Category: authors

authors, chapterbooks, Illustrators, Reviews

Lovely review for Four on the Run at ReadPlus

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There’s a lovely review of Four on the Run on ReadPlus, review is by Kathyrn Beilby. Here’s a short extract:

This is a perfect read aloud for Junior Primary students as it is short and will appeal to children who could easily imagine that vehicles may be able to talk. Those younger readers who are progressing to independently reading novels will find the larger text and repetition of key words an asset to reading fluently. The clever illustrations by Cheryl Orsini provide extra interest and support to the reader.

You can read the whole review here.

Announcements, authors, Awards, Books, celebrations, Eagle Books, News

Very exciting news!

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PRESS RELEASE

September 27, 2020

 

Christmas Press is absolutely delighted to announce that Jenny Blackford’s fabulous middle-grade novel, The Girl in the Mirror, which we published in our Eagle Books imprint in 2019, is the winner of the Best Children’s Crime Novel category in the 2020 Davitt Awards.

The Awards, which were presented by legendary Scottish crime writer Val McDermid in a virtual ceremony yesterday, Saturday September 26, featured a shortlist of 24 books across six categories. You can find the video of the ceremony here.

Prestigious annual awards with a 20-year history, the Davitts are run by the Sisters in Crime Australia literary organisation and showcase the best crime novels by Australian women writers.

The Girl in the Mirror, an enthralling mix of murder mystery, time slip and ghost story, is the debut middle-grade novel of acclaimed poet and short story writer Jenny Blackford. Illustrated with atmospheric black and white pictures by Fiona McDonald, the novel has received wide acclaim, with reviewers praising its ‘clever storytelling’ (Buzz Words), ‘silky smooth prose’  (Compulsive Reader) and its ‘enjoyable and revelatory’ qualities (ReadPlus). As Geoffrey McSkimming writes in the back cover quote, it is truly a ‘spine-tingling winner.’

Publishing director of Christmas Press, Sophie Masson, said, ‘Jenny initially submitted her novel to us some time ago in one of our open submissions period, and it immediately caught the eye of our commissioning editor Beattie Alvarez, for its haunting atmosphere, gripping narrative and sharp, evocative writing. We loved working with Jenny and are very proud to have published The Girl in the Mirror. We warmly congratulate Jenny on this very well-deserved win and thank the Davitt Awards judges and Sisters in Crime Australia for supporting the best in crime fiction by Australian women writers.’

Announcements, authors, celebrations, New releases

Our beautiful new August title has just arrived from the printers!

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We were excited to receive stock this week of our gorgeous new August title, the lovely chapterbook Petal and the Really Hard Riddle, written by Kathryn England and illustrated by David Allan! For young readers 5-8, it’s a real delight of a book, with a funny, engaging story and absolutely beautiful illustrations. Available in all good bookshops from August 1!

 

Announcements, authors, News, short stories

Congratulations to Rebecca on School Magazine story!

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Congratulations to Rebecca Fung, author of the fabulous Princess Hayley’s Comet, who has just had a short story for children, Homecoming, published in the prestigious and popular School Magazine! The story is in the May issue of the Orbit edition of The School Magazine. Here’s a sneak peek:

You can also read about the ‘batty’ inspiration for Homecoming, as well as a few words about the inspiration for Princess Hayley’s Comet, on Rebecca’s website.

Adventure, Announcements, authors, Books, celebrations, New releases

Publication day for Tomodachi: The Forest of the Night!

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We are delighted to announce that today is the official publication day of our newest Eagle Books title, Simon Higgins’ fantastic adventure novel, Tomodachi: The Forest of the Night!

Beautifully-written, excitingly-paced and with a deep understanding of one of the most interesting historical periods and fascinating cultures in the world, this is a superb novel that we are very proud to publish, with its beautiful cover and internal illustrations created by Simon’s wife, artist and animator Jenny(Yuxiao) Wang.

