PASS IT ON ISSUE 70

PASS IT ON
Knowledge Is Power
www.jackiehosking.com



Issue 70. Monday, December 12th 2005.





Hi everyone! Welcome to the new look PASS IT ON! A lot more professional
don't you think? I hope you have all had a fantastic week. Thanks to all who
have contributed and a special hello to all new subscribers. Thank you also
to everyone who has offered support and encouragement, I really do
appreciate it. Please enjoy this week's issue of PASS IT ON.





A Disclaimer of Liability

Please ensure that your submissions are ACCURATE and clear. I will accept no
responsibility for any errors or omissions contained in the information
submitted.
PLEASE be careful.

To unsubscribe send an email to jacket@smartchat.net.au with "unsubscribe"
in the subject heading.





WHAT IS PASS IT ON?

PASS IT ON is a weekly, on-line, interactive, networking newsletter for
those involved with or interested in the children's writing industry. It is
emailed to subscribers every Monday.

PASS IT ON will survive for as long as YOU the CONTRIBUTOR determine. I am
the collection point for YOUR submissions. I am one cog in a tool that has
the potential to be very powerful. (submission guidelines can be found at
the end of the newsletter)

If you wish to receive PASS IT ON - email me, Jackie Hosking at
jacket@smartchat.net.au and I will send you the most recent issue of the
newsletter and an invoice. If you like what you see, please return the
invoice along with your payment and I will add you to the subscriber's list.

If you join in July it will cost you $24.00 If you join in August, it will
cost you $22.00 If you join in September, it will cost you $20.00 etc...
(all subscriptions will then be due on July 1st 2006)

Please contribute as often as you can and be assured that I will treat your
contact details with the utmost confidentiality. I look forward to making
many more new friends.

Past issues may be viewed at my website www.jackiehosking.com








CONTENTS


GENERAL INFORMATION
SEEKING
REPLIES TO SEEKING
NEW PUBLICATIONS
SPECIAL EVENTS
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
COMPETITIONS/AWARDS
WRITING COURSES/WORKSHOPS
NEW WORK STYLE SKILLS
HAVE YOUR SAY
ARTICLES
PUBLISHER GUIDELINES
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR PROFILE
YOUR WRITING TIPS
USEFUL BOOKS/WEBSITES
BOOK REVIEWS
INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S BOOKSHOPS
CRITIQUE GROUPS BULLETIN BOARD
MILESTONES
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
ADVERTISEMENTS
PASS IT ON SUBMISSION GUIDELINES





GENERAL INFORMATION

Lothian Books has sold to Times Warner UK. Peter Lothian will leave the
company but it is assumed the rest of the staff will stay on. They will be
looking for a new MD soon.

Just a point of clarification - the winner of the 2005 Dromkeen Librarian's
Award was Margaret (Margy) Heuschele from Toowoomba City Library in
Queensland.

Her award was in recognition of her enthusiasm and wide ranging, creative
and innovative programs promoting children's literature. Margy's initiatives
include campaigns promoting reading across all age groups and her invaluable
committee work, developing partnerships with community groups . . .

Highly Commended was Mark Carthew from Birmingham Primary School in
Melbourne, for his success in bringing literary experiences to his school
community through music, drama and writing. His Boys/Fathers Literacy
Program is but one example of his ability to engage both students and
parents in the pure enjoyment of reading.

I encourage everyone to consider nominating someone they know for this
national award. Nomination forms are available from Dromkeen (ph:
03-5428-6799 or dromkeen@scholastic.com.au)

Bronwen Bennett
Convenor
Dromkeen Librarian's Judging Panel

By Janeen Brian

At a recent weekend ACLAR (Australasian Children's Literature Association
for Research) Symposium, held at Auckland University, I heard 16 speakers
discuss the topic of The Place of the Child in Children's Literature. The
two keynote speakers were Clare Bradford from Deakin University in
Melbourne, who spoke on Antipathies or Antipodes? The Postcolonial Child and
Settler Culture Discourses and Margaret Mahy who presented a paper entitled
Dogged by Categories: The Child in Books over 200 years.

