Simon Doonan's Beautiful People

I'm reading Simon Doonan's wonderful recollection of growing up queer in Reading (and doesn't that capital 'R' make a difference? I think I grew up very queer in my reading, but it was nowhere near Reading...) and it occurred to me that there are very few books where gay teens have an angst-free adolescence. I suspect that, along the lines of all misery memoirs, there's more money to be made from the less cheerful aspects. As a sales pitch queer-bashing undoubtedly wins over 'moment of enlightenment when faced with realisation that mood-lighting exists and there are other boys who like it too'. Not that I want all pink frothy delight or all doom and gloom, but many of the 'gay teen' books that I love most are really quite happy, or have the doom and gloom laden on by life, not specifically by the fact of the protagonist being homosexual: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan; Strange Boy by Paul Magrs; Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block and New Boy by William Sutcliffe... but I do love Dance on my Grave and the other Aidan Chambers that deal with sexuality in a complex way, and Hero by Perry Moore which is funny and sad and terrifying too.

Actually, just making a list makes me realise how few books there are out there about the whole coming out experience. There's much more choice in America - apart from Magrs and Chambers those on my list are American and the Doonan is really written for adults - and the GLT Teen genre seems to be growing fast there. I particularly want to try Alex Sanchez's books, and some more David Levithan, they may not speak directly of the UK experience, but at least they address many of the issues so many sexually conflicted / sexually different teens face. I wonder if there'll be an upsurge of queer writing for teens here too? And if so whether we'll head down the misery memoir road, or try for something a little more positive and uplifting!

what a month!

Danny and I've been deep in the depths (see, very, very deep depths) of putting the revised Teen Guide together, and all in all it's been just as harrowing as usual. Deadlines are always such fun... especially as Danny's laptop seems to have turned up its toes today. Which as you can imagine is dire news - so if anyone knows of any laptop gods, please to feel free to pass on suggestions for offerings etc..

However, I've come away from re-writing the read-ons with a mammoth list of books I want to read. And a mammoth list of books I know I should read but really, really, don't think I will. Twilight heads that list, and yes, I know I should, but... will I? Should I really? Will I be sucked into a desperate world where I need to read all the books, see the movie and wear black forever? (hmm, thinks, I do that a lot anyway)

What else? Oh, in school news I'm taking a group of kids up to Newcastle later this month to compete in the National Finals of the Kids' Lit Quiz. We had such fun last year, I hope it's as good this time around. I have NO expectation of winning - I'll be very happy if the boys just enjoy themselves!

I'm deeply in love with The Secret Life of Bees and have no idea how I missed it when it came out. It's the most lyrical, involving, uplifting book I've read in an age, and I'm only sorry that Sue Monk Kidd seems to have written so few other books. Well, only one other novel anyway. I've squrreled that away for Xmas - like treasure...

We Are All Born Free & The Graveyard Book

Last night, courtesy of the lovely people at Bloomsbury, I attended the UK launch of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Very aptly the party was held in the crypt of St Martin's in the Field, and the atmosphere was completed by the presence of various 'ghosts' mingling amongst the guests. Mr Gaiman was, once again, a consumate professional, and signed endlessly for the various book people in attendance - and much to my delight the two illustrators (One book title, two versions, one illustrated for adults and one for children, one by Dave McKean and one by Chris Riddell) were there, and I managed to get my copies signed by them too!

Danny - who may comment later - and I had earlier in the evening been at Waterstone's on Piccadilly to attend the launch of another wonderful book, this time the launch of Amnesty International's celebration of 50 years of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - We Are All Born Free. We watched the wonderful short video that's being shown in cinemas and looked at all the glorious illustations - each Right was assigned to a different illustator and so the book is a wonderful mix of styles, which somehow really keeps you focused and keyed in to the message. As an aside, my favourite is Jane Ray's - just because the style is so unlike the one she is famous for!

Anyway, Danny had also found an absolutely spot-on Shelley quote for The Graveyard Book, and I showed it to Neil Gaiman, who loved it. Now I simply have to email to Ian at Bloomsbury who, being a nice chap, will forward it for me. All in all? A lovely evening - though I am now very tired. I always forget at launches - don't drink the wine until AFTER the food!

