Friday 28 September 2012

Could you write the perfect bedtime story?




Walker Books, Mumsnet and Gransnet have just launched a competition to find the best children’s bedtime stories written by parents and grandparents. The ten winning entries will be published by Walker Books in The Mumsnet Book of Bedtime Stories. 



Together with Mumsnet, the UK’s busiest website for parents, and sister website Gransnet, Walker have launched a nationwide competition to find the ten best bedtime stories for publication in the Mumsnet Book of Bedtime Stories slated for release in October 2013. 

The judging panel, led by Children’s Writer and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen, will compile a shortlist of twenty stories that will be made available online for Mumsnet and Gransnet users to vote for their favourites. The final ten winning authors will be announced on 18 February 2013, Each will win £500 and their story will be illustrated and published in the Mumsnet Book of Bedtime Stories published by Walker Books.
 


The illustrated gift book will be aimed at the under sevens and the judging panel will be looking for fresh voices, original contemporary ideas and, most important of all, stories that children will love.

 
To find out how to enter the competition, visit Mumsnet or Gransnet. 
 


Happy writing!

Friday 21 September 2012

Oh No, George! shortlisted for Roald Dahl Funny Prize



The shortlist for the fantastic Roald Dahl Funny Prize, which is celebrating its fifth birthday this year, was announced yesterday. And... we're ecstatic to announce that our very own Chris Haughton is on the shortlist for his whimsical tale of George, the hapless dog who just can't behave! Well done to Chris (and to George!) You can see the full list of shortlisted books on the Booktrust website.



If you haven't read Oh No, George! before, why not watch the trailer for it just to the right of this blog post? And if you have read it, tell us if you'll be rooting for it to win the Prize! 



The Roald Dahl prize aims to promote laughter and humour as a feel-good factor when reading, to draw attention to funny books as readable and enjoyable books and to reward authors and illustrators who write and illustrate books using humour. Visit the Booktrust website to read what some of the judges, including broadcaster and comedian Mel Giedroyc and We're Going on a Bear Hunt author Michael Rosen, had to say about the shortlisted entries.



Congratulations once again to Chris! 





Saturday 8 September 2012

Hold on to your hats!



When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue top hat (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it’s a good thing that enormous fish won’t wake up. And even if he does, it’s not as though he’ll ever know what happened…will he?

Yes, you've guessed it - the wait is almost over for This Is Not My Hat, the brand new picture book by award-winning author and illustrator Jon Klassen! If you’re as excited as we are about this tiny fish in a blue bowler hat, then take a glimpse of what’s to come in this quirky trailer made by Jon Klassen himself.








 




Be the first to read This Is Not My Hat and pre-order your copy here.

Stay tuned next month for an exclusive guest blog post by Jon Klassen about the making of the book...

Available 9 October 2012.