Issue 5 of the magazine is hot off the press, and that means there’s a new writing competition too! Entries are judged in three age categories: under 7s, under 9s, and 12-and-under.
To download an entry form – and for competition details – head over to the Alphabet Soup website! Entries close 3 January 2010.
Psst! If you’d like some tips for writing letters, the Australia Post website has some useful pages especially for kids.
The summer ’09 issue of Alphabet Soup includes a Q&A with Christine Harris. We decided to publish the Q&A here too, with a couple of extra sections that didn’t fit onto the pages for the magazine layout!
Christine Harris is the author of 50 books, including Audrey of the Outback. She was nine years old and sitting up a tree when she wrote her first book. (She claims not to sit in trees when she writes these days. Perhaps it’s too hard to lug a computer up there.)
What do you love best about being a writer?
The surprises, in both the writing and the things I learn about the world, myself and my characters.
The readers that I meet in person and through emails, I love their enthusiasm and eccentric ways of viewing life.
Freedom and the ability to make a difference with my words.
Where do you live?
In my head mostly. But my house is in Mt Barker, South Australia
What made you become a writer?
An impulse that I can only describe as a driving force. Even as a child I was captured by stories, telling them, reading them and then writing some.
Was it easy to get your first book published?
No. But I was determined. I gave myself three years to make something happen. I started with competitions, then went onto articles in magazine and newspapers and, eventually, publishers. I have had books shortlisted for prizes that were rejected previously by other publishers. My first short story was rejected 17 times, before someone said yes.
So? All great things take a lot of effort! The trick is to inform yourself of your best markets, be professional, creative and never give up.
Are there any ‘downsides’ to being a writer?
Starvation, isolation … any ‘ation’ you can probably think of. But, seriously, it is important to get out sometimes, rather than just staring at a computer all day. Talk to another human at least once a day. And it’s hard waiting for my agent or a publisher to say whether they like my material or not. That’s agony. Some parts of writing are boring, but not many. And if I feel like that I take a break or play music or sounds. I bought some CD which are just natural sounds like birds or rain or the ocean and they have no music or words.
What was your favourite book as a child?
A Wrinkle in Time. Scared the pants off me. Then there was Midwich Cuckoos, The Chrysalids – oops, looks as though I like being scared.
Do you have any pets?
Just my husband, David. And he’s quite house trained.
Where do you get your ideas/inspiration?
Anything I see, hear, feel, smell, read … sparks come from all manner of places. What is important is to let the idea run its full length, allow time to mull over it, ask ‘What If?’ and write notes.
Of your own books, which is your favourite?
I don’t have a favourite because I only write books I like, and it depends on my mood which genre I might choose on any day.
What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Knit, watch movies, work in my garden, hike, read, and scour YouTube for funny videos.
Do you mostly write in a paper journal, or use a computer?
Computer, these days. My handwriting is awful now, and I can type faster. Also typing on the computer allows me to change or save very easily. But I do have a collection of notebooks that I use for ideas and some planning.
Are you working on a book at the moment? Can you tell us something about it?
Maze is a psychological thriller for readers 11+ and I am halfway through, but I can’t talk about it as I am superstitious and think it will disappear if I talk about it too soon.
Do you have any advice for young writers?
Write often, in your own voice, and remember to enjoy it!
You can find out more about Christine Harris and her books by visiting her website: www.christineharris.com. You can also check out the Audrey of the Outback page: www.audreyoftheoutback.net.
Issue 5 will be arriving in your letterboxes from 16 November. We love the bright and summery cover – it was designed by Kate Larson, winner of our design-a-cover competition!
We received many many excellent entries and choosing a winner was very difficult. We thought Kate’s cover was eye-catching, we loved the kids on the beach, and the design left room for the Alphabet Soup logo and a few words about what’s inside the issue. Congratulations Kate!
So, what will you find inside the upcoming issue?
If you’d like to buy a copy online, subscribe, or renew your subscription, visit our website: www.alphabetsoup.net.au.
Keep reading and writing!
Rebecca Newman, Editor
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams was one of my favourite childhood stories.
If you are in Western Australia, you can see the puppet show adaptation in November and December 2009, or January 2010 at these locations: Joondalup, Midland, Margaret River, Mandurah or Fremantle!
