Bloomsbury Spark Launches

Thursday 19th December saw the global launch of YA and New Adult digital imprint Bloomsbury Spark. Beginning with the release of seven titles in December 2013, Bloomsbury will continue to publish two new titles each month. 

The launch titles are 'Pride’s Run' by Cat Kalen, 'The Secret of Isobel Key' by Jen McConnel, 'The Sound of Us' by Ashley Poston, 'The Art of Falling' by Jenny Kaczorowski, 'Beyond Our Stars' by Marie Langager, 'Until We End' by Frankie Brown and 'Positively Mine' by Christine Duval (UK price £3.99 each). To find out more about our seven launch titles please visit http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bloomsbury-spark/
Aspiring, self-published or established writers who would like to be part of the Bloomsbury Spark list can submit work directly. Visit their website for submission guidelines http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bloomsbury-spark/submissions/

Q&A with Andy Serkis About 'The Bone Season' fantasy novel by Samantha Shannon

Andy Serkis, whose Imaginarium Studios are currently in the process of adapting 'The Bone Season' for the big screen - the first novel in this phenomenal new seven-part fantasy series, which flung 22-year-old Samantha Shannon into the spotlight when she was hailed as 'the next J K Rowling' by the international press. 

'We all immediately saw its potential as a fantastic feature film,' Serkis said of The Bone Season. 'She’s very warm and a passionate storyteller - dedicated beyond belief. We’re working very closely with her on all aspects of bringing the world of the book to the screen. We’ve been involving her with all the early concept artwork that we’re beginning to put together. Obviously it’s her world so we want to make sure we bring it to life in the way that she wants.'


What is it about The Bone Season that compelled you to include it in The Imaginarium Studio's very first slate of films?
 
We first came across the manuscript at the London Book Fair and immediately fell in love with the scope, the scale and the exceptional detail of the world Samantha had created. It’s a really compelling story with such a great central character – we all immediately saw its potential as a fantastic feature film.

Have you met Samantha Shannon and how involved will she be in the film's production?

Yes of course – she’s a delightful, incredibly intelligent person. She’s very warm and a passionate storyteller- dedicated beyond belief. We’re working very closely with her on all aspects of bringing the world of the book to the screen. We’ve been involving her with all the early concept artwork that we’re beginning to put together. Obviously it’s her world so we want to make sure we bring it to life in the way that she wants.

Can you tell us about how the creative process for adapting a story like The Bone Season begins?

It begins with knowing the story you want to tell. There are thousands of stories contained within the world that Samantha has created - we have to be very disciplined about opening up the world in a way that will lead us on to further investigation in the rest of the series. We need to find the emotional heart of the story; the relationships; the tension; the suspense and the drive, and of course working closely with Samantha is going to make it much easier.

At this very early stage it’s about finding the right writer and the right approach to telling the story. Hand in hand with developing the screenplay it’s also about developing the visual world and bringing that to life, finding the right visual effects team who understand Samantha’s concepts.

You have been part of bringing some of the world's most famous and well-loved fantasy worlds to contemporary audiences. Which of your experiences across film, TV, stage and video games would you say has been most helpful in preparing you to produce The Bone Season?

It would be impossible to single out any one single experience, it’s an accumulation of all my experiences to date, but obviously having worked on The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s extraordinary world with Peter Jackson is incredibly useful. Peter basically gave me the opportunity to work on a lot of extraordinary characters in a lot of extraordinary worlds and has opened up my eyes to a genre that I knew very little about before.

Will performance capture will come mostly into play when portraying Shannon's Rephaim race on screen in The Bone Season? Can you give us any insight into how you'd like these characters to appear?

We’re in very early stages of designing how we want to portray these characters, and are exploring a variety of avenues to bring these characters to life. We’re certainly not tied to any one production technique at this early stage.


Animal Farm is the other film on your inaugural slate. What can you tell us about this project?

We’re extraordinarily excited about Animal Farm. We have been working on the methodology this year, the development of the characters and the story. We’re working with a wonderful character designer and very pleased with how the animals are developing as visual characters. In terms of story, we’re remaining very truthful to the original book however we are relocating the setting as if Orwell were writing in the present day - we’ve been working very closely with the Orwell estate on this.

Your talents are very varied! If you could only do one thing for the rest of your career, which would you choose (stage/TV/film/video game roles, voice roles, director or producer)?

