Something's Coming From the Edge...

Over the last year the Edge authors have been working on a very exciting idea! 

It was an idea that grabbed us all. It made us think about writing in a different form, a form that might be interesting and exciting for us as well as teen readers, young adult readers, schools, libraries, and pretty much anyone who loves to read teen or young adult fiction.

We've almost reached the final stages of taking the original idea and developing it into something new and different.

Things we can tell you now:
There will be books!
There will be events!
There will be EIGHT stories!

But keep it under your hat for now.

Much more will be revealed later, so stay tuned...

The "Classical" Way to Promote Literacy?

Edge author Katie Dale questions whether cheap classic novels are really the best way to promote literacy.

This week I was thrilled and delighted to be invited to open the new library at a local primary school. At a time when many public libraries are closing, and school budgets are tightening, this was particular cause for celebration. The love of reading at the school was evident, with murals of pupils’ favourite book covers adorning the school walls, and nearly every child  raised their hand enthusiastically when asked who enjoyed reading, scrambling to tell me what their favourite book was – titles that ranged from The Hobbit to The Gruffalo.

School libraries have also been in the news this week, with Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, declaring her determination to improve pupils’ literacy. This is an important issue, especially as “evidence shows that children who develop strong reading skills early on are more likely to succeed at school, achieve good qualifications and go on to succeed in their adult lives and the world of work.”

However, part of her strategy is that “every secondary school

should have sets of a wide range of classics so that whole classes can enjoy them together – books I loved as a teenager by authors like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens or Emily Bronte” and she’s calling on publishers to give collections of classics to schools at a reduced cost.
Whilst cheap books for schools – whose budgets are ever-tightening  – is always a great idea, I have to wonder whether this focus on the classics is really the most effective way to promote literacy? Or whether it might actually backfire?

Classic novels, whilst wonderful, aren’t the easiest or most accessible texts for reluctant or struggling readers, and even the way that they’re deemed  “good for you” – and the fact that they’re on the national curriculum – can be an instant turn-off to teenagers.  I’ve always loved reading, but remember long hours struggling to plough through dense, dry, set-text classics as a teenager – and the relief of diving into a fast-paced contemporary book at the weekends, which I devoured by the shelf-full. But many of my friends were put off reading for pleasure, and now, in the age of social media, video games, the internet, and smart phones, reading as a pastime is struggling to compete more than ever before.

Consequently, does it really matter what books kids are reading, as long as they are enjoying reading? Nicky Morgan cites the classics as the books she loved when she was young, but I’m not sure how many modern teens would really put them at the top of their list of books to read for pleasure, and surely this is the true key to improving literacy? If a book is accessible, enjoyable, funny, exciting, fast-paced and relatable, won’t teens be more likely to read all the way to the end and, more importantly, pick up another book afterwards? In which case, might a mixture of popular contemporary titles - including graphic novels - be more successful, at least in the first instance?

After all, as most teens these days have smart phones, the classics are already available free of charge – as ebooks.

Katie Dale is the award-winning author of YA titles SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE and LITTLE WHITE LIES 
Simon & Schuster UK
Delacorte Press USA & Canada

www.katiedaleuk.blogspot.com

WRITING TIPS – PART 7 FROM EDGE WRITER SAVITA KALHAN

For the past six weeks the Edge Writers have been sharing their writing tips. Here’s a brief run-down, but to get the full benefit of their wisdom, check out their blogs here on The Edge:



Bryony Pearce – Go be a DORK – as in Day-dream, Observe, Read, and Query, and most importantly to then Write.

Dave Cousins – Amongst his fifteen amazing writing tips, one of the most important is to ENJOY what you’re writing.

Katie Dale – People watch, listen, carry a notebook, enter writing competitions, and READ, READ, READ.




Miriam Halahmy – When you’re drained, take a complete break and do no writing at all until you’ve recharged your batteries. It’s a risk well worth taking.






Paula Rawsthorne - My tip would be to gather tips and ‘rules’ from the various writers that you admire (and some you don’t) and then see what works for you.




Sara Grant - My top writing tip – Buy LOTS AND LOTS of great books – and study them! The only creative writing teachers you will ever need are on bookstore and library shelves.






And now it’s my turn to share mine. Last year I blogged about Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley. “Nobody asked you to write that novel.” These words were said to her by a friend and they resonated with her in a way that they resonate with many writers, and have done so for me.



Writing is such a close and personal encounter with your imagination that to lay it out in the open for others to read, criticise, and, hopefully, enjoy is a major deal. But that’s what writers do. So bearing that in mind, I have only two writing tips to add to all the other great tips from the Edge authors.


Enjoy the process of writing regardless of the rewards. Don’t think about whether those rewards might involve getting a publishing contract, winning awards, receiving accolades, getting big advances, because you may be in for troubling times. The writing process itself can be hard work, all the more harder if you’re not enjoying what you’re writing, trying to write or rewriting for the seventh time!

Be patient and persevere. Being a writer also means being in for the long haul. The publishing industry is nothing if not slow and long-winded. Nothing happens today or tomorrow; nothing happens without several people in a publishing department being totally committed to your book, and then they have to get it past several other people in other departments such as Sales and Marketing. So bide your time and don't ever give up.

