a children’s book. Say it ain’t so!
In much more pleasing news, you can read an extract from Philip Pullman’s new book here (it has Lee Scoresby and Hester!).
Fans of The Little Prince may be interested to hear this story from a German fighter pilot.
Jezebel has a Friday Fine Lines [...]