Clare considered 'how children are both represented and implied as readers
in a selection of New Zealand texts in which place evokes colonial and
postcolonial meanings.' In this fascinating talk, she looked at several New
Zealand texts including Joanna Orwin's Owl, Lorraine Orman's Cross Tides,
Gavin Bishop's The House that Jack Built, Patricia Grace and Robyn Kahukiwa's
The Kuia and the Spider, Paula Boock's Home Run and Jack Lasenby's Traveller's
Quarters.

Well-known for her sharp oratory powers, perception, knowledge and
quick-wittedness, Margaret Mahy didn't disappoint and her talk swept from
the notion of folktales being a community form of fiction and less of pure
children's fiction, to the present New Zealand writers of today.

Another presenter, who began her talk about Margaret Mahy's novels, cited
the author's own comment that as a child she was precocious and unusual and
found it hard 'to adapt and fit in'. The speaker then went on to argue that
although Mahy is often considered an 'empowering' author, many of her
characters find the need 'to suppress their individuality for the sake of
acceptance by the group.' In putting forth her argument, the presenter
specifically examined Mahy's novel, The Other Side of Silence.

After question time, there was a brief lull in the room. Suddenly Margaret
broke through the silence with a comment of surprise. 'Well,' she said in
her usual spirited, raspish voice, 'I think I'd better go home and read that
book again!'

It was the kind of unaffected, mischievous and honest comment that Margaret
Mahy is renowned for and it was a delight to be in her presence for two
days. She turns 70 in 2006 and will be honoured at a Gala Dinner on March
11.

It was also a pleasure to meet Tessa Duder, another highly-acknowledged New
Zealand writer for children and young adults who is also Margaret's
biographer in the recent book called A Writer's Life by HarperCollins.

Personally it was an absorbing, intense time of listening to discussions of
studies of books, rather than in the writing of them. It also struck me that
like in Lorraine Orman's book, Cross Tides, the weekend experience acted as
a catalyst - for me to develop a greater awareness of what is happening in
the fascinating book world across the Tasman.


Updated url for the bilby Awards
http://www.pa.ash.org.au/cbc/bilbyawards/
the one in the list of Children's Choice Awards is an old one.


How to search back issues of PASS IT ON - it's not perfect but it should at
least get you to the right issue...
1. Click "Start"

2. Click "My Computer"

3. Click "Search"

4. Click "All Files and Folders"

5. Type - word or phrase you are looking for

6. Click "Search"


>From Publisher's Weekly Children's Bookshelf

How many times have you had this conversation? ;0) MC

http://www.publishersweekly.com/PWdaily/CA6289793.html



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SEEKING

Edel Wignell writes:

Help, please! Does anyone know how to pronounce North American First Nations
names? The Algonquin Cinderella is:

Oochigeaskw

I need to provide a pronunciation guide. If no one can help, I'll contact
the US Embassy and ask to be referred to an expert.

If an author writes a spoof on a well known book/series by another author,
should the author seek permission of the original author and/or publisher
before sending it in for publication? And either way, would you send the
spoof to the same publisher as the original, or to a different one, in order
to maximize your chances of publication? (I'm also wondering if spoofs are
frowned upon by authors and the publishing world in general.)

KF

The Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) 8th National Conference &
Expo
http://www.cbc.org.au/
and

The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) International
Conference - Sydney Australia
http://www.scbwi.ampl.com.au/

Which one should I go to???

Confused...


If you are an aspiring or published children's writer living in or around
Wollongong and would like to meet with others writing for children on an
occasional social basis, please contact Di Bates on
dibates@enterprisingwords.com

I saw this question asked on an American children's writing list that I
belong to and thought I'd ask it of Australian authors....How many Books did
you write before Getting Published?