Spare Parts says the show is perfect for kids aged 4 to 10. There are also puppet making workshops available for kids and adults.
Visit the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre website for more details!
Boggles and ghaisties,
And four-legged beasties,
And things that go bump
In the night.
This book is another old favourite of mine. It’s out of print, but (like Pancakes and Painted Eggs) is still available at some libraries. Or you could keep an eye out at second hand book shops!
Haunts and Taunts has the subtitle: A book for Hallowe’en and all the nights of the year. It’s full of spooky stories, poems, songs (with sheet music, arranged by Margaret Moore), explanations of customs from a variety of cultures, recipes, craft activities, and scary illustrations by Deborah Niland.
When Hallowe’en is over, you can dip into this book for stories and songs to use around a campfire (or around a candle at the kitchen table when the power is out!), or anytime if you love reading about boggarts, giants, enchantments, fairies and ghosts!
Ask your favourite librarian if they have it at your library.
Thank you to everyone who entered our Snowy’s Christmas picture book giveaway.
Everyone who emailed us with the correct answer had an entry in the draw. (The correct answer was: 24 December, or Christmas Eve).
The winner of the draw was Carol Warner, Western Australia – we’ll be posting a copy of Snowy’s Christmas to her this week. Congratulations Carol!
Keep an eye on Soup Blog as we’ll be running more giveaways in the lead up to Christmas!
The Wool Wagon Awards 2009
We’ve just heard that this bush poetry competition accepts entries in a ‘Junior section’ for bush poetry in Performance and Written categories. Entries close on 30 October 2009 (but we’ve heard that this might be extended, so you could call the organisers to confirm the deadline if you need to check this).
Prize money is awarded for first, second, third and fourth places!
Find all the details and download an entry form from the Australian Bush Poets Assoc website.
Today I am talking to Sally Murphy and David Murphy, author and illustrator of Snowy’s Christmas (reviewed in an earlier post). We asked Sally and David to share 5 things each – things you might not already have heard about their book!
You’ll find their answers if you read on. But before you do – we have one copy of Snowy’s Christmas to give away!
If you’d like a chance to win, email editor@alphabetsoup.net.au and tell me the date that David finished the final illustration of the final draft. (Hint: he tells you below!) I’ll put all the entries in a santa hat and draw out the winning name on 25 October 2009.
Now – over to you Sally and David!
Sally:
1. Snowy’s Christmas was inspired by the story of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. I have always bought lots of Christmas books for my own children, and when I bought a new version of Rudolf, it set me thinking about how people adapt and retell stories. I started thinking about how I could retell the story in an Australian setting – and wrote the earliest draft of this story.
2. It took several years from writing Snowy’s Christmas to sending it to a publisher. After I had written the story, I was at a conference where I heard a publisher say that Australian publishers were not interested in seeing manuscripts for Christmas and other seasonal stories, because it was cheaper to import them. I believed her, and so didn’t persevere with the story (though I did once submit it to a website, which then closed down – hopefully not because I’d submitted to them). Then, a few years ago publishers did start producing Australian Christmas stories, very successfully. But it took for Linsay Knight, the publisher at Random House, asking if I could adapt a manuscript of mine she was interested in for the Christmas market before I finally submitted Snowy. And boy am I glad I did.
3. I really have seen a white kangaroo – in fact several, at a wildlife park in Western Australia. You can see a photo here: http://wwwcavershamwildlife.com.au/feed-kangaroos.html I don’t know a lot about them, but believe they are not albino, but fairly rare.
4. The book was illustrated by my brother-in-law David. Okay, you might have already known that, but did you know that it is very rare for the author and illustrator to get to choose each other? Usually this is a decision made by the publisher. In this case, though, Linsay from Random House actually asked me to have David do some sample illustrations when I submitted the manuscript. I had known Linsay for quite some time and she met David when she sat with us at a conference breakfast. I think maybe she liked us, or at least the novelty of a family team. It was fun, and also special, to get to work with David.
