Katrina McKelvey's Blog: Terry Denton

Showing posts with label Terry Denton. Show all posts

Tuesday, 7 August 2018

Katapult - Edition 8 - August, 2018

Welcome to Katapult!

This August weather has been glorious here! Warm, sunny days and cold, snuggly nights. We spent a few days in Port Stephens over the weekend for my birthday and the weather put on a show. It was the prefect weekend away - great food and accommodation, yummy high tea, lots of presents, very successful whale watching experience, and relaxation (except I forgot both pairs of reading glasses so no reading for me!).

So what’s been happening at my desk since the last time we had a chat? Bucketloads!

What’s Up?

1) Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton's visit to Newcastle:

The boys came, talked about their latest treehouse book, drew a few pictures, hit marshmallows at us with tennis rackets, and then signed our books and posed for photos. Too much fun! Kids and adults were highly entertained by their antics.

2) Puppy Update:

Ivy had her 5 month birthday on the 28th July and she is a master of chewing things! This has inspired me to write a picture book about a puppy who chews everything, especially boxes! Too much inspiration around here to ignore any longer. I asked my facebook friends to help me with some non-human puppy names for the puppy in my story. I got over 100 suggestions! Watch this space.

Upcoming Events

1) Book Week School Visits:

Kirrili and I will be visiting lots of local bookshops, preschools and primary schools in the coming weeks to help celebrate books, reading, and writing. We have made a video giving some lucky children a sneak peek inside our upcoming picture book, Up To Something, which will be released May, 2019.

Good luck to all my creative friends who will be sharing their writing and illustrating talents across Australia!

2) Hunter Writers Centre - Writing for Children Workshop:

I'll be attending this workshop presented by Sue Whiting this Saturday and I can't wait. A few spots are still available if you're free and live near Newcastle. Click here for details.

Publishing Update

1) Kirrili has been working very hard on the illustrations for Up To Something. We can’t wait to share this one with the world! Wish I could show you some of the sketches :)

2) Cheri has continued to work on the illustrations for No Baths Week too. I haven't seen anything for a few weeks so she must be working very hard.

3) And now I can finally announce that my fifth picture book, Isla’s Family Tree will be illustrated by Prue Pittock (www.pruepittockillustrations.com) and published by EK Books in 2020. Prue’s work is beautiful and her style is perfect for this story. Her initial concept sketches were divine. Prue and I look forward to sharing more of Isla with you next year.

Anything to Share?

1) It’s Love Your Bookshop Day this Saturday, 11th August. Go and support you local independent bookseller and eat cake with them.

2) Good luck to all the publishers, authors and illustrators who have books shortlisted in the upcoming Book Week Awards. Winners will be announced Friday, 17th August.

Here's how you can get involved: https://www.cbca.org.au/cbca-book-week

Recent Book Purchase/s?

Barney by Catherine Jinks and Stephen Michael King

The 104-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton

Where can you find me on social media?

I’ve made it easy. Just click on the live links below and like or follow me.

Website: www.katrinamckelvey.com

Blog: http://katrinamckelvey.blogspot.com.au

Facebook: www.facebook.com/katrinamckelveyauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katrinamckelvey/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/katrinamckelvey

My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgfVHAHyIHP14oeEkGl2jtA

Feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email: author@katrinamckelvey.com

I’d love to hear from you!

This is a photo of my studio.

So how does Ivy entertain herself while I write?

By chewing of course!

Look at that mess.

She's supposed to be on the mat at the back :)

She chews that too - ha!

Thursday, 5 July 2018

Katapult - Edition 7 - July, 2018

Welcome to Katapult!

July is one of my favourite months of the year! Both my children were born in July so it’s like Christmas at our house. Cards, balloons and wrapping paper can be seen everywhere. One party is sadly over, but we still have one more to go.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day as I write this newsletter today - something we haven’t seen enough of around here recently - we are water-logged!

So what’s been happening at my desk since the last time we had a chat? Plenty!

What’s Up?

CBCA NSW Branch Inc Newcastle Sub-branch Meeting:

Our latest meeting featured Ed Wright from The Creative Wordshop. Ed shared with us how his business is helping local writers of all ages and experiences improve their writing skills.

Puppy Update:

Our puppy, Ivy turned four-months old on the 28th June. She has certainly claimed her spot in our family and we adore her. The good news is she is 100% clear of any health issues and we managed to avoided surgery last month for a reoccurring abscess. She is happy and busy - just the way puppies should be. We’ve completed puppy school now and things are going well. Fingers crossed they stay that way! I could waste time looking at her all day long - similar to when you bring newborns home. I just wish she would stop stealing things and chewing them! She's so cheeky.

And of course I have a picture book story plan thanks to her puppy antics with a box.

Kids and YA Festival:

I attended the biannual Kids and YA Festival last weekend hosted by Belinda Murrell and Writing NSW (formally the NSW Writers Centre). Lots of engaging and entertaining panels filled the day with inspiration and hope. I was lucky enough to have been chosen to pitch a picture book manuscript to a panel of three children’s publishers during the last session (Scholastic, Hachette, HarperCollins). Two of them wanted to see the manuscript after the pitch. I've sent it off now so cross your fingers for me :)

I love catching up with all my writing and illustrating friends from afar at events like this. It's such a warm and friendly community!

