February 19 2012
Jackie French gives Tania McCartney’s Riley and the Grumpy Wombat a great review: http://www.hercanberra.com.au/index.php/2012/02/13/jackie-loves-riley/
Dee wrote: "As part of the National Year of Reading 2012, we're profiling the publishers - the people who put the books together. Today's profiled publisher at Kids' Book Capers is Ford Street Publishing. Paul Collins talks about what's happening at Ford Street in 2012. http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/kids-book-capers-blog/?p=3805
The Chronos Awards are now open for nominations. Eligible Ford Street titles are Changing Yesterday/Sean McMullen, The Key to Starveldt/Foz Meadows, Mole Hunt/Paul Collins and in short fiction Gamers Challenge/George Ivanoff. Also in Best Achievement/Henry Gibbens for trailers to Mole Hunt and Gamers’ Challenge. Nominations are free, but there’s a $5 fee to actually vote if you’re not a member of the Convention: http://continuum.org.au/2012-chronos-awards-nominations-now-open/
February 10 2012
CARPET COURT LAUNCHES STORYBOOK CHALLENGE FOR SCHOOLS
Creative Net is pleased to announce a great new initiative it is supporting, launched by Carpet Court this month. Carpet Court’s Storybook Challenge is an inspiring new competition being run across participating stores to encourage more shared reading in classrooms across Australia and provide schools with fun educational tools. Creative Net is assisting by providing local authors to visit participating schools.
The Carpet Court Storybook Challenge is open now and giving primary schools located near participating Carpet Court stores the chance to win $1,000 in books and colourful reading mats for their classroom as well as individual book prizes.
Carpet Court’s National Marketing Manager, Natasha Gallardo, said the aim of launching the Storybook Challenge and partnering with CCN was to encourage children to get excited about reading and writing and develop wider learning and literacy skills.
“Encouraging a love of reading at a young age can dramatically improve a child’s confidence and ability to excel later in life. We hope that by providing sponsorship and support, we might make a difference to the next generation of Australians,” she said
From 1 February to 30 March the Carpet Court Storybook Challenge will be open to children from grades one to four at eligible schools in Victoria, WA, SA and Tasmania. Other states will get their chance to shine in terms two and three.
To enter, students must describe what they love most about their local community and provide an illustration. Kids can pick up an entry form for the Storybook Challenge from their local participating primary school, download one from www.facebook.com/CarpetCourt or email storybook@carpetcourt.com.au.
Eligible entries will be displayed on www.facebook.com/CarpetCourt where you can vote for your favourite to help pick the top five finalists for each state region.
Finalists will be judged by a panel at Carpet Court, including a successful children’s author, with winners for each participating store announced in April.
The Storybook Challenge is part of a wider community initiative called the Carpet Court Learning Network aimed at fostering literacy skills amongs Australia’s youth. Under this initiative, 2012 will see Carpet Court sponsor the Children’s Charity Network in support of their Young Australian Writing & Art Awards and book giving program Carpet Court Book Drop for Kids, while also running the Carpet Court Storybook Challenge and Carpet Court Flooring Grants program.
January 16, 2012
The Great Raven takes a liking to George Ivanoff's Gamers' Challenge: http://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2011/12/gamers-challenge-by-george-ivanoff.html
Ships in the Field, an immigration experience, gets a great review at Sue Bursztynski's blogspot: http://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2011/12/ships-in-field-by-susanne-gervay.html
December 26, 2011
Tania McCartney’s Riley and the Grumpy Wombat reviewed in Early Years: http://taniamccartney.blogspot.com/2011/12/grumpy-wombat-review-in-early-years.html. Tania is yet another Ford Street author to become an ambassador for the National Year of Reading: http://taniamccartney.blogspot.com/2011/12/national-year-of-reading-ambassador-for.html Congrats, Tania!
George Ivanoff gets interviewed on the Channel 31 program Level The interview is at the 13.30min mark: http://level3.org.au/post/862/
Paul Collins’s book Mole Hunt gets the best of praise on Phil Coss’s 2011 Top 4 books www.burnbright.com.au
1. Crash Deluxe by Marianne de Pierres, 2. Mole Hunt by Paul Collins, 3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 4. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein, 5. Dark Time -- Mortal Path by Dakota Banks.
Australia Day ambassador and author of Ships in the Field, Susanne Gervay, interviewed at: http://www.beautyandlace.com.au/bookgirl/author-interview-susanne-gervay/
Sue Bursztynski, author of Crime Time and Wolfborn, gets behind the speakers' agency, Creative Net: http://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2011/12/ford-street-creative-net.html
Rufus the Numbat makes it to India – in the hands of the NSW Premier!
Hazel Edwards on How Writers Write: 
