Reviews
There are so many incredible books available at the moment that it is impossible to read them all, no matter how hard I try! Here are my thoughts about some of the books I have read and how I think they could be used in school as well as Q and A sessions with authors and illustrators.
FCBG24
Another year, another conference! Henceforth known as ‘The Fun One’… the Eurovision/ SuperBowl of the KidLit calendar’ thanks to the very lovely October Jones, the FCBG Conference is always a fabulous occasion and this year’s was no exception! If anyone was wondering whether it’s worth ‘sacrificing’ one of their precious weekends for, the answer is absolutely and unequivocally YES!
This year, Woldingham School in Surrey was where it all happened. The school is set in 700 acres of lovely countryside, making it a very peaceful spot to stay and as the weather was mostly kind to us, a pleasant place to wander round.
Although the Conference Committee and their helpers has been busy for hours, delegates started to arrive at 3pm. It is always lovely to catch up with familiar faces, but a fantastic opportunity to connect with new people as well- discovering the face behind the social media name or simply meeting like minded book-lovers whilst having a cuppa and a cake.
The weekend began in earnest with afternoon tea celebrating the 10th anniversary of Supertato! Not only were there delicious cupcakes, but the tater himself made an appearance, delighting everyone with his willingness to pose for pictures! Following this were the Publishers’ Presentations, a fantastic opportunity to hear about some of the wonderful books which are currently available and coming soon. With such a wealth of books available, it is a great way of spotting books of interest to have a look at and discuss with the publishers at the exhibition!
The Publishers’ Exhibition which followed their presentations is undoubtedly one of the highlights of Conference for many delegates. The opportunity to have a closer look at some of the books mentioned in the presentations is a real joy, but actually being able to meet lovely publishing people is really special, offering an opportunity to chat about different titles, enter competitions and perhaps be offered a proof copy of something up-coming! And they really are lovely people..!
After dinner, everyone headed to the Mansion House for drinks. Sam Sedgman gave a brilliant talk about his work, including his latest book, ‘The Clockwork Conspiracy’ (review here). His knowledge, sense of humour and enthusiasm for discovering things and being interested in the world made him an absolute joy to listen to!
A hard act to follow you might think, but what came next was a fabulous session of music and poetry from three of the best! Treating us to a medley of well-known songs with altered lyrics such as ‘Feeding my Mind’ (Staying Alive) and ‘FCBG’ (Tragedy), the combined talents of Laura Mucha (review of ‘Celebrate!’ here and ‘Dear Ugly Sisters’ here), John Dougherty (The Hare-Shaped Hole here) and Roger Stevens (review of Razzmatazz here) were just what was needed to round off what had been an excellent start to the weekend!
Saturday was off to a bang with Cressida Cowell (The Wizards of Once) and David Almond (Bone Music), two real treasures of children’s books who I could have listened to all day! They were followed by a session called ‘Disadvantaged Boys Have Feelings Too’ with Brian Conaghan and Nathanael Lessore which I wasn’t able to enjoy as I was on the reception desk at this time, but which everyone was full of praise for!
After another round of cupcakes, Jenny Pearson took the stage for a fabulously funny and entertaining session. This was followed by the choice of four seminars: NSSM with Margaret Bateson-Hill, NNFN, graphic novels with Steve Webb and how to become an author with Julia Green (The Boy who Sailed the World). A tough decision to make!
After lunch, there was a session with Jennifer Killick (Dread Wood) and Peter Bentley (Octopus Shocktopus), past winners of the CBA which some children had been invited to attend. Next came the ‘Empathy in Picture Books’ panel with Mariajo Ilustrajo, Farrah Riaz and Kim Hillyard (Mabel and the Mountain), a wonderful session! More tea and cake followed to celebrate 30 years of ‘Dinosaur Roar!’ before the Group meetings.
And there was still more to come! We celebrated Michael Morpurgo’s 80th birthday with him before the Gala Dinner and then the incomparable David Fickling gave the after dinner speech! His enthusiasm and energy are completely infectious, making the perfect end to another perfect day!
Although some were a little bleary eyed from staying on at the bar the night before, everyone was up bright and early on Sunday to enjoy yet more book-ish joy! The first session was Lisa Williamson, an excellent YA author (First Day of My Life) , talking about her new MG series ‘Best Friends Forever’. This was followed by ‘Inclusion in Fiction’, a panel event with Sarah Hagger-Holt, Lisette Auton and Karen Owen. Lisette Auton wasn’t able to join us in person, but appeared on screen! Both of these session were thought-provoking as well as enjoyable.
