Flight of the Undiscovered: Voices Coming Soon on a Children's Bookshelf Near You

This was their moment!

Suddenly, after years of being supplicants to the great and good of publishing, our SCBWI heroes find themselves the object of a schmooze-for-all, with agents, editors and publishers eager to check them out at the launch of the Undiscovered Voices anthology for 2010.

In 2008, the first ever SCBWI British Isles Undiscovered Voices competition led to all 12 winners (including me, yay!) being signed by agents.

And here's who we have to blame, The Saras (Sara Grant and Sara O'Connor) - who conceptualized the Undiscovered Voices and made it happen. Should you run into them, please be sure to kiss the hems of their skirts (or trousers), they have changed some lives BIG TIME - including mine.

Sara G and Sara O

Of the 12 2008 winners, eight now have book deals and an array of nominations, shortlistings, longlistings for the gamut of prizes available in the children's book world, including:

The Blue Peter book award
Barnes and Noble Top Teen book for 2009
American Library Association Best Book for Young Readers
2010 Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize
Branford Boase First novel award
Borders Book of the Month

Steve Hartley, Sarwat Chadda, and Harriet Goodwin - the first three of the original Undiscovered Voices to see their books in print - were present as were copies of their books for signing.

Okay. Apologies to Harriet (right) and Steve (left). But that's what comes from not taking the time to pose properly. You should really try to be more like Sarwat (center). Just smile.

Here's the cheat sheet that all guests were provided with so that they could target their desired author with appropriate ardour:

It's quite remarkable to think that the lives of these 12 somewhat shy people are about to change forever.

Watching the winners screwing up their courage to talk to agents they had previously feared, I remembered what it was like two years ago when I spent the launch party cowering in the company of friends rather than schmoozing the great and good.

Now I am a great fan of the Undiscovered Voices patron, Melvin Burgess, but I just could not get a shot of the man with his eyes OPEN. Here he is with Natascha Biebow, SCBWI BI's regional advisor:



Luckily I managed to film his evocative speech with my trusty ... erm ... mobile phone. Turn up the volume to get the full impact - it was a moving tribute.



At the dinner afterward - which I gatecrashed along with Sarwat - Sara O'Connor toasted the winners and their soon to be golden tomorrows.

Sarwat and I were bemused by the guests that each winner took along, who all wore nametags that said 'Plus One' (as in added guest).

Lisa Joy Smith (Slugs in the Toilet) with her Plus One, Graham.

These are the powers behind the throne, we thought. So after Sara's toast, I offered another one: to the Plus Ones - these are the people who make it happen for us writers, the ones who have to take the moodiness, the lateness and who keep us going into the light. Most likely, these are the names who will grace the dedication pages of future UV books!

More Plus Ones, lined up against the wall!

I'm afraid I didn't manage to photograph all the winners or the agents for that matter as the white wine was rather distracting. But here's a sampling of the evening:

Jude Ensaff (One of a Kind) and Nick Cross (Back from the Dead)



Editors Jasmine Richards (OUP) and my editor, Bella Pearson (David Fickling) ... and of course Melvin with eyes closed



David Cousins (Fifteen Days Without a Head) has been signed by agent Sarah Manson (that's why they're toasting)



Natascha introducing Melvin





Katie Dale of UV 2008 who finally made it after missing the first launch because she was travelling; Lauren Sabel (Vivian Divine and the Days of the Dead) flew in from the US just to attend; Chris Snowdon, managing director of Working Partners, the generous sponsor of the anthology

Sorry again if I didn't manage to photograph anyone who should be in this piece. You can read more about the UV launch on Nick Cross's wonderful blog Who Ate My Brain? (catchy title, Nick). Nick wrote Back from the Dead. Yona Wiseman (Becoming Invisible) has also blogged about it on Daylight Procrastinator. Anne M Leone (Adele) blogged about it on Critically Yours.

Left to right foreground: Yona Wiseman, Lisa Joy Smith, David Cousins, Anne Anderson, Paula Rawsthorne; back row: Nick Cross, Melvin Burgess, Jane McLoughlin, Lauren Sabel, Abbie Todd, Claire O'Brien, Emily George (not in picture, Jude Ensaff)

Meanwhile, congratulations to all the winners. May your tomorrows shine. Write well.

My signed copy of the anthology!

You might want to read my interview with Melvin about his experimental Twitter short stories. Scroll down.

Undiscovered Voices 2010: the beginning of an awfully wonderful adventure

Got this in the post on Saturday!

It's the 2010 Undiscovered Voices anthology ... omg. I remember when ...

Congrats once again to all the winners, and those who made it to the shortlist. You are at the beginning of a brilliant adventure. I should know!

ADELE by Anne M Leone (Anne ML Anderson)

BACK FROM THE DEAD by Nick Cross

FIFTEEN DAYS WITHOUT A HEAD by Dave Cousins

ONE OF A KIND by Jude Ensaff (Najoud Ensaff)

FROM DARKNESS by Emily George

AT YELLOW LAKE by Jane McLoughlin

NOT JUST THE BLUES by Claire O'Brien

THE TRUTH ABOUT CELIA FROST by Paula Rawsthorne

VIVIAN DIVINE AND THE DAYS OF THE DEAD by Lauren Sabel

SLUGS IN THE TOILET by Lisa Joy Smith

BLINDING DARKNESS by Abbie Todd

BECOMING INVISIBLE by Yona Wiseman

And here are the honorary mentions:

THE BIDDLES - OPERATION SUGARBERG by L.M. Bouri (Leila Bouri)

