Whoa! With everything going on, I was still over the moon the other day, to receive an email from a Literary Agent asking to see the Yucketypoo books! Plastic waste in our oceans and on our beaches is very prevailent in the current climate and this made me think of the Yuck books all over again. It was such a pity that my former publisher was unable to deliver on the third book in the series which, ironically, is all about beach cleaning. And that was written before it became such an issue in the public eye. So the next day, Steve an I packaged up the first two books and the typescript of the third, and sent them off on their journey. Now all I can do is wait!
I have been pretty busy lately. I have written a number of articles which have appeared on Linked In and, of course, the Young Writers keep me busy. I have also been a judge for the BBC 500 Word Story competition again. I had sixteen stories to judge all written by 6 to 9 year olds. I tell you there is some amazing talent out there! And I have finally got round to ordering myself some fresh new Business Cards. They come in incredibly handy. The other day I met an illustrator selling her work at a street market in Wimbledon and we exchanged cards with great interest. I do try to carry some around with me but I am almost out of my original cards so decided it was time to treat myself. I wanted something that looked completely different to my previous design and I must say I was very happy with the final proof!
There are going to be some changes with the Young Writers but I can't say anything else at the moment. All will be revealed after Easter. In the meantime, getting the members to write short poems for our forthcoming Poetry Leaflet has been ongoing since the New Year. I am hoping to have this complete by the end of May. I figured a leaflet would be quicker to produce as opposed to a book which can take anything up to a year what with editing, lay-out, printer's proofs etc etc. The main thing is that the Young Writers get the chance to showcase their work and see their name in print, which is always a thrill no matter what age you are!
I have been thinking about my own next Writing Project and I have two ideas germinating so who knows where they will end up!
In the meantime guess what? We are getting ready to move. Again!
I am so grateful that I found your blog! I am a 3rd grade teacher that will be retiring this year. I love teaching writing to my kids--it is a priority. I this is what I will miss the most about teaching. So I have been talking to our local public librarian and floating a similar idea to what you do. Did a Google search and found you! What you do is exactly what I had in mind! Now, I am not a professional writer, but I love to write. And I love love to encourage kids in their writing. Actually, when I retire, I do hope to write a book. I have a few ideas and will finally have the time.
ReplyDeleteHello. Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am always delighted when I hear from other people with the same passion as I have for writing who want to share it with others. The Young Writer group was founded in 2012 and I have been running it eversince. To keep the members interested, I designed a Certificate Trail and have also brought in other activities - our Picnic in the Park session is always a huge success and we have had a theatre visit, a trip to the local fire station and a guest writer in to speak to the members and answer tehir questions. I suggest you take a look at the Young Writers blog to get a better idea of what we do. The address is addiscombeyoungwriters.blogspot.com If there is anything else you'd like to know, drop me another line. In the meantime, good luck in your endeavour. Kind regards.
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