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12 August
2007: THIRD TERM AND BOOK WEEK
Yes, it's here
again. It's time to pack up the reading copies and the workshop materials,
check that the VirginBlue frequent flyer card is in the wallet, and
head off for the busiest time of the year.
Places I'll be visiting this
year include Sydney, Newcastle, Bathurst, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast,
Cairns, Innisfail and Ipswich, amongst others. It's a strain on the
family, and I find it a bit exhausting as well, but it's one of the
realities of making a living as a writer for young people, and there's
not much I'd trade it for.
2 August
2007: BEST REVIEW EVER!
Oftentimes you
try not to get too excited about reviews, because if you let yourself
feel elated by good ones, it means you've got to take the bad ones to
heart.
But today I read this review
of Town from Australian Bookseller and Publisher, (Julia Jackson
was the reviewer) and it's far and away the best one I've ever received
for anything, and I just had to share it.
It give the book five stars,
and reads:
James
Roy’s latest offering is superb! I was so impressed I read it in
one sitting. The plot is well conceived and executed. The book is set
in a small(ish), close-knit regional town in New South Wales but this
detail is irrelevant because the characters and narratives could easily
be transplanted to a different location. The chapters are really vignettes—each
one is a window into the life of a young person in this town across
a 12-month period. The individual narratives and characters intertwine,
and as readers, we are presented with different events that have an
impact on these young people’s lives. School life, family dysfunction,
sexuality, disability, illness and death are a few of the more obvious
topics that are tackled by Roy. The characters are well written and
are mostly likeable; one can sympathise with their circumstances and
laugh at their antics. This is Australian young adult fiction at its
best and would make a great high school English text. This book has
the potential to become a contemporary Australian classic as Tomorrow,
When the War Began has become.
25 May
2007: FIRST COPIES OF TOWN ARRIVE
I think that this
is partly why I write - to be able to open a parcel to find several
copies of a book with my name on the cover and spine. And that's what
I came home to today. Even though it's not out until October, I've got
advance copies of my new yong adult short story collection in hand.
Yay! It's a lovely feeling, and it's a lovely book. It's my new baby,
it's perfect, and I'll not hear otherwise!
29 March
2007: PROBLEM CHILD LAUNCHED IN FREMANTLE
What fun it was,
alunching my latest book Problem Child at the Fremantle Children's
Literature Centre. Since one of the boys in the book makes a Lego trebuchet,
it seemed entirely appropriate that some kind of medieval seige machine
figure in the launch. So Geoff Havel, who very kindly launched the book
for me, used a catapult to quite literally launch my book at
me. Meanwhile the staff of the Centre hovered around behind me to catch
any poorly-flung copies of the book that might sail towards the Shaun
Tan originals hanging on the walls.
It was a really fun night,
and I'd like to thank Geoff, Lesley and her staff, and everyone who
turned out to give my latest book a happy start to its life.
8 November
2006: THE YEAR IN REVIEW... & A LOOK FORWARD
It's been such
a busy year for travelling. Trips to Queensland, Western Australia,
Singapore, several festivals, plus the pilot run of a Writers-in- Residence
camp program for Anglican Youthworks have ensured that I kept my toiletries
bag well stocked at all times.
Then there are the books.
The 'S' Word was my main book for this year, and that's
selling really well, partly due (I think) to the amount of publicity
we did for it. Lots of radio, lots of print. Gus and I are really proud
of this book, and the feedback we've received from the readers has been
great.
It was also a great (and
wonderful) surprise to find The Legend of Big Red on the
CBC Notable list for 2006. As I say, it was a bit of a shock, but was
I complaining? Nope.
So, what's cooking for next
year as far as travel goes? So far it looks like the Somerset Festival,
All Saints Festival, Fremantle Children's Lit Centre (and this time
I'm going on a ghost tour of the jail while I'm there), at least two
trips to Queensland, four Youthworks Camps, plus hopefully (still working
on these at present) trips to Melbourne, Canberra and Singapore. And
of course, if you do want to book me for your school or event, please
jump over to my Bookings page.
