Writers' Celebrations!

It's been a great four weeks, celebrating new books with writer friends. And the topics are so wide-ranging that I marvel at their passions and knowledge! In early June, Bronwen Scott (who is working on a crime novel with lots of scientific stuff in it) celebrated the release of her first title, a non-fiction book called Spineless: Dealing with Pests and Pals in Your Home and Backyard. This fascinated me - I have as many pests as the next person, from spiders to wasps, and never mind the ants and millipedes. This is the book you need when you're not sure whether to attack with a broom, or be kind and trap and release. I listened in to an interview she did on Radio National, where listeners phoned in with questions about their own pests and what to do with them. A bit like the gardening show on steroids!

Last weekend, I launched Dee White's first YA novel, Letters to Leonardo. As I said at the launch, Dee has done a great job of creating a believable YA voice. This is a novel of mystery - Matt turns 15 and receives a birthday card from his mother. Usually no big deal, except Matt was told his mother was dead. Dee had over 100 people at her launch, and we all got to chat and eat cake and celebrate the book with her.

I had my own bit of fun today. Although The Littlest Pirate and the Treasure Map (Aussie Nibbles S.) wasn't launched as such, this morning I went along to Dymocks at Camberwell and discovered a whole bunch of lively 3- and 4-year-olds, all dressed up as pirates. One even had a little parrot on his shoulder. I read the picture book, we coloured in, shared some cake and I showed them my pirate flag and special pirate glasses. I wasn't brave enough to sing the pirate song I'd made up.

And finally I am allowed to announce that my friend, Gina Perry, has won a Silver World Medal in the 2009 New York Festivals Radio Programming Awards for her radio documentary, Beyond the Shock Machine. If you heard this broadcast earlier this year on Radio Eye on the ABC, you will know what an amazing story it is. Stanley Millgram ran a series of controversial experiments more than 40 years ago, designed to test how far people would go when instructed to give electric shocks to others in a test situation. While someone in another room answered questions, a wrong answer required the "tester" to give a shock via a machine in front of them. Compliance? Obedience? Lack of moral judgement? Who would go all the way on the voltage meter? And why did it take Millgram so long to reveal to the testers that the person in the other room was faking it? It is a fascinating story. Congratulations, Gina, and also to the ABC producer and team that worked with you.
Time for champagne!

Who Buys Picture Books?

I guess the answer to the above question is fairly obvious - 99% of the time, adults buy picture books. Parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians. And then small children get to read those picture books with the adults. And then eventually by themselves. But the person with the money in their hand gets to decide what goes on the bestseller lists, simply by virtue of the $$ they spend. What interests me is how the same old books end up on those lists, year after year, when I know there are absolutely wonderful new picture books being published every week.

One of my current favourites is Wolves by Emily Gravett. Check out her website, too. And Mo Willems' books are great. But there are many picture books that never seem to get a look in, because adults are too busy buying into nostalgia (literally). There seems to be a whole market now for picture books that appeal to adults, that are reprints of the books they had when they were little, or are books that have a definite adult perspective (e.g. stories about harrassed mothers with kids that never give them any peace). I guess I understand why The Very Hungry Caterpillar is still around after 30+ years - it's a simple story with a great concept to engage littlies (the holes in the pages, the rhythm of the words).

But I don't really get why Possum Magic is still selling heaps after 20 years (sorry, but I don't - it's a nice story, but...). And although Where the Wild Things Are is certainly a classic, I know plenty of littlies today who hate the pictures. Now I hear that not only are they bringing back Captain Pugwash, but also Horrid Henry! Come on - surely there are plenty of great current picture books that would be just as good to promote, if not better?

Except, of course, I'm forgetting about the person with the money in their hand. The parent for whom Captain Pugwash was a favourite when they were little. And Horrid Henry? Hilarious! I remember reading that ... well, no, I didn't actually read either, nor did my daughter. No, our favourite was The Paperbag Princess, and that has als

o been reprinted, but I still have our copy. I have to admit I have asked people who work in bookshops the "oldies on the bestseller list" question, and received an answer that dismayed me - lots of people have no idea about books for children. They roll into a bookshop, look puzzled, and ask for help. And because most booksellers in large stores are not familiar with kid's books, they inevitably recommend the ones they recognise themselves. Thus perpetuating the cycle.

I listened to a talk recently by a person from the Australian Booksellers' Association. It was great to hear her talk about training booksellers in how to find out about children's books in order to sell a wider range, but it sounded like her training sessions were reaching about 2% of the staff in stores. How can we encourage buyers to try new authors and illustrators? To give all those wonderful new picture books a chance? Any ideas?