'What the Raven Saw' launch

What the Raven Saw will be in bookstores, Australia-wide (and also Target, Big W, etc) TOMORROW. That is awesome. There will be a launch Friday 8th February. Pretty casual affair but will be heaps of fun, everyone is welcome. I will be happy to have a chat and sign books.

What the Raven Saw cover

My children's novel What the Raven Saw now has its own page at my publisher, Random House. Link below. Lots of exciting stuff happening with the book which I will update on in the future. In the meantime I am still trying to frantically steal minutes here and there to get my second manuscript to a presentable state. This one is set in the 1890s and the research to get everything accurate, while totally fun and engaging, is big on the time consumption!

What the Raven Saw at Random House

Aurealis Award Winners announced

Last week the winners of the 2011 Aurealis Awards were announced, and I am one happy blogger because just about all my fav shortlisted authors took out the top prize. These awards recognise the achievements of Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror writers. Selected winners are below:

CHILDREN'S FICTION (told through words)

The Keepers, Lian Tanner

 

CHILDREN'S FICTION (told through pictures)

The Boy and the Toy, Sonya Hartnett (author) and Lucia Masciullo (illustrator)

YOUNG ADULT Short Story

'A Thousand Flowers', Margo Lanagan (Zombies and Unicorns)

YOUNG ADULT Novel

Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey

(although it was all about Ananda Braxton-Smith's Merrow for me)

HORROR Novel

Madigan Mine, Kirstyn McDermott

FANTASY Novel

Power and Majesty, Tansy Rayner Roberts

(I was with Juliet Marillier's Heart's Blood on this one, although I LOVE Tansy as well)

SCIENCE FICTION Novel

Transformation Space, Marianne de Pierres

 

You can read the full list of winners and Judge's report here:

Aurealis Awards

Ebooks and traditional print

Really great post over at The Frenemy about how dirty old ebooks can never compare to traditional print! I myself can see the merit in them but will never be giving up my beloved paperbacks in favour of an electronic version. I agree with this post about how you develop a relationship with the actual, physical book, it is almost something sensory. One of my favourite feelings is to walk into a library and feel that warmth, that sense of shared and ancient knowledge, the comfort of those aisles stretching away before you, the excitement over what you are going to pick up and find. There is something personal about physically opening the cover and engaging with what's inside. And I do not think this is possible with an ebook.

The Frenemy is a great blog, by the way. So very funny and astute and a breezy writing style that just sweeps you along with all its randomness. Worth a look.