WHAT'S INSIDE:
Showtime, featuring Machiko (August 13, 2013) Here’s something. Good friend and fellow aut ... ☞
London Street Art (March 4, 2013) Since relocating to London, I’ve been repeat ... ☞
Excerpt (August 22, 2011) PRINCE PUGGLY OF SPUD: Excerpt ☂ Reviews Get the ... ☞
ZORGAMAZOO (July 6, 2011) Zorgamazoo is a novel about a brave young girl; a ... ☞
THE CREATURE DEPARTMENT (August 26, 2010) The Creature Department is the story of two childr ... ☞
All Writers Are Mystery Writers (September 12, 2011) On July 10, 2011, the New York Times Book Review p ... ☞
Behold! Gügor Speaks! (June 17, 2013) At the end of May, at Book Expo America 2013, peop ... ☞
Out Today: The Creature Department, GOBBLED BY GHORKS (November 13, 2014) NEWS! NEWS! Today is the day the sequel to The Cre ... ☞
- Grace A. Dow Library, Battle of the Books
on 11 November 2017 ( 11:00 )
Zorgamazoo—now en Français!
Excellent news everyone. At long, long last there has been a new translation of Zorgamazoo! As you might imagine, finding someone—anyone—to translate this book is harder than finding pearls of wisdom in a Trump-brand clam. But thanks to Rosalind Elland-Goldsmith, a brave and superbly talented translator, and the fearless souls at Editions du Seuil it has been done! And check out the cover by Roland Garrigue. How cute is this? Look at Morty with his little teeth! Look at Katrina with her oddly shaped noggin! Look at the strange beast hovering above them! What could that be?! It's a perfect blend of darkness and quirk—two of my favourite flavours. Many, many thanks to Rosalind and
The Liars League (or Reading Aloud for Grown-Ups)
Earlier this month, one of my short stories was featured at the Liars' League, a kind of live action literary journal. It's a monthly reading series where professional actors read new short fiction. This might seem like an obvious combination, akin to writing for the stage, but as far as I know the event is relatively unique (not counting other chapters of the League operating in other cities). On the night, I learned the idea for the Liars' League sprung from a somewhat dull reading, in which actors in that crowd were disappointed by the writers' renditions of their own work. They thought, why not let us give it a go? There is a certain (somewhat brutal) truth here—sometime
Dispatch from the Norwich Writers' Centre
My favourite quote about Norfolk comes from Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, Never Let Me Go. "The lost corner of England" he called it, referring to the fact that Norfolk is on the east coast, where the land juts out for France. It makes the city of Norwich slightly out of the way, just left of the major north-south routes linking southern England and Scotland. The implication is that travelling to Norwich requires an expressed reason to do so. Last month, I had quite a good one. I was invited to participate in a day of writing workshops and readings on writing for children at the rather gorgeous Norwich Writers' Centre. The lineup was as eclectic as a selection of books for young people.
Happy Loving Day!
It will always strike me as odd to think that if were I born a few years earlier, my whole existence would be illegal in many parts the U.S. Until the summer of 1967, sixteen America states still had laws prohibiting human beings of difference "races" from getting married and having children together. The law was struck down as unconstitutional on June 12 of that year, in the now famous Loving versus Virginia, in which Mildred and Richard Loving fought for the right to fall in love with, marry and reproduce with a person of their choosing. The Lovings were married in 1958 in Washington, D.C.—where interracial marriage was legal at the time—but were arrested upon returningÂ
What I'm Looking Forward To in 2016
To whom it may concern (i.e. anyone who experiences the passage of time): Happy New Year! With some welcome holiday downtime, Machiko and I celebrated with some baking (and punning). Our logic went like this: In Western Europe, the winter holidays have a strong association with gingerbread. In Japan, the biggest celebration in December is New Years, when most people make a visit to their local Shinto shrine. The Japanese word for shrine is "jinja" (神社). Jinja...ginger...see what we did there? It's looks like this: 2016 ought to be an eventful and interesting year. Here're some things I'm looking forward to. January: Electronic Superhighway is an art exhibition at the