5. The first draft of Snowy’s Christmas was about 1600 words – too long for a picture book. I did manage to cut it down to about 1000 words before I submitted it to Random House, but during the editing process we reduced it even further – it’s only about 600 words now. Picture book texts need to be short for young readers and often there is a lot that can be shown in the illustrations without needing to be told in the text.
David:
1. The illustrations for Snowy were sketched entirely with my left hand using pencils. I then used my right hand to ink the line work. After that, the line art was scanned and I completed the colouring using my computer. For each illustration there were multiple sketches before the right one was found. I would have drawn each page 6–10 times.
2. Snowy’s red roo friends were based on a mob of kangaroos who live in the bushland near my house. I was particularly interested in the joeys who spent hours chasing each other around and boxing.
3. All the white boomers have names and their own stories. Sally, Kimberley (the editor) and I discussed who they were and what their personalities were. These completed their characters in my mind and allowed me to create more meaningful illustrations.
4. The very first sketch I did for the book was of Snowy and his mum. He was quite small, which made me worry if he would be strong enough to pull the sleigh, so I made him a bit bigger.
5. The final illustration for the final draft was completed on Christmas Eve!
—
If you want to find out more about the book, Snowy’s Christmas has its own website: http://aussiechristmas.wordpress.com/ (You can even hear David in a radio interview!)
And the book is going on a blog tour in the lead-up to Christmas. Here’s where you’ll find Sally and/or David talking about Snowy:
Week One: October 4
Deescribe Writing Blog
www.deescribewriting.wordpress.com
Week Two: October 11
Write and Read With Dale
http://livejournal.com/users/orangedale/
Week three: October 18
Alphabet Soup Blog (YOU’RE HERE!)
Week Four: October 25
Let’s Have Words
www.letshavewords.blogspot.com
Week Five: November 1
Sally Murphy’s Writing for children Blog
http://sallymurphy.blogspot.com/
Week 6: November 8
Aussiereviews Blog
http://aussiereviews.blogspot.com/
Week 7: November 15
Samantha Hughes’ Blog
http://samantha-hughes.blogspot.com/
Week 8:
Robyn Opie’s Writing Children’s Books Blog
http://www.robynopie.blogspot.com
Week 9:
Stories are Light
http://sandyfussell.blogspot.com/
Week 10:
The Aussie Christmas Blog
http://aussiechristmas.wordpress.com/
Week 11:
Tales I Tell
Helen Evans has reviewed the spring 2009 issue of Alphabet Soup magazine in the October issue of the parenting e-zine, Help 4 Every Parent.
You can find her review if you scroll through her ‘reviewed books’ page, and parents will find other interesting articles in the e-zine this month. (I particularly liked the article about making seed pots from newspaper, to help seedlings cope with transplanting into the garden.)
A new issue for Help 4 Every Parent e-zine can be found every month at http://www.help4everyparent.com.
Over the next few months, I’ll be reviewing a number of Christmas books. (Last year
I reviewed Roland Harvey’s Big Book of Christmas, and that will certainly be back on our shelf when we pull all the boxes of tinsel out of the back cupboard!)
I have a number of Christmas books in my ‘to read’ pile, and on top of the pile is a picture book – Snowy’s Christmas, by author Sally Murphy, and illustrated by David Murphy.
Snowy is a white kangaroo and he’s feeling a bit ‘left out’. He can’t win races against the other roos as he bounces short and high – instead of long and low. He’s no good at hiding (it’s easy to spot a white kangaroo against all that red dirt), and he looks sadly into the billabong to see his ‘face reflected in the water was not rugged and red like the other roos, but soft and white.’
But then he meets a stranger, who shows him that his differences make him the perfect choice for an important job …
Snowy’s Christmas puts an Australian spin on the story of ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,’ and adds something ‘snowy’ to our hot summer Christmases! Snowy’s story is accompanied by David’s fun illustrations – make sure you look for a touch of Christmas on almost every page turn. (I really love the star stuck to an echidna’s spines, and the jingle bells around the neck of a platypus.)
This is a great picture book for celebrating Christmas in the heat.
Snowy’s Christmas is going on a blog tour, and we’ll be talking to the author and the illustrator here, on Sunday 18 October 2009. Be sure to stop by then for your chance to WIN YOUR OWN COPY of Snowy’s Christmas!
alphabetsoup.net.au 