On Friday, I went to the annual Oxfordshire Book Awards. I love going to the OBAs. The organisers are brilliant, and there are always loads of kids from local schools who are passionate about books and reading. The winners get to do a little speech and any local authors who attend are made a fuss of too. We get to sign books after the ceremony (thanks to the fantastic Mostly Books bookshop from Abingdon, whose staff come along with masses of books for the kids to buy) and there’s always cake with the winning book covers on – so clever!
As if that weren’t enough excitement, last night I went to Sally Nicholls‘s book launch for her brand new novel CLOSE YOUR PRETTY EYES. Sally is a fab writer and I can’t wait to get stuck into her latest – I read the first few pages on the bus on the way home and am already gripped!
Events like these are like catnip to an author. They remind us that there are people out there who are just as passionate about books and writing as we are – and that is always LOVELY. I feel I’m surrounded by best friends 🙂
Jo Cotterill 