Mountain Climber!

'The Bone Season'
By Samantha Shannon
Published by Bloomsbury
RRP £12.99 (hardback)
ISBN 9781408836422

Even a dreamer can start a revolution.

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people’s minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford – a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

Featured Poem for July 2013 - 'Photograph' by Roger Stevens

"Photograph" by Roger Stevens

(From Roger's forthcoming book called "What Are We Fighting For" (Macmillan) with Brian Moses - a book of poems about WWI and WWII.)

Here’s the photo I took
Last year on the beach
Dad, wearing the tie
I bought him for his birthday
Billy drinking lemonade
The straw up his nose
And Mum, huddled up in her coat
Against the seaside wind

Now Dad’s in France
And our beach is covered in concrete
And tangled barbed wire
And land mines
In case the Germans invade

But on that day
We’d just made
The world’s grandest sandcastle
And watched the tide
Rush in
Filling the moat
Gradually washing
The sandcastle away

© Roger Stevens 2013
Please do not use without the poet’s permission.

For further information about Roger Stevens and his work please visit Roger's page here.

Roger's new poetry collection for children 'Off By Heart' has just been published by A & C Black (Bloomsbury). Read our review here and click on the book's cover for further info and to order a copy. 

 

 

 

Exclusive Q&A with Paul Dowswell, Historical Fiction Writer

Paul Dowswell is a British writer of non-fiction and fiction, writing mainly for children and young adults. He has written over 60 books, mostly with history as the subject, but also about geography, natural history, and science.

What inspired you to write about the First World War rather than a contemporary conflict?

I think the First World War hangs over the 20th Century like a vast dark cloud. It gave us the awful flu epidemic that killed millions of people as soon as it was over, it spawned Hitler and the Second World War, and created the Bolshevik regime in Russia and the Cold War that blighted the second half of the 20th Century. Then there’s the whole century of wars and upheavals in Eastern Europe and the Middle East that followed the botched and short-sighted peace treaties that ended the war. But mostly, I’m fascinated by the awful gap between expectations and reality for those who volunteered.

Contemporary conflicts need a few years between them and writing about them, I think, to get some proper perspective on them.

Have you always had an interest in that era? What initially interested you about it?

The war is now nearly 100 years old, but it still seems very vivid to me. When I was a child, I had an great uncle who had fought at Gallipoli, and another relative who had been gassed at Passchendaele and who remained an invalid for the rest of his life. I also remember the ‘Maiden Aunts’ – old ladies who’s chances of marriage and motherhood had been destroyed by the great imbalance between the sexes at the end of the war. But what haunts me the most is the terrible disparity between the patriotism, the ‘doing our bit’, the enthusiastic crowds who rushed to join up, and the awful fate that awaited them in the mud and squalor of the trenches.

Which of the three main characters in “Eleven, Eleven” do you identify with most?

I tried to make them all real but I know the boys who signed up for the British ‘Pals’ brigades – they were just born a hundred years later. I based my character Will and his background on my brother Alan’s family, up in Lancaster. Not absolutely directly, but just as a starting point.

Were Axel, Will and Eddie inspired by anyone you know in real life or anyone from history?

They’re all composites. I do find it helpful to find a photograph of someone their age and nationality and then I take it from there, imagining what they’d be thinking and what would have happened to them. I’ve tried to give them all attitudes that were common at the time.

Of all the fiction you have written, which of your books is your personal favourite?

Each of my books takes me a year or so to write so I can’t have favourites. It’d be like choosing your favourite child! I can tell you which one has done me the most favours though: Auslander. That sold in 10 languages and has taken me to Germany, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, France and Australia. I love travelling and it’s tremendously exciting going on these adventures to promote a book, or research it.

Where is your favourite physical place that your writing has taken you - be it on a book tour, for research, etc?

Really difficult to say. I went to Australia to research my book ‘Prison Ship’ which was hugely exciting and memorable (especially when I got lost in the bush outside Sydney). I stood on the beach at Botany Bay, and if you squint a bit to blot out the Radio towers, you can imagine what it was like to be the first Europeans landing on this strange continent, a year’s sailing away from home.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given as a writer?

Show not tell! I have it tattooed to my forehead (backwards of course, so it reads the right way in the mirror).

