announcements

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, author talks, Book talk, collaborations, Creative life, Events, illustrator talks, launches, New books, Picture books

Looking forward to the launch of Satin on Tuesday!

I’m heading off to Sydney in a couple of days, and one of the highlights will be the official in person launch of Satin, next Tuesday, March 14, at 4pm at the gorgeous Better Read than Dead bookshop in Newton. Lorena and I will both be there, to read from and talk about the book, sign books, and meet readers! Everyone is very welcome, we’d love to see you there! It’s a free event but the bookshop would appreciate it if people can register if possible(though of course you can also just turn up, if you run out of time) Here’s the registration link.

We’ll also be celebrating Satin through school visits, organised by the wonderful people at The Children’s Bookshop. And calling into city bookshops to say hi. It’s going to be a great week!

And those reviews just keep coming–we had another couple of lovely ones very recently, here and here. Seems readers are really taking Satin to their hearts, which warms our hearts, too…

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Art, Book talk, Creative work, forthcoming books, Inspirations, memoir, Pardalote Press

Announcing the new Pardalote Press production!

I’m absolutely delighted to announce the forthcoming arrival of the new Pardalote Press production, my latest collaboration with the wonderful Lorena Carrington!

It’s a beautiful little book titled Secrets of the Good Fairy House, which will be out at the beginning of June and distributed nationally through our distributor Peribo. Below you can see the book’s gorgeous front and back covers which Lorena created, as well as the lovely page Peribo have for the book in their June catalogue.

Secrets of the Good Fairy House is a unique exploration in words and images of the magic a beloved childhood home can confer on people, through its sheer atmosphere and the objects in it too. Both in words and images, it’s a mix of memoir–about my childhood home in rural France and Lorena’s in regional Victoria–and fiction, to create what we hope will be an enticing, imaginative blend. Each page features a space or an object or an aspect of the good fairy house, and, as well,  there are interactive elements at the end: an encouragement to create memory maps(with ours as samples), ideas on how to use the ideas and concepts in the book to create your own exploration of your own ‘good fairy house’, and a maze game, for a bit of fun 🙂 We absolutely loved creating this unique little book, and we hope many readers will take it to their hearts too. It’s for a general audience, for adults as well as younger readers, and makes a great gift too.

Secrets of the Good Fairy House is a beautiful small square book of 48 pages, in full colour, retailing at $25.  The ISBN is 9780645563429. It will be available in all good bookshops across Australia, and can also be pre-ordered, via your local bookshop, or directly via our website.

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, art activities, Book talk, creative process, creative writing, Picture books, resources

Teachers’ Notes for Satin

There’s some great Teachers’ Notes for Satin now which include something from Lorena and something from me about the creative process behind the book, and also a range of fabulous activities of all kinds around the book. Free to download (below) and use by families, schools and libraries. All rights reserved.

nsatin-teachers-notesDownload
Leave a comment Posted on announcements, Celebrations, collaborations, New books, Picture books, Publication day

Publication day for Satin

Today is a special day: the official publication of Satin. Yes, the book is now out in the world and Lorena and I are celebrating–and looking forward to the official launch in Sydney on March 14 (all welcome! ) And to mark today, here’s a beautiful review we received only yesterday, from Sydney teacher-librarian Judy Rachwani:

This book is beyond breathtaking. An abundance of concepts that most probably every single person has dealt with or is dealing with can be seen, heard and felt within the deep meanings of the words and the incredible visual images that reflect those meanings. There are concepts of solidarity, loneliness, uniqueness, longing, accumulation of sadness, the importance of contribution and the beauty of the sweet human connection and more.  

 I truly am finding difficulties using words that give this author and illustrator justice to their in-depth, meaningful and intriguing artful work that has been reflected and processed within this work.   

As a reader, this book moved me immensely  and took me into the depths of feeling the ‘blues’ but  in a very different way. As a teacher, I found it a great resource for the students (upper primary/highschool) to unlock and discuss emotions such as loneliness and longing for connection but also not being aware of that need to connect, the beauty of the connection,  being unique and realising the  importance of one’s uniqueness to the community around.  

Highly recommended for wellbeing discussions, visual literacy and for story telling time too! 

Thank you so much, Judy! We are so happy our book is already finding its way into readers’ hearts…

Thank you so much to our wonderful publisher, Anna Solding of MidnightSun Publishing, for loving and believing in this book from the start. And thank you to the wonderful MidnightSun Publishing team, and to everyone who has helped bring our very special Satin into the world.

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, Authors, Book talk, Celebrations, Illustrators, launches, Picture books

Launch of Satin coming up soon!

