Author Archives: Matt Imrie

The Atomics

Atom, the young adult fiction imprint of Little, Brown, is delighted to announce the creation of The Atomics – a brand new young reviewers programme for readers aged twelve to eighteen.

Atom
has been busy expanding their list to include a wide-range of young adult titles, including mystery, adventure and humour alongside their more well-known paranormal series. And now they want to share it with everyone else!

Anyone who joins The Atomics will get the chance to receive pre-publication copies of new titles to review. The reviewers for each month will have their reviews posted in a new, dedicated section of the Atom website where they can be seen and commented on by anyone else who is interested in Atom’s books.

Atom is committed to making sure that every Atomic will get the opportunity to review a title they like the sound of, but hope that many more people will join in the conversation!

The intention of The Atomics is to provide a safe, dedicated space for under-eighteens to discuss books and hone their review skills, as well as giving our fans the chance to read books before they’re published!

Read more and sign up at The Atomics

International Children's Digital Library: a Library for the World's Children


Mission Statement

The mission of the International Children’s Digital Library Foundation (ICDL Foundation) is to support the world’s children in becoming effective members of the global community – who exhibit tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas — by making the best in children’s literature available online free of charge. The Foundation pursues its vision by building a digital library of outstanding children’s books from around the world and supporting communities of children and adults in exploring and using this literature through innovative technology designed in close partnership with children for children.

Foundation Goals

Collection

To create a collection of more than 10,000 books in at least 100 languages that is freely available to children, teachers, librarians, parents, and scholars throughout the world via the Internet. The materials included in the collection reflect similarities and differences in cultures, societies, interests, lifestyles, and priorities of peoples around the world. The collection’s focus is on identifying materials that help children to understand the world around them and the global society in which they live. It is hoped that through a greater understanding of one another that tolerance and acceptance can be achieved.

Education

To develop a greater understanding of the relationship between children’s access to a digital collection of multicultural materials and children’s attitudes toward books, libraries, reading, technology, and other countries and cultures.

Technology

To collaborate with children as design partners in the development of computer interface technologies that support children in searching, browsing, reading, and sharing books in electronic form.

Business

To provide a platform for operational excellence that insures the Library grows in strict accordance with it strategic priorities and in a manner that leverages its outstanding human and intellectual resources to achieve the Library’s mission of reaching as many children as possible with the best of children’s literature.

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/

Alien Ink


Trinity and Ryder arrive in Camden, London, curiously at the same time as UFO sightings on Primrose Hill. They open Alien Ink, a tattoo shop on Camden High Street, which quickly becomes a hangout for local teens, thanks to its unusually welcoming vibe.

Trinity and Ryder are fantastic tattoo artists and word quickly spreads about their beautiful designs. Eyebrows are raised – can two 19 year-olds really run a successful own business? How did they get started – where did they come from?

Meet Trinity, Ryder and their network of friends at Alien Ink and experience their lives and the Pressures they face.

Channel 4 Education are proud to introduce Alien Ink, the graphic novel that deals with real life teen issues.

Alien Ink is the first in a series of online graphic novels designed to tackle everyday teen issues, and provides a great resource of PSHE/ citizenship and media studies teachers keystage 3, 4 and higher. It is based around the lives of Trinity and Ryder, who curiously arrive in Camden at the same More…time as UFO sightings on Primrose Hill, and subsequently open a tattoo parlour that becomes a hang-out for local teens.

All Hallow’s Read

Something to keep an eye on and keep in mind for 2011. The concept of All Hallows Read came from the brilliant brain of Neil Gaiman.

According to the FAQ on the site, All Hallows Read is a (new) Hallowe’en tradition. It’s simply that in the week of Hallowe’en, or on the night itself, you give someone a scary book.

The genesis of this tradition is detailed in a fantastically titled blog-post on Mr Gaiman’s blog:

A Modest Proposal (that doesn’t actually involve eating anyone)

Read it, bookmark the site, think about it and give it a few months. We have until 31st October 2011 – ideally a bit before as planning is important (remember the seven Ps).

Gay And Lesbian Literature For Children & Young People: New Book Prize From ALA

An award for gay and lesbian literature will be included in the American Library Association’s annual announcement of children’s prizes, a list which features the prestigious and influential Caldecott and Newbery medals.

The Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award has been added to the ALA’s Youth Media Awards. The Stonewall prize honors “English-language works for children and teens of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience.” Stonewall awards for adult books were started nearly 40 years ago, but the children’s category only now.

The Stonewall Book Awards

Stonewall Book Awards List

5 Questions with Rachel Vincent

First up for 12 Months of Halloween is an interview with Rachel Vincent author of The Shifters and Soul Screamers series.

1. For those reading this interview that have not encountered you on their bookshelves would you be able to give us a short introduction?

