Archive for the ‘appearances’ Category

Posted on March 13, 2010 - by MG

The ZERO MOMENT blog tour

Here is the list of articles in the ZERO MOMENT blog tour which ran throughout May 2010, along with the kind blogs run by friends of mine who have kindly agreed to host a rant, ramble, book review or intelexshull think-piece.

Z is for Zany Orange Puffles and social networking sites for children here at mgharris.net

E is for Elektra Assassin – the baddest comic book grrl ever at bookzone4boys.blogspot.com

R is for Richmal Crompton and the genius of Just William at bartsbookshelf.co.uk

O is for Om nom nom – the nommity meme at chicklish.co.uk

M is for Mayan myths in popular culture (2012 and all that) at scribblecitycentral.blogspot.com

O is for One Hundred Years Of Solitude – a bluffers guide at viewfromheremagazine.co

M is for Motivating your characters – the secret to success? here at mgharris.net

E is for Everything I Know About Plotting I Learned From Aristotle at myfavouritebooks.blogspot.co

N is for Numbers in the Dark by Italo Calvino – a short story collection review at nextread.co.u

T is for Ten Things That Helped me Get Published at howpublishingreallyworks.com

Posted on March 6, 2010 - by MG

World Book Week Diary

Last year, we launched ICE SHOCK on World Book Day, at St Gregory the Great School in Oxford. This year I set off to do a mini-tour of schools in the South of England.

World Book Day is the one thing guaranteed to get us lazy authors out of bed early. Even Robert Muchamore tweeted in (mock) anguish “School event in High Wycombe tomorrow. I’ve got to get up at 7am. The HORROR!”

Started off at D’Overbroecks College in Oxford, speaking to the sixth-form English Lit and Communication& Culture students. After spending the afternoon tailoring my author presentation to their sophisticated 6th form ears, I accidentally ran the normal Powerpoint. Somehow we still ended up talking about Aristotle.

The next day, a launch party at Blackwell’s Oxford for my friend Tim Pears’s new novel, Landed, which has already had bags of terrific reviews.

For the last part of the week it was on to Canterbury and then Worcester to visit two more schools. Lots of fun at Simon Langton Grammar in Canterbury talking to hundreds of boys about Joshua Files. And a special privilege of spending time with the school’s writer’s group, including three young men who’ve written a 108,000 word dark fantasy novel. Very impressive INDEED.

At Christopher Whitehead Language College in Worcester I hung out over lunch with the student librarians and we talked about how to construct a story. Brilliant suggestions from the kids who created a thrilling storyline for a supernatural adventure about a girl who has to rescue her mother…from Hell!

A special thanks to the kids who patiently posed with me for the photographer from the Worcester Gazette!

And to the wonderful librarians Teresa (Simon Langton Grammar, Canterbury) and Liane and Clare (Christopher Whitehead, Worcester) for all their work to encourage and develop readers and for inviting me to your schools!

Finally, a big thanks to the lovely Punjabi students that I met on the train to Canterbury. I left my coat-belt on the train, after enjoying a nice chat with the boys. On the train back to London at the end of the day, the guys were there again. When they heard I’d lost my belt, one of them insisted on giving me his. Then spent the rest of the trip determinedly making a hole in the thick leather so that it would fit me. Thank goodness for the belt or I’d have frozen solid on the walk home!

Best question of the week: Is fiction getting too ‘fast’ and are we losing something valuable in the drive to make story openings vault us directly into action.

Posted on February 27, 2010 - by MG

Castaway!

With lovely Sylvia Vetta in the Summertown Wine Cafe.

I first met Sylvia last year at an event I did for the Oxford Literary Festival Fringe, a writer’s workshop at Blackwells (where most of the lit fest fringe events run). Sylvia is a local journalist and the former owner of The Jam Factory, an antiques centre that had cult status in Oxford for most of my years here, but which closed a few years ago when the neighbourhood was yuppified.

Sylvia writes the monthly ‘Castaway’ article in the Oxford Times limited edition magazine, a glossy special. She interviews local authors, artists, businesspeople, academics etc, through questioning them about their favourite art, antiquarian books and antiques.

And in June, Sylvia’s article will feature me!

I don’t think of myself as an art lover, or collector of antiques etc. Frankly I’m too broke, what with the exorbitant cost of visiting all the foreign lands to research Joshua, as well as my exotically foreign family. (I’m referring to the ones who live in Australia and Switzerland by choice, not the Mexicans…)

Luckily Sylvia allows you any object you desire, since it’s mere fantasy. Even the Elgin Marbles, if I wanted them, hah take that, British Museum! In fact, I did lust after one object in the BM…

When the article is published I’ll let you know. The interview, which we did in the Summertown Wine cafe, is accompanied by images from a photoshoot that is yet to be arranged. I’ve asked to be photographed in an huge leather-upholstered Jakobsen Egg chair in St Catz, reading an Uncle Scrooge McDuck comic.

MG Harris at the Kennington Free Literary festival

If you’re Oxfordshire-based and would like the chance to see me or other local authors talk in a mini literary festival, Sylvia also runs the Kennington Free Literary festival in Kennington, Oxon, on Saturday 24th April. Tickets are free, with a £2 booking charge if you want to guarantee a seat. But even booking is free for children – so come on down to listen to the MG Harris author talk!

Booking form for Kennington Free Literary festival.

Full colour brochure for Kenningtom Free Literary festival.

Posted on December 11, 2009 - by MG

The Big ZERO MOMENT Signing

What an amazing few weeks.
There was the British Museum gig, which will rank as one of the highlights of my authorly life, I’m sure. Then my TV interview with LJ Rich of BBC TV’s Click - I’ll do a dedicated post about that once I’ve edited the little video I made of LJ and I, and LJ bumping into her long-lost pal Barney Harwood (of BBC Radio 4′s late, lamented go4it).
There were also a couple of lovely meetings with Team Joshua to discuss all the fun we can have telling everyone about ZERO MOMENT when it comes out in Feb 2010.
Finally a couple of days ago, members of Scholastic Children’s Book’s Team Joshua (and a few kind extras from SCB) came along to Bookmarque printers to help me sign the entire, limited edition neon-sleeved run of the UK edition of THE JOSHUA FILES: ZERO MOMENT.
That’s 4700 copies ONLY! So be sure to snap one up from Feb 1 2010!
We also had the great excitement of watching the brand new green paperback edition of ZERO MOMENT being bound. My book on the production line! Seriously cool.
Oh yes and…I have a couple of brand new copies of ZM to give away as prizes.
Hmmm. What task shall I set? Comment and suggest!

Posted on November 23, 2009 - by MG

A Night in the British Museum

Those lucky Young Friends of the British Museum get the bonus treat of being allowed to attend up to 4 sleeppvers a year. Last weekend was a special Moctezuma-themed event, featuring storytelling about the Mexican Day of the Dead, warrior head-dress making, Mexican folklore from Mexicolore…and then some Mayan hieroglyph deciphering with me.

Meanwhile publicist Alex from Scholastic and I enjoyed being set free in the British Museum at night. We saw some strange stuff up in the Mesopotamian gallery, near the remains of the Temple of Ninhursag… but I won’t say any more.

What a great wheeze though! Picnic and sleep amongst one of the greatest (perhaps THE greatest) collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts outside of Cairo. All this an education too.

Thanks to Claire Johnstone from the British Museum for inviting me, to Sky and Alex for helping with all four events, and to the very kind Simon Martin of Penn Museum for giving us his translation of the inscription.