Wolf Tide Gala Launch

The Manchester Writing School at MMU and the Manchester Children’s Book Festival present the gala launch of Catherine Fox’s latest novel, Wolf Tide, Thursday 12th December 2013

Words and Photographs by Chantelle Salkeld

Catherine Fox took to the stage at the Anthony Burgess Foundation to launch her latest novel, Wolf Tide. Accompanying Catherine were fellow writers from the Manchester Writing School, reading from the Timelines short story anthology.

The event began with an announcement from Livi Michael, a Creative Writing Lecturer at MMU and host for the evening. The Timelines anthology, the Manchester Writing School’s own publication, had sold out for the second time. Timelines is a collection of short historical fiction for teens, and includes stories and illustrations by students of the Manchester Writing School and the Manchester School of Art at MMU. It was clear from extracts read by Anna Mainwaring and Emma George, Timelines consists of many aspiring and imaginative storytellers. Other notable authors include N.M. Browne, Sherry Ashworth, Iris Feindt and Livi Michael, who aim to be the leading publisher for children’s writing in the UK.

Wolf Tide is Catherine’s 10th novel, and is unlike any of her past work. Dark, compelling, full of magic and although it is aimed at young adults, there is something for an older audience too. As Livi said, she was ‘completely hooked’ from the start.

Left to Right: Livi Michael talks with Catherine Fox

17 year-old Anabara Nolio is descended from a long line of warriors. She is also a private investigator. When tasked with discovering the truth about the university library’s lost books she thinks it’s a simple case. But the city isle of Laridy is riddled with dark secrets and ancient magic – a legacy from historic dealings with the realm of the Fairy. A world where stained-glass angels can leave their windows to fight, where rooftops are guarded by armed statues. When Anabara decides to free a Fairy slave during her investigation she is plunged into a terrifying underworld of trafficking and trickery – and solving the case becomes the least of her problems.

The novel is a departure from her earlier works, which are mainly set in the real world. Catherine explained that she wanted to write a detective story, but didn’t know much about police procedure, so it was far better to be set in a realm she has created herself. "In that case I could do exactly what I like as long as I keep my own rules," she explained.

"Writing is a process of discovery," Catherine said. She invents her characters as she writes them. "That’s my plotting technique as well," she admitted, bringing laughs from the audience. For example, an amulet is described throughout the novel, and as Anabara wonders what it does, Catherine did too during the writing process. Finally, ‘it all fell into place’ as she completed the first draft of the novel.

First drafts and editing can be a tricky business. Catherine remembers one editor holding up a manuscript of hers saying “I think this is a first draft, of a first novel, out of which may eventually come the novel we publish.”

“It came back with red ink all over it,” she laughed, saying she felt like she would be sent to the head teacher’s office.

Waiting to be published is the hardest part of the process: having rejections, and hearing nothing. Rejection," Catherine said, "is like running into a plate glass window that you didn’t know was there.”

Left to Right: Iris Feindt with Timelines, Livi Michael, and Catherine Fox with Wolf Tide

I had the chance to ask her a couple of questions after the main event. I wanted to know how she created the names for the characters.

“I spent some time walking on the coast of North Devon, where there were many gulls flying around. I looked up the Latin word for gull, which is larus, and this became the City of Laridy, where the Gull People live.”

She usually uses Latin words as a springboard to help her create some names. The title was inspired from the tidal bore on the River Severn, which is celebrated to this day in England, as it is by the inhabitants of Laridy.

As for character names, she chooses ones that sound fitting, but not so obscure readers can’t remember them. Some ideas she took from Maori culture, as the Gull People have tattooed foreheads.

Catherine also has a new novel coming out soon, Acts and Omissions. It is crowed-sourced as she began writing bits on Twitter each week and found she was getting responses. She thought it would be fun to write about the serialised Victorian novel and get other people’s opinions, and they contributed some ideas she would never have thought of. She explained how it will be interesting to see it as a book altogether, as it worked really well in serial form.

Wolf Tide is available for purchase from Amazon. The first chapter is available for free here.

Wolf Tide Gala Launch was a Manchester Children's Book Festival trailblazer event. If you would like to hear about upcoming events in relation to MCBF you can sign up for the 2014 mailing list here.

Chantelle studies English and Creative Writing at MMU. She enjoys painting and poetry in her spare time. You can follow her on Twitter @Chantelle_L_S

Tall Tales At The Town Hall – Family Reading Day

Relaxing in the MCBF Story Reading Corner

Words and photographs by Neil Harrison

As part of The Manchester Literature Festival, a host of children's authors and performers, including much-loved Cbeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell, gathered at Manchester's Town Hall on Sunday to enchant local children with wild and wonderful stories at a Family Reading Day.