We hope you’ve all enjoyed our WRITING TIPS series. Please do come back to us if you have any questions or leave us your thoughts in the comments section below. 

HAPPY WRITING FROM THE EDGE!

 

 

EDGE NEWS: The EDGE at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School—Report

Edge authors Katie Dale, Keren David, Sara Grant and Dave Cousins recently visited Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in London for an afternoon of events. Here's a report on the day from the EGA Newsletter (30/01/15). Thanks to Lesley Cheetham and all the schools and students involved.

If you would be interested in holding an EDGE event at your school or library, please let us know.
Email: edgewriters@yahoo.co.uk for more information.

EDGE NEWS: School Events Update

On Wednesday 21 Jan 2015, Edge authors Katie Dale, Keren David, Sara Grant and Dave Cousins will be at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in North London, for an afternoon of panel events and writing workshops. Students from three nearby schools have been invited to join pupils from EGA, with Pea Green Boat Books on hand to sell books. 

If you'd like to host an Edge event at your school or library, please email edgewriters@yahoo.co.uk for more information.

Kids' Lit Quiz 2014!

The 2014 Kids’ Lit Quiz is in full swing!

The International Kids' Lit Quiz, founded by New Zealand quizmaster Wayne Mills, is an annual book competition for kids aged 10-13 to promote and celebrate the love of reading. Each school can enter up to two teams of four pupils, and there are 18 regional heats in the UK, then the winning team from each heat competes in a National Final, held this year at King’s College School, Wimbledon on December 4th! 

The Author Team! Adele Geras, Chris Priestley, Mark Robson,
Julian Sedgwick, and me - doing my best to blend in with the surroundings!

The national champions will then be invited to America to compete against the winning teams from New Zealand, China, South Africa, USA, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong.for the World Title - as well as enjoying an amazing tour, including visiting Mark Twain’s house and building rafts!

Last week I had the honour of being invited to Comberton Village College to take part in an Author Team. I was extremely excited – and more than a little nervous, as we were up against the top school teams from Central England! – but fortunately I wasn’t alone. I was joined by Mark Robson, Adele Geras, Julien Sedgwick and Chris Priestley.

Do you know what this symbol represents?

The heat consisted of 110 questions on children's literature, divided into 11 categories, which vary each year. This year the categories included mythology, symbols, shipwrecks, wolves, owls, and – my favourite – princes and princesses! In addition to normal scoring, each team could choose a “Joker” round before the quiz began, choosing one category in which their scores would be doubled (after much deliberation – we weren’t sure we’d be particularly good at ANY of them! – we chose Symbols).

Quiz creator, Wayne Mills

Then it was on with the quiz! Devised, orchestrated, and run by the enthusiastic larger-than-life top-hatted Wayne Mills, the questions varied enormously. Wayne reads enough books to devise several thousand questions each year - and has never asked the same question twice! Some of the questions were really quite tough, but they were varied enough for everyone to have a go, and we all found we had different areas of expertise (if you can call knowing the two princesses’ names from Frozen an area of expertise – I totally do!)

Fancy testing your knowledge? Here are some sample questions:

 

1) How many players in a Quidditch team?

2) What is special about this sentence: Never odd or even?

3) What type of creature was a Psammead?

4) What followed Mary to school one day?

5) Annabeth is the daughter of which Greek goddess?

How did you do? Answer in the Comments section below - if you can!

Between rounds, bonus questions were asked, giving the opportunity to win book tokens, whilst the winning team from each individual round won a book each, donated by sponsoring publishers, Walker Books.

The tension was palpable as the teams put their heads together, racked their brains, whispered fervently, debated, fought, and finally scribbled their answers furiously...and that was just the authors!

It was tight at the top, with incredibly high scores, but finally last year's top team defended their title with Jack, Callum, Erin and Anastasia all from Comberton Village College delighted to be going through to the London final again. In second place was Aylesbury Grammar School and in third was Queenswood School.

But the real winners of the day were books themselves. What an ingenious, fun, and exciting way to champion a love of reading. Many thanks to Wayne, Jane Hack, and all who organised the event.

For details of how to enter next year's Kids' Lit Quiz, click here.

At Night on the Edge with the Youth Libraries Group at Foyles Bookshop

Last night, six Edge authors joined members of the Youth Libraries Group at Foyles bookshop in London, for an evening of flash readings, panel debate and breakout sessions to explore the edges of teen and young adult fiction. 

Here are some of the highlights.

The iconic Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road

A frenzy of activity preparing the gift bags

Foyles rock – literally!

Foyles Gallery – ready and waiting

Our guests add their thoughts to the Edge Graffiti Wall

The audience weren't expecting …

YLG's Matt Imrie to start the evening off with a song!

All too much for Miriam, but Bryony enjoyed it.

Waiting to see what would happen next.

Whatever it was, Sara and Katie enjoyed it …

Video evidence of Matt's musical intro …

Thanks to Neil, Emily and Helen at Foyles, for hosting the event and to Matt Imrie at YLG for making the idea a reality. Much appreciation also to our publishers for their generous support – shout-outs to Orion, Egmont, Oxford University Press, Simon & Schuster, Usborne, Meadowside and Andersen.

Finally, huge thanks to everyone who battled through the downpour to attend – it would have been a very quiet night without you.