LOW LIGHT by Judith Bunting

HURRICANE ZEN by JC Button

VINDALOO VICTOR by Alastair Caygill

WIND-UP WORLD by Julienne Durber

MRS PINKERTON'S SECRET by Jennifer Gray

THE APOTHECARY'S APPRENTICE by Sue Hyams

THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY by Lucy Jones

SHADOW OF THE OAK by Sharon Jones

A TALE OF MAGIC, MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM - BOOK ONE: A SINISTER SECRETby Karen Laing

GURNER GOBBIT AND THE BLOODCURDLING BUG-EYED JAWBREAKER by Maureen Lynas

THE POCKET WATCH by Gareth Middleton

THE SECRET CHICKENHOUSE THEATRE by Helen Peters

TREE by Mike Pringle

THE VESPERTINE HOUR by Paul Romeo (Paolo Romeo)

THE SUMMONING OF FREIYA ROLANDSON by Benjamin Scott

SECRETORUM SECRETISSIMUS by Jeannette Towey

And of course, thank you to SCBWI and Working Partners for making our dreams come true.

Read more at the Undiscovered Voices website

On Retreat with SCBWI

It's been an eventful last few days and I thought I'd blog about it before it was too late as my life is currently feeling like a 33 rpm record running on 45 or was it a 45 running on 33 (remember those? LPs? Record players? If not, then I'm pleased to meet you ... I'm rather keen on younger readers.)

I attended the launch of Devil's Kiss, the goth-lit teenage novel by my fellow SCBWIite Sarwat Chadda. I felt rather underdressed when he greeted us with his spear and shield.

The Dulwich Picture Gallery was a fab place to hold the launch, the weather held for most of the evening and the food was delicious! People queued to say nice things to Sarwat but I thought the greatest compliment was paid by this teenager sitting outside the crowd of wellwishers, totally glued to the Devil's Kiss.

There were several Undiscovered Voices authors there - Steve Hartley, whose Danny Baker Record Breaker, is due to be published by Macmillan, me, Margaret Carey, and Briony Pearce - who after winning UV, wrote another novel and had another baby (good news about this very soon ... ). Which reminds me, the deadline for the 2009 Undiscovered Voices competition is the 1st of June!

Here is Bryony and family (the baby came in chain mail and her little girl came in a princess gown ... all made by Briony with one hand while typing up her novel with the other.

Immediately after the launch, a small convoy (well, two cars) of SCBWI people drove up the motorway to Pendrell Hall in Wolverhampton to join SCBWI's weekend retreat. Our author in residence was Mary Hoffman, who I think has pretty much reached the status of national treasure. When she began to read from the latest Amazing Grace book Princess Grace, I wanted to climb onto her lap and suck my thumb.

We had two editors spend time with us, Jasmine from Oxford University Press and Non from Catnip. Here's a nice photo of Jasmine:

There's lots to report of course - we learned so much from Mary and the editors, we ate a lot, laughed nonstop, and despite it being a retreat, I was so happy to be writing without any hindrance (and without having to stop to cook for the family!) that I barely slept, pounding away at the laptop into the wee hours! I hope to find the time to blog about the nuts and bolts but for now I just want to share these piccies!

Till next year!

An 'Overnight Success' after 20 years

The excellent Undiscovered Voices website was launched yesterday and I urge all you hopefuls to read David Almond's essay about his struggle to be discovered:

All writers, unless they’re very fortunate, know how difficult it is to get noticed, to become ‘discovered’. I became an ‘overnight success’ (I clapped when I read the review that said it) after almost twenty years: stories in obscure little magazines; a couple of story collections published by a tiny northeastern press; a novel rejected by every single UK publisher; a couple of dozen readers who loved my work; a part of me that said it all would work out well; and another part that simply didn’t give a damn. I wrote because I loved to write, and I’d keep on writing no matter how much recognition I received. Read it all

Last night, winners of last year's ground-breaking Undiscovered Voices competition rubbed shoulders with hopefuls for the next one, which will be published in 2010. The deadline for entries is June 1 2009. Winners will be announced in the fall of 2009.

The previous competition has been a big learning curve, say organisers Sara O Connor and Sara Grant, as a result of which the rules have changed. The biggest change is that agented authors cannot enter while non-fiction authors can. Read the submission rules here.

Apart from Lindsay Heaven, commissioning editor of Puffin, 2010's panel of judges are brand spanking new. The judges are:

JULIA CHURCHILL, The Greenhouse Literary Agency
LINDSEY HEAVEN, Puffin Books
SARAH MANSON, Literary Agent
JO UNWIN, Conville and Walsh
EMMA YOUNG, Macmillan Children’s Books
ZOE DUNCAN, Scholastic Children’s Books

Left to right,Sarah Manson, Zoe Duncan, Jo Unwin, Emma Young, and Julia Churchill

Several people have asked me if my writing life has been happily ever after since I made it into the first anthology.

The answer is: winning the anthology was like getting fast-tracked to the next level. You bypass the slushpile. Which is fabulous. Yes, it has changed my life and yes, the future is bright.

The thing is, you get up to the next level and you realise that you have entered another battle. And you wonder when you will ever win the war?

I am writing my fourth novel now and I still don't know which one will be my first published novel. At last night's event, people were still congratulating me for that  glorious moment two years (!) ago now. A moment that now seems all too fleeting. 

I take heart from David Almond's words:

And through it all, through all the doubts and humiliations, we have to open up a little space inside ourselves in which a little fragment of ourselves can sit still and whisper, ‘It’s OK.’