Photo 1: Belinda Murrell in conversation with Jacqueline Harvey

Photo 2: Dub Leffler, Sarah Davis (chair), Aura Parker, Kirli Saunders and Paul Russell

Photo 1: Dub Leffler

Photo 2: Me, Marian McGuinness, Belinda Murrell, Lindy Batchelor

Photo 1: Jacqueline Harvey (chair), Tim Harris, RA Pratt and Oliver Phommavanh

Photo 2: Kate Forsyth, Jane McCredie (Writing NSW), Belinda Murrell

Bookings for Books Week School Visits:

If you’d like me (or Kirrili and I as an author/illustrator team) to come to your school, shoot me an email so we can organise one that is perfectly designed for your school’s needs. Preschools, Primary Schools and High Schools welcome!

I'm also represented by:

The Children's Bookshop Speakers Agency

Greenleaf Agency (Greenleaf Press)

Upcoming Events

I’m doing a monthly story time event at Harry Hartog, Kotara until the end of the year. My July visit is on Wednesday, 11th July at 10:30am - first week of the school holidays.

All my 2018 story time dates can be found here.

We are going to see Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton on stage taking about their latest release, The 104 Storey Treehouse during these school holidays. Andy is my hero and I can’t wait to see both of them on stage. They released a second show in Newcastle recently. Tickets for the second show can be found here.

Publishing Update

I’ve been working with Kirrili and our publisher this week on all the draft internals of Up To Something due for release May next year (EK Books). OMG! is all I can say. Our book is coming together beautifully. We tweaked a few pencil lines here, and a few words there to make it the best book it can be. Kirrili is now ready to splash the colours around and start the final illustrations. We can’t wait to share this one with the world!

I’ve also seen some draft internals of No Baths Week today, due for release early 2019 (Big Sky Publishing). These are full of magic too. Cheri Hughes is a very clever chook.

My fifth picture book, Isla’s Family Tree (third one with EK Books) has found a home on an illustrator’s easel who is busting to help my words jump off the page with the help of beautiful illustrations. I saw some of the concept drawings this week. My heart is singing. Her full identity will be revealed soon. This will be a 2020 release.

I know … when it rains, it pours! All three books in the one week! I have three beautiful illustrators working on my stories at the moment and I feel like the luckiest author in the world!

Anything to Share?

The Hunter Writers Centre is hosting a children’s writing workshop with Sue Whiting on the 11th Aug from 9:45am. If you'd like to join us, please follow the link here.

Recent Book Purchases?

Teacup by Rebecca Young and Matt Ottley (This one took my breath away.)

Errol by Zanni Louise and Philip Bunting (This one is simple and cute but clever.)

Where can you find me on social media?

I’ve made it easy. Just click on the live links below and like or follow me.

Feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email: author@katrinamckelvey.com

I’d love to hear from you!

Some photos of my winter Camellias I popped onto Instagram last week.

I love receiving drawings from my daughter.

Tuesday, 10 April 2018

Katapult - Edition 4 - Newcastle Writers Festival - April, 2018

Welcome to Katapult!

In this edition I would like to reflect on what a wonderful time everyone involved had during the 2018 Newcastle Writers Festival last week. The festival had three main parts: the Schools Program, the Main Program, and the Family Fun Day.

The Schools Program was held over two days. The first day (Thursday) was hosted by Cessnock Library and involved Kate and Jol Temple, Yvette Poshoglian and Tristan Bancks presenting in lots of schools in the Cessnock area. I heard they all had a hoot!

Books by Yvette Poshoglian

Books by Jol and Kate Temple

Tristan Bancks (photo from NWF 2014)

The second day (Friday) was held in Newcastle between Newcastle Region Library and Newcastle City Hall. Wonderful presenters included Leigh Hobbs, Yvette Poshoglian, Jess Black, Paul Russell, Kate and Jol Temple, Liz Anelli, Gregg Dreise, and Tristan Bancks. The kids were treated to presentations and workshops that left them inspired to read and write. This is always my favourite day of the festival. It takes me back to my teaching days.

There may be a story about a bus full of kids attending the festival getting a flat tyre before they even arrived which could have caused me as a program supervisor a minor breakdown, but everything worked out in the end - thank goodness :)

Liz Anelli

Books by Leigh Hobbs

Books by Jess Black

That night I attended the festival's opening night event: Jimmy Barnes - Working Class Man at the Civic Theatre. Jimmy told the story of his life in the Cold Chisel days as well has his solo career. He laughed, cracked jokes, sang, and shared his very personal journey with suicide, drug and alcohol addiction, and depression. I was left wondering how he's still alive!

Civic theatre just before Jimmy Barnes took the stage

On the Sunday, the festival hosted the Family Fun Day. Kids and their families were entertained by a host of guests and local talent including Zanni Louise, Gregg Dreise, Lynn Jenkins and Kirrili Lonergan from Lessons of a LAC, Renee Price from Digby Fixit Live!, and Emily S. Smith and Graham Davidson from Storytime Lane. This was another jam-packed event full of fun, dancing, entertainment and inspiration.

Zanni Loiuse and Digby's Moon Misison by Renee Price

Images from Lessons of a LAC

Of course I had to buy books at the festival. Here's a few of my purchases. My kids ran off with them as soon as I brought them home. Now I need to find them so I can read them.

Books by Jol and Kate Temple, and Zanni Loiuse

Congratulations to all involved in bringing the festival alive again this year. Thanks to all the schools and parents who brought their kids along. And congratulations to all the kids who threw themselves into the activities and stories presented to them.

Family Fun Day marquee in Wheeler Place

If you want to keep up with out-of-festival events and next year's festival to be held 5-7 April, subscribe to the NWF newsletter here.

One of these upcoming out-of-festival events: Terry Denton and Andy Griffiths are coming to Newcastle on the 15th July to present their new book, The 104-Storey Treehouse. Ticket still available here. Hurry! Tickets selling fast. I'll be there!