A new year and a new book, namely Running on the Roof of the World by Jess Butterworth. I downloaded the mandala colouring page available on Jess’s website, which mirrors the beginning of each chapter in the book and each book club member started their own as they arrived and have continued to colour over […]
February’s Author of the Month: Sharon Cohen
Where did you write The Starman and Me? I wrote The Starman and Me in different places. Most of the book was written at my desk at home where it’s quiet and I could be completely immersed in my story world. When I was visiting relatives, I sat at a little foldable table in the […]
Book Review Tips
Book reviews are an indispensable part of the literary world. For writers, they justify the hours they spend writing books. For publishers, they drive sales, and for young readers, reading reviews shape most of their book choices, whilst writing them gives them a voice. There is no perfect formula for a book review, but some […]
January’s Author of the Month: Guy Jones
Where did you write The Ice Garden? I like to find the perfect spot, with a comfortable chair, huge desk, and absolute peace and quiet. And then I discover that I can’t write a word. So, in fact, most of The Ice Garden was written on crowded trains, in coffee shops and on the first […]
December’s Author of the Month: Jess Butterworth
Where did you write Running on the Roof of the World? I began writing Running on the Roof of the World in Dharamshala in India, where the Dalai Lama and a Tibetan community in exile live. I would often take my notebook, or laptop, and sit on one of the giant boulders overlooking the valley […]
Book Club Blog: Second Instalment
The busy lives our pupils lead here at Cranleigh Prep School means that over the weeks my book club attendance has wavered due to swimming galas, school productions, illness, music exams etc. but I always seem to have a stalwart group of 12 pupils attending at any one time. This is actually more manageable than […]
Book Review Competition
It has been a busy month for The Awesome Book Awards. We had a huge response from teachers, librarians and pupils themselves to the short list – all overwhelmingly positive. Over 60 schools have already registered to take part in the awards, with most hoping to attend the Awards Ceremony in May 2019. Schools are […]
November’s Author of the Month: Vashti Hardy
Where did you write Brightstorm? Mostly at home on my laptop in any available space I could find (my house is busy with three teenagers!), also in the library on my lunch breaks from my other job in marketing. What inspired you to write your book? I’ve always loved stories of real life adventurers and […]
Book Club Blog
As the Librarian at Cranleigh Prep School I run an Awesome Book Awards Book Club once a week in my library and at present I have 17 members. This by no means excludes any other pupils who wish to shadow the awards and in fact I have 26 other pupils and 4 members of staff […]
October’s Author of the Month: Tamsin Winter
Where did you write Being Miss Nobody? I wrote it in various random places! Most of it was written after work at home in Leicestershire, usually staying up very late. I then moved to Dubai and continued working on it there. I edited most of it while I was staying in Italy. It probably sounds […]