Our final tea break -more cake!- was followed by ‘Fantasy with an Environmental Twist’, a fascinating session with Pari Thomson, Jess French and Rachel Delahaye (Day of the Whale). And last, but very much not least, Christopher Edge (Escape Room) closed conference in style with another excellent, fun session which no one will forget in a hurry!
Time for lunch and then we were all saying our goodbyes- and promising to meet again in Monmouth next year so we can do it all again! Many thanks to the Conference Committee for organising such a fabulous event and many apologies if I’ve left anyone out of the pictures! Can’t wait for FCBG25!
FCBG Conference 2023 Day 2
Day 2 saw us up bright and early, off to explore Rugby town before breakfast! The town was already alive as the Saturday market was setting up and we enjoyed wandering around, on a mission to find the statues of Rupert Brooke, Thomas Hughes and William Webb Ellis and the bench in Jubilee Gardens which commemorates various authors. As none of these things are signposted, we were helped by the bin men who googled Rupert Brooke’s location for us!
Once fortified by a hearty breakfast, Conference began a-new. Saturday sees new day delegates arriving and the organisers- members of the Executive Committee and the Northamptonshire Book Group- work tirelessly to make sure everything is ready and everyone in the right place for the first session. Each delegate receives a Conference goodie bag, filled with donations from publishers as well as Conference information when they are greeted by those manning the reception desk.
The first session was the wonderful M G Leonard. Sadly, I missed this session as I was distributing information about NNFN to publishers, but people were buzzing about it, filled with enthusiasm by the inspiring energy of her talk. This was followed by a panel discussion with Alison David (Farshore Consumer Insight Director), Emma Dodds (Red Shed Senior Commissioning Editor) and Dr Ronx (doctor, TV presenter and author) about the power of non-fiction to make and inspire new readers. Coffee time celebrated the 10th anniversary of Red Shed!
After coffee, the perfect combination of Phil Earle and Clare Helen Welsh arrived, sharing their picture books which tackle divorce. The books took very different approaches to this sensitive subject, but each is a real gem and sure to support children going through this experience. Phil and Clare each spoke of their own experiences and how these helped them in the writing of their books.
The ‘Fantastical and Magical’ panel was just as it sounds! Three excellent authors, Anna Goodall, Emma Norry and Nicki Thornton, gave readings from their books and talked about the inspiration for their writing, the settings and characters in a truly magical session.
Just before lunch, Laura Baker shared her gorgeous book, ‘All the Wonderful Ways to Read’, a perfect book for so many avid booklovers to hear!
After lunch, delegates were offered a choice of seminar sessions: ‘Celebrate with Me!’ with Laura Gladwin, ‘Explodapedia’ with Ben Martynoga, accessible retellings with Laura Wood or Humour Hooks with Derek Keilty, Jenny McLaughlin and Myles McLeod. It is always so hard to choose which to attend- and there is always lots of discussion and idea sharing afterwards!
From the seminars to the next panel session, ‘Representative Voices’. Candy Gourlay, A M Dassu and Ravena Guron discussed authentic representation, who they write for and their approaches to writing. They each read a section from one of their books- a real treat for people like me who love to hear authors reading their own words!
Just before the tea break, G M Linton told us a little about her new book, ‘My Name is Sunshine Simpson’ and we celebrated with cupcakes!
The FCBG is led by the Executive Committee which organises the groups at a national level and Conference is always when the AGM is held. Tricia, our Chair, led us through the agenda and this was then followed by the group meeting where ideas are shared and discussed. The busyness of Conference then stills for about an hour whilst everyone gets ready for the Gala Dinner.
This year, the Gala Dinner was held in the stunning Temple Speech Room, a very beautiful and historic setting for a lovely occasion! Before dinner, cocktails were served and we all raised a glass to the memory of Judith Kerr who was born 100 years ago. Slides of Judith were shown at this time and Jane made a lovely speech, echoing the feelings of us all about this iconic lady and her work.
Publishers Frances Lincoln were celebrating their 40th anniversary and we took part in a quiz. Guest authors, Mariajo Illustrajo and Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, joined us for the dinner along with some of the authors who had spoken during the day. The After Dinner Speaker this year was Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, who had us joining in with his poems and laughing as the lovely evening drew to a close.
Some hardy folks stayed on to enjoy the bar, but many of us were worn out by the packed programme of events and headed back to the accommodation to re-charge for another fun-filled day!
Day three to follow!