I am thinking of completing a writing course/degree. Does any one have any
courses they could recommend? I have completed the 'Write a kids book'
course and learnt a lot. I would like to complete another course. I'd like
to learn more about writing and submit work for comment and feedback/methods
to improve. I work full time so any course would have to be done by
correspondence or after work hours. I've researched the universities and
found a few courses that look good with published authors being tutors for
the course. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Matt.

SOMEWHERE in one of back issues of PIO there was a mention of a book for
pre-pubescent boys in which the word 'stiffies' was used.

For the life of me I can't seem to locate it in my copies and wondered
whether anyone has any recollection of what the book was?

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REPLIES TO SEEKING

To CT: The Children's Literary Agency is a SCAM.
If you looking for an American agent she should check out these websites.

Preditors and Editors:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm
This site gives information about whether agents are reputable or scammers.
Also recommends those that have a record of making sales.

Association of Authors' Representatives:
http://www.aar-online.org/mc/directory/viewallmembers.do?masthead=true
(although not all reputable agents belong to the AAR)

Agent Query:
http://www.agentquery.com/
Gives details of what agents specialise in.

And there is always Google.

Remember, never pay agents. They should be sending you the money.

Good luck
AR

CT, I have had not dealings with CLA myself, but there is a lot of
discussion about them on the web, based on which I would steer clear. There
are lot of red flags, but I won't go into detail here, as CLA have been
known to make legal threats against people posting such information in the
past. You can follow some of the discussion on the Absolute Write site; it
flows through a few different threads, but here is a url that gives you a
place to start:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=157694

A very useful resource for checking this sort of thing out is the preditors
[sic] and editors site. The url below goes directly to the page which has
the CLA entry:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pealc.htm

I hope that helps.

Megan

Re Children's Literary Agency - AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!! I did some
searching on scam sites and apparently they are the newest incarnation of ST
Literary Agency, whose owner/boss has been involved in litigation in the US
up to his ears.
For more info, check out the following discussion and links

www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8312

I also found a contract of theirs and it asks for 15%, as well as locking
you into their illustrators (who needs illos for a submission anyway?) and
editors for 2 years.

Michelle Tatam

If using paper clips or staples to send manuscripts to a publisher is a
problem, an excellent solution is to use fold-back clips. Elastic bands can
be used to hold together manuscripts which are too bulky for any of these
three solutions.

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NEW PUBLICATIONS


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SPECIAL EVENTS


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MARKET OPPORTUNITIES


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COMPETITIONS/AWARDS

Banjo Paterson Writing Awards
Entries open Monday 20th February 2006
Entries close Friday 14th April 2006
Categories include: Prose, Open Poetry & Bush Poetry
1st Prize $1000
Details and Entry Forms : Banjo Paterson Writing Awards
PO Box 194
Orange NSW 2800
www.cwl.nsw.gov.au
or
library@orange.nsw.gov.au
Ph 02 63938120
Fax 02 63938100

Here is a great opportunity for PIOers who have written (or almost written)
a novel-length story.

Voices on the Coast - Closing 31st March 2006.... Inaugural Writing
Competition 2006. For an unpublished manuscript by a new (previously
unpublished) author. A story for younger readers (ages 8-13 years) - length
up to 30,000 words. Prizes $2,000; $1,000; $500. Further details and
entry form available from www.immanuel.qld.edu.au/voices
Good luck...Mappy.


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WRITING COURSES/WORKSHOPS


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NEW WORK STYLE SKILLS


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HAVE YOUR SAY

FROM AUTHOR Jackie French
Thanks to all the responses about pinching anecdotes! As I read them it
occured to me that the stolen anecdotes were both funny ones. We all pass
jokes on without attributing them. Maybe the 'pinchees' assumed that
anything comic is fair game.

To Stephen Herrick, re the email asking for a copy of your poem. The more I
thought about it, the more complicated it became- they are, after all,
asking for a free slug of your professional time/output. And then I thought
what the hell.... that poem is going to delight a heck of a lot of kids, and
the way they'll receive it ie as a special email from the poet, will mean
heaps.

ps could you give us PASS IT ON readers a special Chrissie present of the
poem about making love in front of the tv news?