Do you have any projects in the pipeline, which you would like to tell us about?

I’ve always been fascinated by Russia, so I’d like to set my next book in the Soviet era. I’ve just come back from Moscow, where I was looked after by some very generous, lovely people. It’s an amazing place and I’d really like to go back.

Where can fans of you and your books find out more about you and your writing?

I have a website, www.pauldowswell.co.uk and also make fairly regular contributions to blogs like these. If you’d like to see more it’s prob. best to google my name and they’ll come up by the score. I’m not on Facebook and the rest of it – maybe I ought to be, but I do as many school visits as I can. I love going to schools to talk about my books and do writing workshops. I feel very lucky to be a writer but it is a solitary life and school visits are always fun and a break from my desk.

Thanks Paul!

Interviewed by Katy Hawkins.

***

‘Eleven, Eleven’

By Paul Dowswell
Published by Bloomsbury, 11th October 2012
RRP £6.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9781408826232
Reviewed by Lynsey Evans

Axel is a 16-year-old boy and he’s just enlisted in the Imperial German Army, being posted to the front line at 2am on 11th November 1918.

Will is a British soldier, close to the British frontline on the 11th November 1918, in the platoon his brother commands as Sargeant. Will is only 16 and lied about his age to enlist.

Eddie is a first generation American immigrant, his family emigrated from Germany 40 years ago. He’s a fighter pilot, based at an American Airbase in Europe on the 11th November 1918.

Through spectacular, gripping storytelling we journey with these three young men through their harrowing ordeal, which starts on the day the First World War is declared over. Join them as they fight for their survival in the last few hours of the war, learn how the war ended for them …

This is a brilliant historical fiction novel, that I found breathtaking. Although fiction, the tale is based on a real event, a real war, where many thousands died and it educates in a compelling way.

Highly recommended for readers aged 11+

‘Blink Once’

By Cylin Busby
Published by Bloomsbury, October 2012
RRP £6.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9781408825808
Reviewed by Katy Hawkins

West has the perfect life until an accident leaves him paralyzed and completely unable to move or even breathe on his own. The future looks bleak, his girlfriend dumps him, and West believes the road to recovery is untenable (despite what his nurses tell him) ... until he meets the intense and mysterious Olivia. She becomes his best friend and eventually they begin to fall in love with each other. Meeting Olivia, whose room is next to his in the hospital, changes everything for West, and slowly, he begins to recover. But there’s more to Olivia than meets the eye - and West is stunned when he finds out the truth. The blinking of the title seems initially to refer to the way that West and Olivia communicate, but there’s a twist in the tale for that, too.

Blink Once is not the most unpredictable story and it’s fairly easy to figure out what is going to happen from about halfway through the book. However, having a good idea of what is coming doesn’t make the novel any less compelling and it gives the reader an opportunity to really become wrapped up in the complex characters Busby has created and the relationships between them as they blossom. The ending might not be the most surprising but it certainly satisfied me and although it wasn’t necessarily the happy ending some readers may have hoped for, it did tie things up neatly. I would recommend this book to any fans of young adult novels who enjoy well-written characters and strong writing.

Highly recommended for readers 11+

'Fire Spell' by Laura Amy Schlitz: Book Review

'Fire Spell’

By Laura Amy Schlitz
Published by Bloomsbury, 13th September 2012
RRP £6.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9781408826218
Reviewed by Lynsey Evans

Set in the 1860s, this charming tale of magic, tragedy and unlikely friendships, is a fantastic story that will enthral and delight.

Grisini is a conman, puppet-master and magician, though he uses his magic for wrong-doing. He’s a cruel and greedy master. He ‘adopts’ Parsefall, an orphaned boy he ‘rescued’ from the workshouse and Lizzie-Rose, the orphaned daughter of an actor and actress. They live in squalor in a London boarding house, where the kind but drunk Mrs Pinchbeck looks out for the children. Grisini has taught Parsefall how to steal, pick locks and to work the puppets. Parsefall is uneducated and fearful of his master. Lizzie-Rose is a young lady, well bought up and educated but fallen on hard times with the death of both her parents. She plays the music for their travelling puppet show and keeps an eye on Parsefall, who she cares for like a brother.