Author Petr Horacek creates live illustrations

The event - a precursor to next year's Manchester Children's Book Festival - saw Cerrie read to starstruck children from her debut book Snowflakes. She was joined on the day by children's writer and illustrator Petr Horacek, poetry slam champion Dommy B, educational theatre company Artful Playground and author of the Danny Baker Record Breaker books, Steve Hartley.  

 Explaining to the children and parents why she believes that encouraging children to read at home is important, and what motivated her to write her own book, Cerrie said,

“I'm going to tell you a little secret about me - I couldn't read until I was 8-years-old. But I was very lucky because I had a lovely Mummy who read lots of stories to me. So Mums and Dads, if you are not confident readers or you have little ones who aren't confident readers themselves, please do keep on reading stories to them, because that is the way in.”

Cbeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell reading from her book

“It wasn't difficult [to write the book] because I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to do. My main objective was to get a little girl in the book who looked like Mia (the book's main character), because my daughter looks like Mia. I was looking in the shops all over the place to try to find a little girl in a picture book who looked like her and I couldn't find very many. So my objective was to have a mixed race child in a picture book and then the story sort of happened around that.”

“The process of writing a picture book is very long, because you do all the writing and then the illustrator has to do all the drawing. So it took about two and a half years. Actually, a lot of that time was spent creating the book here in Manchester.”

Between performances, the kids were able to enjoy a plethora of craft and reading activities, which were partly organised by Manchester Metropolitan University. Kaye Tewe and James Draper of MMU were at the event in order to help promote Manchester Children's Book Festival (MCBF) 2014. Kaye explained further, 

Drawing Sea Monkeys with MMU's James Draper

“As well as setting up the MCBF Story Reading Corner, James and I are here today encouraging children to draw 'Sea Monkeys', which feature in one of our main books for next year's festival - Oliver And The Seawigs, by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre. The publishers Oxford University Press have very kindly allowed us to use the artwork from the book in our promotional material for MCBF 2014. Sadly, the kids are much better at drawing than we are!”

The children's drawings will be used to  generate a gallery of sea monkeys for the land and sea themed MCBF Family Fun Day on 28th June 2014.

Beaming children, many clutching new (freshly autographed) books, left the event with parents who appeared equally pleased. One satisfied parent, a mother of two, told me,

“Any opportunity to get our kids reading is fine by us. If it encourages them to pick up a book, rather than look at a screen, that's fantastic. They've really enjoyed today, it's been brilliant. We can't wait for the [Children's] Book Festival now.” 

Neil Harrison studies Social History at MMU, he is an aspriring writer, an awful guitar player and a proud father. Follow him on Twitter @looseriver

Time to Shine for MMU’s Writing Talent

The Writers & Illustrators of The Timelines Anthology

Words by Lisa Burns

The John Rylands Library played host to a plethora of MMU’s finest writing talent last weekend, with the launch of MMU’s Timelines Anthology. Part of the Manchester Children’s Book Festival, the anthology is a collection of short stories for children and teenagers, written by students of MMU’s Writing for Children MA.

A selection of the anthology’s 17 authors were invited to step forward and read their stories to members of the public. Each story within the anthology contains around 3000 words and is aimed at an audience of readers aged 10 – 14 years old. The stories each have a historical theme, covering almost every period from the Cretaceous Period right until the present day, set in times and spaces all over the world.

The students who took up the challenge to write the short stories all study at Manchester Writing School and were specially commissioned by their tutors. The tutors in question are all established authors in their own right - N.M. Browne, Sherry Ashworth and Livi Michael, amongst others. Timelines was inspired by the Manchester Children’s Book Festival, which takes place every two years to encourage children to develop a passion for literature and to get involved in creative writing projects.

N.M.Browne, Dr Livi Michael, Iris Feindt & Sherry Ashworth

Saturday’s launch began with an introduction from MMU Lecturer and author Dr Livi Michael, who was also an editor of the anthology. She remarked, ‘this is the first time that an anthology like this has been produced by a university and published and marketed professionally. I am so proud of this book and all the writers in it. Commercial publishers are not doing enough to promote our talented writers, and so we thought we’d give them a step up the ladder’. This follows big publishers 'playing it safe' during the current economic climate by working exclusively with established series and authors. This in turn creates difficulties for new voices and short fiction in particular, to break through. This showcase is designed to help budding writers.