FROM AUTHOR Rosanne Hawke
To Steven Herrick - about the poem of yours the teacher asked for: I know
teachers are busy but I'd say which book it is in and then she can get the
book from the school library, for they will have all of yours.
About passing off others' life stories as their own - speakers should always
acknowledge where they get their stories from, ie 'I heard author so and so
say this' etc. When people take notes at conferences it would be a good idea
to write the author's name after a good quote/story, otherwise it could be
easy to forget who said what.

HAVE YOUR SAY
Thanks, Jackie, for sending me PIO in an acceessible format. Because of the
notice in Pio, I knew of the "future poets" session at Monsalvat, yesterday.
I wanted to hear what children are writing about, since I write poems for
children. Unfortunately, although the kids were loud enough to be heard,
(that's what mikes can do!) they were not distinct, because most of them
gabbled. Like a fountain whose stream muddled the drops, the speech flowed
in a stream of merged words. All sound, and not much shape.

David Campbell - poet (Moreelbourne) gave an excellent workshop. It
informed, stimulated, and incited the children to writing. I think they will
have felt a sense of achievement, and pleasure.

Good on Fiona Sievers for promulgating this event, and conducting it so
informally.

Rebecca

FROM AN AUTHOR
If you are approached by the Victorian Law Foundation to write a booklet for
them about children who are witnesses in court, beware of giving them any
personal information about yourself. After being asked to submit a CV, book
samples and a critique of one of their booklets, and having spent
considerable time on the phone talking with the publications' officer,
negotiating a contract and fee, as well as undertaking considerable
preliminary research, I was told that the "reference group" of social
worker, psychologist, prosecutor et al had decided not to hire me. This was
because I had disclosed to the publications' officer that I was a victim of
childhood sexual abuse. I'd done this in order to show my empathy for
children for whom I was writing the book. It doesn't matter that I have
written dozens of books over many years, so tread carefully if you are
planning to undertake the assignment!


FROM AUTHOR Paul Collins

A few weeks ago an author was telling me she doesn't have a website. I was
rather surprised, because these are our business cards to the world. I
received an email from her yesterday saying that a well known librarian from
Queensland wanted to employ her to give talks, only she couldn't find the
author's website. In the end, she googled the author's name and finally
tracked down her email address. The solution is easy: every author and
illustrator should have at least a basic site, if only to have contact
details on it. Anyone needing information on this subject (cost, how to do
it, etc) can contact Jesse Donohue at tripzar69@hotmail.com

Jesse gave me the following information:

"I sell Australian domains (.com.au .net.au and so on) for $66/y. I also
offer website hosting: 500mb of space 10gb of bandwidth cpanel and all
extras (including mail and mysql) for $15 AUD a month."

FROM AUTHOR Ruth Starke
Steve Herrick poses a tricky question: what would my response be to a
teacher/librarian asking me to email a copy of my poem so she could read it
to her class?

One would hope that a teacher/librarian would have an understanding of
copyright and how writers make a living but, given that this particular one
doesn't, I guess the simplest and most direct response is to write and tell
her in which book she can find the poem, and suggest that if it's not
already in the school library, she can order a copy from the publisher or
her regular book shop.

If I had Steve's talent, I'd be tempted to soften the message by responding
in humorous verse.

So what DID you write, Steve?


FROM AN AUTHOR
A child once wrote to me that she was writing because Enid Blyton was dead,
so I guess, Jackie French, that some children do think alike. I hope I might
be allowed to use my own anecdote, but if anyone else wants to appropriate
it, I'm not going to sue them.


FROM AN AUTHOR
This past week I've had responses to manuscript submissions that were speedy
(that is, within a 6-8 week turnaround time). Thank you to Pan Macmillan and
Allen & Unwin. Another publisher is now in its seventh month of holding onto
one of my fiction manuscripts. Hopefully it will worm its way to the top of
the slush pile before it grows mould!