When Clara Wintermute asks her parents for the puppet show to be bought into their house for her brirthday, they finally reluctantly agree. They have lost 4 children to Cholera, with Clara the only surviving child, and their house has been in mourning ever since. Little do they know that Grisini will kidnap their child, turn her into a puppet and steal her away.

If that’s not enough to be going on with, there is then Cassandra or ‘Madama’, a powerful witch, whose power comes from the fire opal – yet this power is set to destroy her, as it has those before her who owned the wishing stone. All destroyed by fire. The only way to free herself from its curse is to have someone steal her stone. Madama knew Grisini along time ago and as she is more powerful than him, she calls Grisini to her as he always wanted the fire opal for himself and his own dark ways. Grisini is too smart to steal it himself, so suggests she invited the children to come and stay at her huge home in Windermere. They’ll steal it he assures her, thinking he’ll have the power of the stone without the curse.

The children have discovered Clara’s puppet in their master’s absence, and still reeling from the shock that he hit them and then fell down the stairs, to what they thought was his death. They wonder about Grisini, how bad he actually is and when a letter from Madama arises inviting them to her home as she’s dying and looking to leave her worldly goods to them, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall make the journey to Windermere, not realising how much this will change their life, and Clara’s …

This is a spell-binding tale, wrought with tragedy and triumph. It’s refreshing to have such an exciting story told in one novel – no sequels, no waiting to find out what happens next!

Fantastic and highly recommended for readers aged 10+

‘My Brother Simple’ By Marie-Aude Murail - Teen Book Review

Published by Bloomsbury on 2nd August 2012
RRP £6.99 (paperback)
ISBN 978408814710
Reviewed by Lynsey Evans

‘Simple’ is Kleber’s older brother, but he has a mental age of a 3-year-old at 22. Their mother is dead and their father put ‘Simple’ in an institution, but Kleber, who’s only 17, can’t bear to see his brother there and removes him from Malcroix.

They move to Paris so Kleber can finish his final year at college. They finally find a flatshare with other students. Here ‘Simple’ unknowingly changes all their lives and they his. His innocence on how he views them and the world has a massive impact on them all from Kleber maturing, finding love and discovering a beautiful unconditional love for his brother despite the challenges he faces as his carer. Enzo – the ‘cool’ housemate ends up finding a true friend in ‘Simple’. And ‘Simple’ he is happy, he’s out of the institution, he’s making friends and getting up to mischief with Mister Babbit.

Unlikely friendships, self-reflection, conflict and love all test the characters. It’s a heart-warming tale that tackles prejudice and stigma head-on. In a world where political correctness and ignorance build barriers where we should be knocking them down, ‘My Brother Simple’ is like a stick of dynamite, blowing a huge hole in said barriers and letting the wind of change pass through. It’s a book every secondary school-aged child should be exposed to.

Highly recommended for readers aged 12+

The search for UK and Ireland’s biggest HARRY POTTER fan

From an idea born on a train journey, to its creation in a small cafe in Edinburgh Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the book that started a global phenomenon. Rejected by many publishers and with an initial hardback print run of 500 copies, it has now sold over 90 million copies worldwide. It is the book that put Harry’s destiny in motion and created a whole new generation of readers. It is hard to think now that before 1997 none of us knew about Hogwarts, Quidditch or Voldemort (who was voted as the favourite literary villain in a recent Bloomsbury poll).

To celebrate the 15^th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Bloomsbury is launching a nationwide competition to find the UK’s biggest HARRY POTTER fan.

Bloomsbury is inviting fans to write a letter of no more than 50 words explaining why they love HARRY POTTER. We are looking for the most creative, clever and entertaining reasons and, while the word limit is set to a strict 50 words, entrants are encouraged to draw, doodle and make their letters as elaborate as possible.

HARRY POTTER fans can only enter by visiting a local bookshop or library and posting their letter in the specially designed postboxes. Over 1800 bookshops and libraries have already signed up to take part. The competition will run from Tuesday 26^th June to Tuesday 31^st July 2012, after which we will name the UK and Ireland’s biggest HARRY POTTER fan. The winner and runners up will be announced on Saturday 1^st September 2012.

The competition is an ideal opportunity for fans to show how much they love HARRY POTTER as well as supporting their local bookshop or library. Details of how to enter and a list of participating bookshops and libraries can be found on the website: www.bloomsbury.com/harrypottercompetition

 Good Luck!