Delighted to announce the virtual launch of Four on the Run today, which is happening on the United Publishers of Armidale website! The book, illustrated by Cheryl Orsini and published by Christmas Press, is being launched by the wonderful author Lesley Gibbes, in the first of four pre-recorded videos which also includes a talk by me about the book, a reading of the first chapter, and a book trailer. Available from this morning and well beyond. Check it all out here. And hope you enjoy!
This week is launch week for A House of Mud, and to celebrate, there’s all kinds of things planned. A ‘real-world’ launch is happening today at 4pm at Reader’s Companion in Armidale, and a virtual launch on Saturday (July 25) . The virtual launch will include both some great pre-recorded videos which you can view at your leisure on the United Publishers of Armidale website(will provide the link on Saturday), and also a live Zoom Q and A session with me, the illustrator Katrina Fisher, and publishers Peter and Kathy Creamer of Little Pink Dog Books, on Saturday at 3.30 pm. The Q and A session is free, but you need to book, here.
There’s also a wonderful activities page for the book on the United Publishers of Armidale website, which includes a presentation by me on the story behind the story of A House of Mud, a link to some great activities created by Katrina for kids, and this fascinating video by her on the stage-by-stage process of creating the beautiful visual world of A House of Mud. Enjoy!
It’s launch time for The Snowman’s Wish! And I’m very happy to be hosting the virtual launch on this blog, in collaboration with my publisher, Dirt Lane Press. The virtual launch consists of three videos released at 10 am today, but which you can view at your leisure any time today–and well beyond!
The book is being launched by Australian Children’s Laureate, multi-award winning author Ursula Dubosarsky, and you’ll hear from her in the first video, then from me, in the second, as the author, taking you through the book’s creative and production process, and highlighting my co-creator Ronak Taher’s superb illustrations. The final video is a reading I did of the book. So–welcome, thank you for joining our celebrations–and we hope you enjoy!
The book is now available in all good bookshops and library suppliers across Australia. You can read a review of it here.
I’m thrilled to announce that two of my recent picture books have been shortlisted for the 2020 Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards!
They are There’s A Tiger Out There, illustrated by Ruth Waters and published by Little Hare, which was shortlisted in the Birth to Three Years category; and and Join the Armidale Parade, illustrated by Kathy Creamer and published by Little Pink Dog Books, shortlisted in the Five to Eight Years category.
The Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards are announced every year and aim to promote quality Australian books that help children get the best, most literate start in life.
Each book is judged on its appeal to children, interactive quality and ability to assist speech pathologists and parents in communication and literacy development.
Winners are announced in November.
It’s been under wraps for quite a while but now that it’s officially up on the publisher’s website, I am delighted to announce the forthcoming appearance of Santagram, my picture book with illustrator Shiloh Gordon, which will be published by Hardie Grant Egmont in October, ready for the Christmas market. And here is the joyful, lively, and characterful cover–isn’t it wonderfully appealing! Shiloh has created a fabulous visual world full of magic, humour and fun, perfect for a story that I so much enjoyed writing: it was just pure, playful pleasure! And what’s more–look closely at the cover, there is going to be a real letter and envelope with it! For someone who absolutely loves The Jolly Postman, that is a dream come true 🙂
Here’s the blurb for the book:
Santa’s mailbox is overflowing.
Santa loves getting letters, but the elves are FED UP with sorting through the huge piles of mail.
Surely an app would be better – quick, easy and heaps of fun! They’ll call it ‘Santagram’.
But once the letters stop arriving, will they be missed?
Can Santa use social media? And should he? This is a Christmas story with a twist that will have the whole family laughing out loud.
The book can be pre-ordered at lots of different bookshops and retail outlets, check the list out here.
I am delighted to reveal the gorgeous cover of Four on the Run, my chapterbook for young readers, illustrated throughout by the wonderful Cheryl Orsini. The fabulous cover illustration is by Cheryl of course, and the lively design is by Authors’ Elves. The book is coming out with Christmas Press in September.
I absolutely loved writing this fun little book, about the adventures of a quartet of lovable vintage vehicles who run away from home, and I was thrilled when Cheryl, whose illustrations of friendly, characterful vehicles I’ve loved in others of her books, agreed to illustrate my story.
Here’s the blurb of the book:
Maxie, Fergie, Flash and Lady are good friends who live in Mrs Brown’s farm shed. Life isn’t exciting, but they’re happy. Until the day they learn that Mrs Brown wants to sell them–to the scrap yard! So they decide to run away, and life suddenly becomes very exciting for the four lovable machines in a series of adventures that puts them in more trouble than they ever imagined!
Written by award-winning author Sophie Masson, with lively, appealing pictures by acclaimed illustrator Cheryl Orsini, Four On the Run is a fresh, funny and original chapter book which is great fun both for reading aloud and for young readers to read by themselves.
I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be part of the lineup next week for the fabulous CBCA NSW Branch Lunchtime Storytime readings on Facebook. I’ll be reading Once Upon An ABC, my picture book with illustrator Christopher Nielsen(Little Hare) and though I’m a bit nervous about it, I’m really looking forward to it! Tune in at the CBCA NSW Facebook page on Friday June 5 at 12pm to hear my reading live: but if you miss that, the video will also be available for later viewing on the page or on the CBCA NSW website. (Availability ends by July 31).
And check out all the other great authors and illustrators who will participate that week too, as well as those who took part in the weeks before.
I’m very pleased to be part of an amazing project by Dirt Lane Press: the virtual, world-wide, multi-language book drop of Where Happiness Hides, a picture book by Anthony Bertini and Jennifer Goldsmith, a lovely exploration in words and picture of the happiness to be found in small things. It’s freely available, and aimed at, as Dirt Lane Press say, ‘anyone and everyone caught up, locked down, worn out or done in by the present COVID pandemic’ . There will be dozens of languages in which the book will be available, and I was privileged to be asked to be the French translator for the book. Really pleased too that my beautiful daughter in law Ameneh Sadeghpour is doing the Farsi translation and my lovely friend Anna Popova has done the Russian translation.
Where Happiness Hides is now freely downloadable as a beautiful flipbook for children and adults. There are already several languages available on the Where Happiness Hides site, including my French translation, and Anna’s Russian one. More languages will be available soon.
You can also check out the English original here.
I’m very pleased to announce that I’m part of the presenters for a brand new program of online writing workshops offered by the South Coast Writers’ Centre. The program will begin in late May and run for several months.
My workshops are about writing for children, with each 2-hour session focussed around a particular area: the first session around picturebooks; the second on writing children’s fiction; the third on writing YA fiction. They will be held over three weeks in June and early July, and are open to writers right across Australia, at any stage of their careers. More info and how to book for my workshops soon!
There are already however great workshops by other presenters which you can book for right now, check it all out here.
Feathers of the Firebird 