FROM AUTHOR Liz Flaherty
Well done Steven Herrick! I can't think of a better compliment to you or
your writing than to have someone personally ask for a particular poem. I
think I would die of excitement if anyone ever asked for something of mine.
The poem that was requested was obviously highly thought of and it's great
to know that teacher/librarians are willing to go the extra mile to bring
great writing to their students. Perhaps instead of emailing the poem you
could send her the information regarding the title of the book and
publishing details so she/he can purchase it for the school. Then it's a
bonus for all of you. The kids get to read and hear more of your work and
you get another book into the library!


FROM WRITER Marianne Vreugdenhil
Suggestion regarding interview courtesies and professionalism:

In last week's PIO (#69), Hazel Edwards raised the issue of the lack of
professionalism found in some people when interviewing authors, explaining
that many interviewers do not do such basic things as thank the author for
their time. I wonder, are there any formal
guidelines outlining interviewing standards, eg, read the author's work
before interviewing them, make sure to check quotes before filing the
article? If not, could there be?

It seems to me it would be very helpful, particularly for students who may
be ignorant of the protocols of interviewing, if there were a website to
which they could be directed. Then, when the author is approached about
doing an interview, s/he could refer the person to this website, thus,
avoiding, or at least minimising, the problems authors are currently
experiencing.

Perhaps the ASA could do something like this or one of the Writers' Centres
(if they don't already)? Just a thought.

DID YOU KNOW?


Here is a piece of totally useless information but one which I feel
compelled to 'pass on'. I was thinking about our publication the other day
and what makes it such a success is the PASS I ON you have for the subject
and then I realised (being a pedantic proofreader!) that if one left the 'T'
of our Pass It On - you have the operative word!!
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ARTICLES

How Do You Get a Children's Book Published?
by Robyn Opie

How do you get a children's book published?

I'm sure there are many varied answers to this question depending on who you
ask. I can give you my experiences and advice.

I had been writing for five years before I had my first book accepted by a
publisher. I joined a writers' centre, completed several writing courses
specific to children's fiction, read many books about writing for children,
and joined a writing group for children's authors. I learned everything that
I could about writing for children and wrote, wrote, wrote. I call this my
apprenticeship.

One evening, I went to the writing group for children's authors and one of
the members had a letter from a publisher who was looking for submissions.
She photocopied the letter for whoever wanted a copy. I almost snatched a
copy from her hand, I was eager for an opportunity to submit, especially to
a publisher who actually asked for submissions.

I sent off 31 little stories to the publisher. Then, like all good writers,
forgot about the submission and went on with my next project.

Months later, I received that magical letter in the post. "We'd like to
publish." The publisher accepted 3 of my little stories. Of course, I did
that little dance for joy. Then another one.

It helps to know what publishers are looking for at a given time. Writers'
groups and writers' centre are useful sources of information. Publishing
information and guidelines are often available on websites. A telephone call
to a publisher can sometimes help but there are many publishers who don't
know what they want until it lands on their desk.

My next experience was a similar experience. I found out through a friend
from another writing group that a publisher was looking for novels of around
4,000 words. I sent 4 off and had 3 accepted.

Not long after this, I found out from another friend from the same writing
group that a publisher was looking for short stories. The big difference in
this experience was that the publisher was known for commissioning 95% of
his work.

Now writers are a stubborn bunch. Otherwise we wouldn't keep writing. And
we're not put off by news that a publisher commissions most of their work
after we find out that they're looking for short stories.

My friend and I sent off a couple of texts. The publisher sent me an email
that went something like this "I can see that you've done this before." I'm
now one of his commissioned authors and I have 40 published titles with this
publisher.

Afterwards, we found out that the publisher had sent an email to his writers
telling them about his project and asking for submissions. He'd received
very little response, so he was desperate for new blood. We came along at
the right time.

My experience provides several important points about getting published.