6 November
2006: UPCOMING BOOKS
Next year will
see the launch of several new books. My regular publisher, University
of Queenlsand Press, will be releasing Problem Child early
in the 2007, and later in the year, Town, a collection
of linked short stories for young adults. I haven't written anything
for teenagers since Full Moon Racing in 1998, so this
is going to be fun.
In addition to these books,
2007 will see the release of an ESL title, Broken Wings,
coming out through ILTS, a UK/Australian/German
group. I also have a midgrade chapter book, Queasy Rider
under strong consideration with another publisher.
And once I finish Town, it'll
be time to start on Frankie Mack, which is the project
I mentioned below. It looks like I'm going to be busy.
1 November
2006: AUSTRALIA COUNCIL GRANT
I'm thrilled to
be able to say that I've been given a very generous project grant by
the Australia Council for the Arts.
This money will allow me the time and resources I need to write and
complete Frankie Mack, Tunnel Rat, which will be the third
and final book in the Captain Mack series, and I'm very
grateful to the board for seeing enough merit in the project to offer
me the grant.
20 October
2006: SINGAPORE
I've just returned
from a 10 day visit to Singapore, where I spent three days with the
Yr 6 students from Tanglin Trust School (a British International School)
and a week at the Australian International School, running workshops
for the Yrs 4 - 6 kids. I ate a lot of great food (although I did draw
the line at "Mix Pig Organs"), saw some amazing sights, and
met some terrific people. There seems a strong possibility that I'll
be returning to Singapore, possibly as soon as 2007, so when I do go
back I'll be able to spend all that Simgapore money I forgot to exchange
at the airport before I came home...
19 September
2006: BACK FROM FREO
Fremantle, WA.
Beautiful one day, dumping down the next. But still beautiful. I always
like visiting Western Australia. Not only is it a lovely place, but
I have a lot of friends there. Lesley and the staff from the Fremantle
Children's Literature Centre had a full program organised for me, with
workshops during their Youth Literature Days, plus some visits from
schools, a couple of adult workshop sessions, and the centre's Open
Day. I had a great time, and I hope I can go back very soon.
One more thing - if you're
ever in Fremantle, make sure you do the Fremantle Prison Tour. Creeeeeepy,
even during the day. And next time, I'm doing the torchlight ghost tour.
Mwa-ha-ha-ha.
10 September
2006: Problem Child FINALLY FINISHED
This book has been
a bit of a process, I have to say. It's funny how a deadline can creep
up on you, and your editor rings and says, "You know you've only
got a week to finish that book, don't you?" That's when you write
almost 20,000 words and do over 40 illustrations in a couple of weeks.
But it's done, so now I have to get cracking on the next project, which
I think is going to be a series of young adult short stories.
August
2006: BOOKWEEK ADVENTURES (and beyond)
Bookweek was full-on
this year. I literally covered all points of the compass around Sydney,
travelling to the northern beaches, then down to the Sutherland Shire
in the south, then out west, and lots of places inbetween. The week
before that I was at Meriden College in Strathfield (my third residency
there) and the week after I flew to Brisbane and worked at six schools,
did several radio interviews and two days of an online literature festival.
So it was a busy three weeks, but busy is good. No, really...
22 July
2006: The 'S' Word LAUNCHED BY JENI MAWTER
We launched The
'S' word today, at the NSW Writers' Centre, as part of their Writing
for Children Festival. Jeni (JA) Mawter was kind enough to launch it
for us, and she had some very kind and rather flattering things to say
about the book. Gus and I both spoke to a slightly smaller-than-hoped-for
audience, then we ate cake! And in other big news, on the 27th of July,
I'll be talking to James Valentine on Radio ABC 702 in Sydney about
the book. Have a listen - it's on at 1.30 pm.
5 July
2006: The 'S' Word RELEASED
It's
out! My first non-fiction book, The 'S' Word - a boys' guide to sex,
puberty and growing up has been released, and I couldn't be happier
with it. The design, the feel, the cover, everything. Gus and I really
hope that it's going to be read far and wide, and for a long time! Radio,
TV and print publicity are planned.
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