Among the guest writers was N.M. Browne, who had travelled from London to read her story set in Fifth-Century Dark Ages Britain, entitled The Betrothed. Browne made a point of stating her gratitude for being invited to the occasion, ‘it’s so nice to finally meet people that I’ve talked with online, and to be able to put faces to names after all this time! I’m honoured to have been invited here today.’

Other guest writers included Matt Killeen, Emma George and Marie Dentan. Dentan had come all the way from Paris to read her story set in the time of Henry V and the Hundred Years’ War. Marie has created a blog which showcases her MA project, as well as interviews with the authors and editors of Timelines.

The event was well-attended, it was so great a success that host and Editor-In- Chief, Iris Feindt, had to keep offering the last chair available in the room (her own chair!) to the many people left standing. ‘I’m so happy with the turnout’, Iris enthused. ‘It’s quite special when you get to hear the authors reading their own stories’. Many of the student authors had never read their stories publicly before, so the launch was a very special occasion.

 Author, editor and MMU Lecturer Sherry Ashworth gave the anthology a glowing review at the end of the event. Sherry stated, 'Timelines is wonderful and would make a great Christmas stocking-filler for adults and children alike! It’s not just for children, it’s for everyone!' If the success of the Timelines book launch is anything to go by, MMU’s Writing School is sure to continue producing work that feeds the imaginations of generations to come!

The Timelines Anthology is available to buy from 21st October, and costs £8.99.

Follow Manchester Children's Book Festival on Twitter @MCBF2014

Lisa Burns studies History and English at MMU. When she’s not got her nose in a book, she loves having adventures in the great outdoors! Follow her on Twitter: @LittleRobin09

 Words by Sophie Bannister

As a child, I read a lot of Malorie Blackman books, so I was unbelievably excited to find she was holding an event as part of the Manchester Literature Festival. In preparation, I got out my (rather old) copy of Noughts and Crosses to take along with the hopes of getting it signed. It had been a while since I’d read the book so I casually flicked through to the first page and was instantly hooked all over again.

Malorie, recently appointed Waterstones Children’s Laureate, has such a brilliant imagination and a wonderfully fluid writing style, which appeals to adults just as much as children. MMU lecturer and author Jackie Roy, our interviewer for the event, explained that she believes this is because Malorie 'respects younger readers. She never talks down to them in her books’. In person the author is bubbly and cheerful, and was more than happy to sign my book. I must admit, I felt a little bit star-struck.

Before the event began, I spotted and spoke to the Bookwitch. For those of you who don’t know, Bookwitch is a blogger. She attends literary events, reviews books on her site and isn’t afraid to speak her mind – which makes her rather notorious in the literary world. I asked Bookwitch what she was expecting from the event and the blogger explained that she’d only seen Malorie at talks for adults, so she was expecting a better atmosphere with many schoolchildren present. ‘If Malorie’s with Jackie Roy, I also think that will bring out the best in her’, she added. The event didn’t disappoint.

The platform décor was subtle; there was a cheerful image projected onto the back wall and a single, squashy-looking couch centre stage, framed by a couple of small tables holding water for the speakers. Malorie and Jackie sat down, looking comfortable, with big grins on their faces. Each is a big fan of the other’s work so this must have been a real treat for them both.

Jackie’s questions brought out more about Malorie’s life and it became ever clearer that the author has had to tackle many obstacles to get where she is today. As a child, her father disliked the idea of her reading fiction; the only books in their house were non-fiction and he insisted that you could not learn anything from stories. Luckily for her readers, Malorie disagreed and spent her Saturdays in the library, reading as much as possible.

Malorie used to love reading comic books – and still does today. Unlike some of her school teachers, she believes that any form of fiction that gets children reading is useful and this includes comic books. ‘Children have the right to read rubbish’, she laughed. It was revealed, with a little prompting from Jackie, that her bestselling book, Noughts and Crosses, will soon be appearing as a graphic novel. I cannot wait!

Malorie Blackman with St. Paul's Catholic High School Students

As Malorie typically deals with very controversial topics, sometimes her readers wonder whether there is anything she thinks is unsuitable to write about in teenage fiction. ‘I think it’s in the way it’s done. I don’t think there is any topic I wouldn’t tackle’, she explains. Looking at her new book, Noble Conflict, it highlights the respect she has for her readers in this sense. The main character, Kaspar, has to choose between becoming a whistle-blower and fighting against authority or allowing horrendous acts of torture to continue. Not only is this shocking and politically orientated, but it is very relevant today. As in all Malorie’s books, there are no easy answers in Noble Conflict, as she prefers to raise  questions instead. "Each and every one of us has a voice and we have to know that, we have to believe that, we have to stand up and use it", she told her audience.