1. Learn everything you can about writing. And write as much as you can.
Publishers receive an enormous number of submissions, so even when you know
what they are looking for, you have to get your manuscript on their
shortlist. Writing for children is a skill. You need to learn how to do it.
Then you need to practise, practise and practise to do it well.
2. Read current children's books. Reading helps you improve your own writing
skills as you subconsciously take in the language and style of other
writers. It also helps you keep abreast with what is being published.
3. Join writers' centres and organizations, writing groups, chat groups,
subscribe to newsletters. Check publishers' websites, enquire about
publishing programs. Go to writer seminars and conferences. Do everything
you can to put yourself in the right place at the right time.
4. Learn about the industry and the market. Keep abreast with changes.
5. Be professional. Make writing your business.
6. Always submit your very best work. Have a manuscript assessment done on
your work if necessary.
7. If you know that a publisher is looking for a certain type of story -
i.e. a certain word length or genre - submit as many of your manuscripts
that fit the bill. But make sure that they are your best work. Writing is a
numbers game. The more you submit, the more chance you have of being
accepted.

Persistence is one secret of success. Persistence means hard work and
commitment.
Another secret of success is being in the right place at the right time.
Someone has to be there, why not you?

© Copyright Robyn Opie. All Rights Reserved.




Robyn Opie is a children's author from South Australia. She has been writing
for ten years and has 54 published titles, with more on the way. She enjoys
visiting schools to share with the students her love of books and reading.
She is the author of the wildly popular "How to Write A GREAT Children's
Book". You can also visit http://children.fictionfactor.com and
http://www.robynopie.com for more of Robyn's advice, articles, writer's
resources and free children's ebooks.
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PUBLISHER GUIDELINES


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AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR PROFILE


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YOUR WRITING TIPS


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USEFUL BOOKS/WEBSITES


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BOOK REVIEWS

Rowena Evans reported on a speech by Margaret Mahy in the last PIO. Her
reactions were very similar to mine when I reviewed Tessa Duder's recent
fine literary memoir, and I thought she - and others - might be interested.
The review appears in the most recent edition of The Centre for Youth
Literature's newsletter

Ruth Starke.

