I’ve been away on holiday. Just me. I have a husband and two children, all adorable, all wonderful, but I left them behind for four days on my own. It was bliss. I’ve had a rotten couple of months. One small crisis after another had left me feeling pretty battered and bruised, and my normal … More Finding myself again
I’ve been meaning to read Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens since it came out last July. I mean, just look at that cover. Stylish and retro and bright modern blue. And everyone kept saying how good it was, and I kept meaning to buy it and forgetting – and then last week I went round … More Murder Most Unladylike – review
OK, why hasn’t this won all the awards going? Or at least been shortlisted? I’ve googled it, and I can’t find a single shortlisting – or even a longlisting – for EDEN by Joanna Nadin. Which is, frankly, baffling, and only goes to show that getting on a list for any book award is a … More Eden – review
Sometimes a new book comes out and you seem to see it EVERYWHERE. I think the team at Scholastic has done a brilliant job on this cover (I gather the designer handwrote it all, which made me think what a cool job she has!) as it’s very striking. Seven Days is Eve Ainsworth‘s debut YA … More Seven Days – review
Earlier this week I discovered to my utter delight that LOOKING AT THE STARS has come second in the secondary school category of the Oxfordshire Book Award 2015! They don’t call it ‘second’ or ‘runner-up’, but ‘Highly Commended’ is my new title 🙂 I am SO very chuffed. Marcus Sedgwick won with SHE IS NOT … More Some nice things…
It’s the Oxford Literary Festival, hurrah! And I popped in on Saturday and Sunday last weekend. On the Saturday, I did a mini event in the Blackwells festival bookshop, talking about Looking at the Stars and teaching anyone who wanted to have a go how to make 3D paper stars. It was lovely to see … More Talking ghosts and meeting friends at the Oxford Literary Festival
I love Wendy Meddour’s Wendy Quill series, so I had to treat myself – er, I mean my daughter – to a copy of Dottie Blanket when I saw it recently. Plus it has the added bonus of illustrations by Mina May (who also illustrates Wendy Quill) which are fantastic as ever. I have been … More Dottie Blanket and the Hilltop – review
***COMPETITION NOW CLOSED – PLEASE SEE BELOW*** Welcome to the UKYA Easter Egg Hunt! One very lucky winner will win a huge grand prize of signed books by over thirty YA authors who write and live in the UK (including me! See below…) All you have to do is: read this blog, count up how … More Jo Cotterill’s stop on the UKYA Easter Egg Hunt!
Oh, it’s all been mad busy. And I seem to have lost my brain down the back of the sofa somewhere… but anyhoo. On Thursday 5th March I had a LOVELY day at my Patron of Reading school, Burford. Hello, Burford! *waves madly* And hello Lynne the awesome librarian! I did a talk to the … More Belated World Book Day write-up!
Being a publicist must be really hard work, especially when it comes to children’s books. How can you get the word out when you’ve got sooo many books to plug and only a limited number of places to send them? Sometimes, when publishers really believe in a book, they put out ‘proof copies’ before publication. … More Anyone But Ivy Pocket – review
Jo Cotterill 