I caught up with Jackie Roy after the talk. A few years ago she held a Malorie Blackman event as part of the Manchester Children’s Book Festival, even though Malorie could not be present. How did Jackie feel this event went in comparison? 

"I think it went really well", she said. "Today was massively better because we had Malorie in person – and you can’t ask for more than that."



Sophie Bannister is Co-chair of Manchester Metropolitan University's English Society, where she is currently in her third year studying English Literature. She hopes to complete a Master's degree after her time at MMU. You can view Sophie's blog here and follow her on Twitter @SophieBan92

(Time) Travel Writing - A Talk from Eoin Colfer

Words by Caroline Matthews

 

I’d been invited to attend a talk by Eoin Colfer, writer of the hugely popular Artemis Fowl series at The People’s History Museum, and decided to congratulate myself on my (unheard of) early arrival with a sneaky coffee and a cake in the lovely The Left Bank Café Bar. This was to be the first collaborative event between the Manchester Literature Festival and the Manchester Children’s Book Festival, so this was also the perfect moment to read the winning entries from the Postcards from the Past competition. These four beautifully written postcards are each a reimagining of a moment of world or literary history, as told by a real or fictional character involved.

But the coffee and cake would have to wait, because at the next table sat Eoin Colfer himself, whose new book ‘W.A.R.P: The Reluctant Assassin’ is itself a reimagining of another historical era. I asked him why there is such a Victorian revival in literature at the moment, and why he thinks the steampunk genre holds such an appeal for young readers. He replied ‘It was a very dangerous time for children’, suggesting that what appeals, therefore, is ‘the thrill of danger, whilst reading in the safe place of the present’. But what is steampunk? It’s a creative space where anachronistic lifestyles and technologies meet the present. Think reimagined retro technologies – such as the steam engines of the Victorian era - now incorporating elements of the futuristic to create an amazing alternative history.

Aptly, I later followed Eoin into the museum’s ‘Engine Hall’, to hear his talk to a sell-out audience of school children from across Manchester. But this wasn’t simply a talk to plug his new series of time-travelling sci-fi books. Rather, through his hilarious tales of his own life, from trying to toilet train his youngest son, to the trials of getting a teenage child to admit they love their dad, he showed the audience the fabulous stories to be found in everyday experiences. It led Shabeena Iqbal, age 12, from Abraham Moss High School, to reflect ‘I could write. I could write about my own life’. What really seemed to have an impact was Eoin Colfer’s suggestion that, unless recorded, the most interesting moments in your own life are lost, like a butterfly flying away, but that ‘if you’re a writer, you can catch that’. Later, Ben Holt, age 11, from Failsworth School, said ‘Today inspires me to keep a journal to do my own writing’. 

 

Aisha Akhtar and Shannon Barratt's Postcard entry

Eoin Colfer’s talk was followed by MMU’s own Kaye Tew announcing the winners of the Postcards from the Past Competition – a further exploration of alternative histories. More than that, the competition was also a chance to show entrants that creative writing is something we can all begin to explore. Beth Harrop, 10, winner of the 8 -12 category even confessed to me that she was ‘cheeky at the writing group’ she attended. So when she suggested her Postcard from the Past about the sinking of the Titanic be written from the perspective of the iceberg, some in her group ‘thought it might be silly’. Not so, and her winning piece was both funny and original. Another brilliant example of how literature allows us to consider history from alternative viewpoints came from Aisha Akhtar, 17, and Shannon Barratt’s, 17, joint contribution in the 16 – 18 category. Their postcard from a shift worker at the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot was both believable and thought provoking. 

Beth Harrop's Postcard entry

For those who had been given the writing bug by Eoin’s talk, the afternoon drew to a close with the promise of another chance to get involved with the Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Children’s Book Festival. Kaye asked the children to imagine life in the trenches during World War One, and begin to think about what message they would send if it were possible to send ‘Tweets from Trenches’, as this will be the focus of next year’s competition. After the excitement of getting a copy of ‘W.A.R.P: The Reluctant Assassin’ signed by the author, it was time for me to finally go and get my coffee and cake. But on my way out, I spotted Pheonix Jones, age 9, from Gorse Hill Primary School. One of the youngest audience members, I was keen to know what she’d taken from the day. She summed it up brilliantly, when with a big smile on her face she replied ‘I like reading, and I like reading fairy stories. Today it made me wants to WRITE a story’.

Caroline Matthews is a Mancunian, wife, mother, student and writer. You can follow her @CarolBMatthews and read more of her articles on Humanities' Hallows