Margaret Mahy, A Writer's Life,
by Tessa Duder
(Auckland: HarperCollins, 2005, pp.336, 1-86950-485-2)
One day in 1968, an editor for the New York publishing firm of
Franklin Watts is browsing in the Long Island library and comes across a
touring exhibition from New Zealand. Her eyes light on an edition of a
little magazine called School Journal, and she begins to read a story called
'The Lion in the Meadow'. Not long afterwards and half a world away, the
author is flabbergasted to receive in the mail an offer of publication, a
cheque for $1000, and a request for any more stories she might have lying
about.
Being the sort of writer she is, she does - and she sends them all, over a
hundred of them. Helen Hoke Watts, the publisher's wife, is so impressed she
immediately packs thirteen bags and flies off to Governors Bay. 'My God,
this is really the end of the world - they don't recognise American Express!'
she exclaims on arrival. Two taxis convey her luggage from the airport and
an extra room is needed at the modest local motel to accommodate it. She is
shocked to discover that the author's two-room cottage has no running water,
let alone ice for her whisky and gin. What it does have, in suitcases, boxes
and files, are dozens more handwritten stories.
By the end of 1969, no fewer than five picture books, illustrated by such
artists as Helen Oxenbury, Charles Mozley and Jenny Williams, have been
published simultaneously in New York and London, and Margaret Mahy's career
as an acclaimed international author is off to a jet-propelled start.
As a plotline it's almost pure Hollywood but, as Tessa Duder makes clear in
Margaret Mahy: A Writer's Life, Mahy's break wasn't all due to luck. Since
she penned her first story at age seven, she had been working tirelessly and
doggedly at her craft. When, out of the blue, the New York request came, she
had material to send because over the years she had 'just kept on writing,
even though I didn't think there was any strong prospect of getting anything
published, other than the School Journal.' Of course, the fact that she
wrote like an angel, with wit, imagination, and originality, didn't hurt
either.
Before I read Duder's book, I confess that New Zealand's
'best-loved children's author' was best known to me through her picture
books. The blurbs and the covers of her novels convinced me they were
'fantasy', my least-favourite genre. But half way through this literary
memoir, already engrossed, and stunned at Mahy's accomplishments, I knew I
couldn't continue until I'd read at least one of them. The Changeover: A
supernatural romance was a revelation: brilliantly written, highly
suspenseful and, more than two decades on from its 1984 publication, not a
bit dated. It won the Carnegie Medal, Mahy's second. She'd already won two
years previously for The Haunting, her first attempt at a full-length novel.
It must have been glorious confirmation for the Christchurch librarian that
she had made the right decision when, in 1980, she gave up her 21-year-old
career to be a full-time writer. She was, she confessed, 'starting to fall
asleep over my stories at night'. I could only wonder how she'd managed to
get any sleep at all. A single mother of two daughters, with a mortgage,
several animals, and a demanding full-time job, Mahy had lived since 1965 in
the small house at Governors Bay, with no running water, inside toilet or
electricity. Under such conditions, she produced an amazing body of work:
over thirty picture books, several non-fiction titles for the Department of
Education, and hundreds of poems and stories for the School Journal.
She was to go on to write many more - her bibliography lists 37
international awards and honours - not to mention numerous articles, essays
and speeches, many of them reproduced in part here. All are fascinating and
illuminating, especially for anyone interested in writing and the creative
process, and they're supplemented by a wealth of critical analysis of her
titles and Duder's own informed comments. She suggests that one reason for
Mahy's enduring overseas success is that her work 'transcends cultural and
environmental differences'; as a teenager, she didn't realize that Mahy's
stories were actually set in New Zealand, and the author herself agrees that
her created other worlds are deeply rooted in European culture. The
exploration here of what contributes to a novel's national identity is
particularly interesting.
Few authors can have spoken and written about their life and work at such
length and with such clarity, wit, and psychological insight, and Duder
wisely allows Mahy to tell much of her story in her own words. That's not to
downplay Duder's achievement in assembling and researching a huge mass of
material - her sources comprise seven pages, Mahy's own bibliography runs to
ten (there is, alas, no index) - and writing such an absorbing, useful and
eminently readable biography. If, as Duder believes, Mahy has been
'shamefully neglected (in her own country if not elsewhere)', this book will
go a long way to redressing that injustice.


Max meets a Monster by Tracey Hawkins and illustrated by Chantal Stewart
New Frontier Publishing H/B $24.95.


Max meets a Monster is the delightful result of a marriage between Tracey
Hawkins (author) and Chantal Stewart (illustrator). The opening page of this
'must-have' book is so evocative of the wonder and joy of childhood,
beautifully illustrated by the relationship between Max and his Old Ted. The
curved text combined with the expressions of the two faces literally lifts
one's heart.

This is the story of a young boy's first ever sleepover at his Grandpa's
house and we, the reader, share this experience. Old Ted's expressions
mirror those of Max which is quite charming and the use of watercolour lends
itself to the whole soft, flowing mood.
The colours and gentle shapes of circles, stars, flowers and soft lines
cleverly correspond throughout each scene and add to the appeal.

Brilliant personification is displayed in Grandpa's old boots; the rather
menacing coat and cap in the hall and the threatening bath taps and European
bath claws; all capturing any child's imagination in that situation but
somehow made all the less scary by the soft green fish on the shower
curtain; not dissimilar to the dinosaurs on Max's pyjamas!
Max's torch plays an important part in the story in that it assists him in
confronting his fear. He finally sheds light on the terrifying noise - the
snores of his dear Grandpa whose colourful socks deign to look mortified at
having been disturbed!

The story ends as it began; beautifully and evocatively.

++++

Tracey Hawkins lives in Canberra and Chantal Stewart lives in Melbourne.
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CRITIQUE GROUPS BULLETIN BOARD


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MILESTONES


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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES


~Allen Ginsberg~

"Follow your inner moonlight."
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