I am a cat owner, former English teacher, and the author of the young adult Soul Screamers series as well as the Shifters series (adult). I live in San Antonio, Texas, where we’re currently experiencing our first cold day of the year, and my central heat doesn’t seem quite up to the challenge. (Picture me bundled and hunched over my keyboard. ;))

2. Faythe your heroine is a werecat – did you consider other werebeasts before settling on cats as the main weres of this series?

Nope. I’ve always been a cat person.

3. The term paranormal romance seems to have become a catch-all within the supernatural genre, how would you describe your writing?

I actually write urban fantasy. The difference between paranormal romance and urban fantasy (as I see it) is that if you take the romance out of a PNR novel, the story falls apart. But if you take the romance out of urban fantasy, you lose an element of characterization and sexual tension, but the plot still holds up. In other words, in UF, the fantasy/plot is the focus, whereas in PNR, the character relationships and romance are the focus.

But that’s not to say that my novels don’t have intricate character development, because they do. But plot and world-building, for me, come first. Which is why it always surprised me how vehement the readers are that Faythe’s romantic life should end a certain way (and they don’t agree on what that way is). 😉

4. Which authors can you recommend as inspirations

As writing inspirations? Um…in the sense that after reading their writing I want to become a better writer myself, there’s Stephen King (I’m a huge fan), Kelley Armstrong, Courtney Summers, Holly Black, etc… An eclectic list, huh?

5. Can we expect more tales of adventure featuring Faythe and her Pride or is Alpha her last outing? If it is can you let us know what else we can expect book-wise from you in the future?

Alpha is Faythe’s last book. I haven’t ruled out the possibility of a spin-off series, but it’s not currently in the works. Early in 2011, my Soul Screamers series will debut in the UK, and in January, My Soul To Steal (Soul Screamers 4) will be released in the US. That fall, both If I Die (Soul Screamers 5) and the first in my new adult series will be released.

A Review of Alpha will follow soon.

12 Months of Halloween

All Hallows Eve was the 31st October as it has been for the past several hundred years. On this night all manner of fearful creatures stalk the land and darken the night sky

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.

Unlike the thoughtful spirits and monsters who only come out on Halloween, paranormal fiction has been creeping out onto Library shelves in increasing numbers over the past few years. To celebrate this fearful fact, Teen Librarian will be celebrating 12 Months of Halloween in between all the other things that happen on the site.

To mark the launch here are The Gothic Archies, with The World is a very Scary Place

Dreaming of a Twilight Christmas?

Enter Atom Books‘ competition to stand a chance of winning the Twi-white books.

To celebrate the release of these gorgeous creations Atom has put together a daily competition over at their Facebook page, which gives you the chance to test your Twilight knowledge and win fab prizes over the next four weeks. And these new books have also given them the perfect excuse to put together another vampy, shapeshifter inspired treat for you, before revealing some cracking Christmas surprises!

Head over to their Facebook page to test your Twilight knowledge and win prizes. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to be the first in the know!

So you have had a complaint about a Graphic Novel or Manga title?

The first thing to do is don’t panic, the second thing is DO NOT WITHDRAW THE TITLE! Seriously do not withdraw it – this is important.

If you are the person that selects the Graphic Novel and Manga titles for your branch this is a run-down of how to cover yourself and your library service from complaints by parents, teachers and anyone who may have reason to complain about what their children have been reading.

1. Know your stock – you should personally have held and looked at every Graphic Novel and Manga item in your library. This will only take a few minutes, unless you have a large collection and need to go through everything, but once that is done all you have to do is grab every new title as it comes in. You do not have to read everything (but you can if you want to) leaf through the pages and look for any nudity, extreme violence or swearing. If you cannot find any then your collection is not doing its job.

2. When you find books that have swearing, violence or nudity make sure that is has a guidance label (Teen/YA, Adult Stock, or GN) on the spine. Most manga titles have age banding on the back cover, these vary from publisher to publisher but they are prominent.

3. Do not keep your Manga and GN collection in the Children’s Library, Have it between the Adult & Teen collections (if you do not have a Teen Collection you should start thinking about one). There are exceptions – a number of libraries keep The Simpsons, Tokyopop’s Cine-Manga and the Alex Rider GN’s in their Picture Books for older Readers collections.

4. Double-check the labels of the books, it is possible for some to creep through.

5. Start reading manga – this will help with stock development knowledge, suggesting titles to readers etc

6. Get to know the readers themselves – they know more than you do and are usually more than happy to suggest titles or discuss genres and series.

7. Get to know your local comic shop as above they should know what they are selling, be able to suggest stock and also (importantly) give a discount

If anyone has advice on preempting complaints or has dealt with a sticky situation and would like to share it please leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

We apologise for the break in transmission

Despite evidence to the contrary, Teen Librarian is still active although very, very quiet. I am hoping to have everything updated and back up to speed very soon.

In the meantime here is an incredibly interesting blog-post on Libraries in the UK and general costs courtesy of Use Libraries and Learn Stuff
: Are UK public libraries expensive to run?