To whet your appetite for Tomodachi: The Forest of the Night, we are thrilled to present this lively and atmospheric trailer, created by Crane Animation and scripted and narrated by Simon Higgins. Enjoy!

authors, Books, celebrations, exhibitions, international events, News, Picture books, Uncategorized

Thrilling news: four of our books featured in Hello from Australia!

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We are absolutely thrilled to announce that four of our beautiful picture books have been selected for featured inclusion in the catalogue of the very prestigious Hello! from Australia exhibition which will be held at the famous Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Bologna, Italy, April 3-6. As well, an illustration from one of the featured books, Margrete Lamond and Ingrid Kallick’s Two Troll Tales from Norway, has been selected to be hung as part of the exhibition itself.

The four books featured in the exhibition catalogue are: Duncan Ball and David Allan’s Two Tengu Tales from Japan; Adele Geras and Fiona McDonald’s Two Fearsome Fairy Tales from France; John Heffernan and Kate Durack’s Two Tales of Brothers from Ancient Mesopotamia; and Margrete Lamond and Ingrid Kallick’s Two Troll Tales from Norway. Warm congratulations to all our wonderful creators!

You can see the catalogue here.  And below you can see the fabulous selected illustration from Two Troll Tales. Bravo, Ingrid!

Here’s more about the exhibition, from the catalogue:

Hello! From Australia is an exhibition that aims to promote Australian literary culture, drawing attention to the creativity of Australian children’s book illustrators and the diversity and excellence of the Australian Children’s Book Industry. The exhibition also aims, specifically through the catalogue, to support publishers in the promotion and sale of rights of Australian books and facilitate contact between Australian publishers and international publishers, agents and promoters. Since 2009, eight Hello! From Australia exhibitions have been curated by Books Illustrated for the annual Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Many have then toured to events and festivals in Australia and particularly into Asia.

 

Announcements, authors, celebrations, Competitions, Submissions

A fabulous opportunity for emerging authors in our 2017 Christmas anthology!

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dragons-fiona-mouse-dinner-brighter

Boxing Day, and of course it’s the perfect time for us to start working on our 2017 Christmas title, ‘A Christmas Menagerie’!
As usual, it will be an anthology of original Christmas stories by established and emerging authors — this time with an animal theme.
The established author spots are all filled.

BUT in an exciting opportunity, we have five emerging author spots to fill!

The stories need to be between 750-1500 words and be suitable for a 6-10 age group. They should be original, unpublished(including on blogs and websites), and ms should be in Word or RTF (not in PDF please), double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point.

We will be accepting submissions for twelve days ONLY, starting TODAY, the 26th of December, and ending on the 6th of January. Any submissions that arrive out of that time frame won’t be accepted.

 Send your story, as an attachment, by email only, to submissions@christmaspresspicturebooks.com , with ‘A Christmas Menagerie submission’ in the subject line, and a few lines about yourself in the body of your email.

Good luck, and happy writing!

authors, Books, celebrations, Illustrators, Imprints

Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

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Illustration by Fiona McDonald, from The Dolls' Nativity, by Natalie Jane Prior.
Illustration by Fiona McDonald, from The Dolls’ Nativity, by Natalie Jane Prior.

It’s that festive time of the year again–and to all our contributors, readers, friends and supporters the Christmas Press team sends the very best of wishes for a merry Christmas and a very happy and successful New Year! Thank you all for your support throughout 2016, and here’s looking forward to a great 2017!

Pictures are from our latest title, the fabulous anthology, A Toy Christmas.

And to all emerging authors: watch this space on Boxing Day for some great news about our 2017 Christmas anthology!

Illustration by Beattie Alvarez for George Ivanoff's 'The Pudding Prize'
Illustration by Beattie Alvarez for George Ivanoff’s ‘The Pudding Prize’
Illustration by Kathy Creamer, for her own story,'What, No Christmas Toys for the children?'
Illustration by Kathy Creamer, for her own story,What, No Christmas Toys for the Children?
Illustration by David Allan for his own story, 'The Fairy Tree'
Illustration by David Allan for his own story, ‘The Fairy Tree’