Lorena Carrington and I will be celebrating the launch of our picture book, Satin (MidnightSun Publishing)in Sydney on Tuesday March 14, 4pm at the lovely Better Read than Dead bookshop in Newtown. Lorena and I are both coming in person from our respective homes-mine in regional NSW, Lorena’s in regional Victoria–for it, and we’ll be reading the book, talking about how we created it, and of course signing books!

Everyone very welcome, children and adults, you just need to register(it’s all free of course) so the bookshop can have an idea of numbers. Here’s the link, to register.

Leave a comment Posted on adult fiction, announcements, Authors, Book talk, forthcoming books, France, Paris

Super exciting news about a new novel!

I’ve had to sit on this super exciting news for ages, but now it’s been announced by the publisher, so I can announce it in my turn now!

In November 2023, my new novel for adults, The Paris Cooking School, will be published under my new pen-name of Sophie Beaumont, by wonderful Ultimo Press. It was acquired by them via my lovely agent Margaret Connolly, who has encouraged, supported and helped to inspire me every step of the way as I’ve been creating the novel. And it’s been an absolutely wonderful experience working with publisher Alex Craig and the Ultimo Press team, and I’m looking forward so much to the rest of the process!

This is a book that I have so loved writing, which has taken me in a new and exciting direction in terms of my writing, a delicious novel about love, hope, second chances–and food! And it’s also a love letter to the most beautiful city in the world.

Here below is the publisher’s announcement. I’ll be writing more about the book as the months go on, and starting a special page for it on this blog too, but in the meantime you can follow the Paris Cooking School on Facebook and/or Instagram, where I’ll be posting news, pics, bits and pieces.

The official announcement from Ultimo Press!

Oh la la, do we have a delicious novel on its way to you 🍓⁠

⁠It was impossible not to be enticed by The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont. It’s a treat for the soul – a delectable novel about love, hope and the consolations of the perfect strawberry tart.⁠

⁠Sophie says, ‘I love Paris. It’s as simple as that. Steeped in history, yet fresh as morning bread, elegant as spun sugar yet earthy as onion tart, it’s a city of delicious contrasts and magical charm. It’s also a place of potential and possibility: the perfect setting for a story of second chances. And of course, there’s the food! I loved writing this book so much: and I hope readers love it too.’ ⁠

⁠Publisher Alex says, ‘The Paris Cooking School is a sheer delight, and I couldn’t be happier working with Sophie on a gorgeous novel set in a city she knows inside out. Following three women’s stories during a springtime in Paris, this novel is for anyone who dreams of the what-ifs and second acts, escaping to the City of Lights, and learning to cook the French way.’ ⁠


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Leave a comment Posted on announcements, children's fiction, fairy tales, new editions, Publication day, republications, YA fiction

Publication week for new edition of The Green Prince and The Firebird

Absolutely delighted to announce that this week marks the publication of the new print editions of two of my earlier fairytale novels, The Green Prince and The Firebird, published by Brio Books in the Untapped Australian Classics list. The Green Prince was originally published in 2000, was shortlisted in the Aurealis Awards, and also turned into a stage play. It was chosen to be republished as an ebook in the wonderful Untapped Australian Literary Heritage Project, and from there was selected for inclusion in the print republication by Brio Books. The Firebird was first published in 2001, and was produced as an audio book in 2005. It also was chosen to be republished as an ebook by the Untapped project, and from there selected for inclusion for a new print edition by Brio Books. Aren’t both covers gorgeous!

It’s so wonderful to see these books back in circulation, both as print and e-editions, and hopefully they will find their way into the hands of a new generation of readers, as well as earlier fans whose previous copies might have worn out :-)Thank you so much to Untapped and to Brio Books for keeping the books alive, available and accessible!

Later, in late October, will come the new print edition of Cold Iron. Watch this space!

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, collaborations, creative activities, new work, Pardalote Press, work in progress

Sample pack of our gorgeous Wayfarer cards!

We were excited to receive our sample pack of Wayfarer cards yesterday, for our Pardalote Press launch. Here’s a little video of how they look. And sound! They have best swish/thwack as you shuffle them, and they feel so lovely with their silk laminate.

We have five days left of crowdfunding, so head over to Indiegogo, if top quality story-telling, poem-forming, magic-image-making cards are your thing!

https://igg.me/at/PardalotePress/x/5644576#/

And we’re off to order another two hundred sets…

Leave a comment Posted on announcements, Book talk, Inside Story, Publishing business, Reviews

Great review of Inside Story in Magpies!

Delighted to see a wonderful review of Inside Story (for which I was one of the principal writers and compilers) in the latest issue of the prestigious children’s literature publication, Magpies Magazine. See below.

There’s also, in the same issue, a three-page interview with me and Kathy Creamer, another of the main writers/compilers, about how the book was created and produced. Not available online, but you can check out Magpies Magazine subscriptions here: for anyone interested in Australian and New Zealand children’s books, Magpies is an absolute must!