Just got back from Halifax where I spent the last few days touring the province, visiting schools as part of the 2009 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Awards. I had a great time meeting kids from many schools, talking to them about writing comics and reading.
The awards cermony was a lot of fun and hopefully I’ll have photos very soon. Congratulations to winning author, Jennifer McGrath Kent and her action adventure Chocolate River Rescue. Like Wild Ride, it’s packed with survival skills and adventure, so it’s definitely added to my ‘must read’ list and I suggest you add it to yours too.
Thanks to all the kids who read and voted in this years awards - we couldn’t have done it without you!
[via feedingchange] Ok, so here’s how it goes: Writer announces that he’s delving into World of Warcraft, purely for research purposes 
and doesn’t blog for nearly a month. A classic case of gamer widowhood? Not really (honest!) I have been busy and there is much to report. For instance:
Wild Ride has gone into its second printing AND has been picked up by the Scholastic Book Club for the 2008/09 school year. Very cool. This is first time any of my books have gone into a second printing and it’s completely due to my fantastic publisher, Orca Book Publishers, and their even more fantastic connections in the USA.
Read the rest of the news at my blog: feedingchange.
Okay, not the entire weekend. But Book Expo Canada is here and I’ll be out tonight at the CCBC Children’s Gala, (which I’ve stated before, is neither for children or a gala, but is always fun) schmoozing with fellow writers and editors who I normally only email with.
Tomorrow, I’ll be signing advanced copies of the latest title in the Graphic Guide Adventures series: Ramp Rats, with my good friends at Orca Book Publishers. I’ll at their booth from 2pm until around 2:30ish. So, if you’re in the Metro Convention Centre and want to learn how to pull a stalefish grab, come see me and I’ll get you sorted.
[from feeding change] I just received word yesterday that my new graphic novel, Wild Ride, is nominated for the 2008/09 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award!
This is a great surprise and very great honour for many reasons. Not least of which is that Hackmatack winners are chosen by the kids themselves (like the Silver Birch Award here in Ontario.) There is something truly special about knowing that the folks picking the winning book are the very ones for whom the book was written. I started writing for kids not only to tell good stories but also to foster a love of reading in young people. Competitions like the Hackmatack have the same goals in mind and it’s an honour to have my work be a key part to such a great literacy effort.
Another reason that I’m thrilled to be nominated is because, as far as I know, it’s the first time a graphic novel has been included among the nominees for a Canadian children’s book award (I’ve done absolutely no research on this, so could be totally wrong.) I thank the Hackmatack nomination council for being so open-minded to see the potential for graphic novels to engage readers on the same level as traditional books.
And of course, there’d be no Wild Ride if it wasn’t for the fantastic work of Mike Deas, whose illustrations give the whole Graphic Guide Adventures series that totally kickin’ look and feel that kids are obviously loving. Thank you Mike and I hope you’re enjoying the nomination as much as I am.
Also, big congrats to fellow Orca authors, Hazel Hutchens and the amazing Anita Daher, whose books for the Hackmatack Award too. I am definitely in good company.