Gaiman

Last night it was Neil Gaiman talking as part of Jewish Book Week - and he as absolutely delightful. I adore his work, so to find him charming, relaxed, insightful, eloquent and just as intelligent as one could hope was lovely. I'm deeply indebted to Ian at Bloomsbury who has invited me to the official launch of The Graveyard Book tonight, so I get to fangirl Mr Gaiman all over again :)

My only quandry is - which version to buy? Chris Riddell or Dave McKean?

City of Bones

Yay, I finally got to see Hamlet! Actually, I do know that Hamlet isn't quite a children's book - but I do have some excuse for mentioning it here as there were loads of kids (some very young) at the RSC's Courtyard theatre on Friday evening. So...a little aside here to say how much I enjoyed Mr Tennant's performance. And to marvel at how incredible skinny he is!

In my book world though I'm reading Cassandra Clare's City of Bones. It's a vast urban supernatural that leans heavily on past glories in the genre, but is nonetheless really enjoyable. It's one of the few books I've ever read that is wired securely into the online world. Many many references to the internets and its culture, from gaming to manga to blogs. It's really refreshing, as in so many books around now you'd think kids didn't have this alternative world that they disappear into...

eta: I'm now reading the online fuss about it - the Amazon comments are fascinating!

And tonight? Neil Gaiman talking at Jewish Book Week! Hurrah! I'm torn between just going, listening, then leaving, and going, listening and taking my copy of Coraline for him to sign (or possible one of this comics, though - which one of The Sandman? Or should it be The Wolves in the Wall? Oh, choices!)

awww....

I spent the weekend with in-laws and their new baby (two months old and really far too cute). The awe-inspiring thing? They are actually reading the Ultimate First Book Guide and thinking seriously about books and reading. Amazing - and deeply touching. Why? Maybe as editor I feel almost as if the books slide off into a vague 'elsewhere', where they look pretty on shelves but don't get used. But this baby? Oh, no, his reading will be shaped by the book and the info inside it. Like I said, awe-inspiring indeed!

And as a 'leaving work for maternity leave' present, everyone at sister-in-law's workplace bought a copy of the book they remember loving most as a child. The whole collection was popped into a hamper with some pretty baby stuff and smellies for the mum. What a lovely idea...

Cheltenham II

As Leonie said, a lovely Cheltenham weekend, with unaccustomed sunshine but everything else just as we'd left it after last year's festival (which doesn't feel a year away...). And yes, our event with Anne was really fun, a very frank discussion (I don't think Anne does any other kind, now that I think about it) ranging widely over books and reading and schools and bookshops and children and age ranging and libraries, to a lovely, engaged audience of parents, teachers and others...

As always, as Leonie suggested, there is for us a lovely social aspect to these festivals too - while the UBGs allow us to work with great people, it happens remotely and we very rarely actually get to meet them in person, so events like Cheltenham allow us to sit on a stage with some of our longest-serving contributors, to have coffee with Caroline in the Writers' Room, to have breakfast with Anne at the hotel, etc. Anne, incidentally, has been a great supporter of the UBGs since we first started talking about them all those years ago, and she's done us a new introduction for the revised edition of the 8-12 guide, which goes into production in eight days!

I also chaired a couple of other panels while I was there, which is always fun, and Jane always gives me some real treats. One event this year was on picture books, with three illustrators whose work I love - Emily Gravett (I've posted enthusiastically on her before), David Lucas (whose books include the delightful Halibut Jackson) and Polly Dunbar (creator of the enchanting Penguin); the second was on thrillers for teenagers, with Tim Bowler, Cathy MacPhail and Sophie McKenzie (UBG contributors all). I'd never read Sophie before this, but did read Girl, Missing in preparation for the event and it's excellent - gripping, sympathetic, moving, well plotted. Looking forward to reading her second (Blood Ties) before too long. Both have been recommended for the forthcoming revised edition of the U Teen B Guide, btw.

Currently reading and enjoying Tim's Frozen Fire, then moving on to a few other books for the new UTBG - Triskellion and Seventh Tide are next...

D.

PS How exciting to hear that Neil Gaiman is coming to do some events in the UK! My friend Naomi Alderman (who is a huge fan of his) is interviewing him on stage on Sunday 26th in north London, and I've already booked my ticket. Saw him speak last year at Hay and he was very good, and anyway just to be in a room with the man who created Coraline... (Scary scary scary book...)