From the perils of online chat rooms, doping in sport, racism and terrorism, to gender and self-esteem issues, love, life and death—Stories from The Edge isn't afraid to ask some big questions.
Sometimes frightening, often funny, always brutally honest, these stories will take you to where the shadows are darkest and the ground drops away.
The question is . . . are you prepared to look over the edge?
“The short story is a very powerful weapon in the hands of a librarian or teacher . . . I guarantee that these stories will leave readers gasping for more. But most importantly they will get teen readers thinking and talking.” — Joy Court, Chair: CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals; Reviews Editor: The School Librarian
Discussion Guides for exploring each of the stories with students are available as a FREE PDF downloads. Click the links below to download the guides.
There is a saying that you should never judge a book by its cover, but I suspect it's something we all do. What's on the jacket has a huge impact on how many potential readers will pick a book off the shelf, (or click for more information). While I own many books with artwork I don't particularly like, I'm fairly certain I would never have picked them up, had I not already been a fan of the author. It makes me wonder how many great stories I've ignored because the cover didn't grab me.
I've spoken to school librarians who offer students "book blind dates"—covering the jackets with brown paper, so the reader has no preconceptions or prejudice against what might be inside. It sounds like a great idea, and places focus back on the content, rather than the smoke and mirrors of packaging and marketing hype!
I recently received the cover roughs for my next young adult novel (due out next year). I was delighted—the artwork perfectly captured the mood of the story, and had the right balance of intrigue and information. I'm afraid I can't share it with you just yet—the book itself is still in progress! Instead, I thought I'd put together a top ten of favourite covers from my bookshelves.
Simple eye-catching design that captures the essence of the story.
Humans are drawn to faces. The eyes in this seek you out across the bookshop. Brilliant.
The spoof diary cover has been popular. I think this one works really well.
The book is filled with atmosphere and a great sense of time and location. This cover captures it perfectly.
Dated by the furniture perhaps, but I like the way the kids look like real kids, unlike the airbrushed models appearing on many current young adult novels.
Another retro cover, but one of my favourites. Eye-catching, and sums up the mood and subject of the story.
A classic cover for a classic adventure story.
Great piece of design this, plus there's something about maps and pins that screams adventure!
A great cover for a brilliant book. The point where all the elements meet and cut the lizard in two draws your eye.
I love the simplicity of this. Exactly the right shade of yellow too.
It would be interesting to hear your thoughts, so please do leave a comment below.
Dave Cousins writes books for children and young adults. For more information, you can find him on the web at www.davecousins.net
Welcome to Part Two of the EDGE WRITING TIPS series. Each week, a different Edge author will be sharing a few nuggets of writing wisdom. We hope you find them useful! This week, Dave Cousins shares his tips for 15 ways to write a story …
If you would like a copy of 15 Ways to Write a Story! for your own reference, or to use with students, the file can be downloaded for FREE as a Powerpoint or multi-page PDF here.
If you have any specific writing questions, let us know in the comments below and one of us will get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks and happy word wrangling!
Books are important—they teach us empathy, make us think and question, help us navigate our way through life—they’re also a lot of fun, which is why I'm a big supporter of World Book Day.
Last week on the roads and railways, you could hardly move for authors, illustrators, poets and storytellers on their way to schools for World Book Day events—David Walliams even took to the air to avoid the congestion!
My own World Book Day tour started on Monday with a 5am start. Seven days and nineteen presentations to over 1500 young people later, I'll admit I’m a wee bit tired and my voice is a little more croaky than usual, but it was worth it.
Some wonderful displays in the library at Montsaye Academy! (Thanks to Lisa Shaw)
With schools being increasingly forced to focus on exam results and league tables, I worry that reading for pleasure will be marginalised, despite the important role it plays in a young person's development. The perilous state of our library service, both public and in schools, is a worrying indication of the low value attributed to books by those currently in power. In this climate, World Book Day feels like a festival of defiance—an excited, noisy, costumed parade—a demonstration of just how important stories are. Visiting schools this week, seeing the work staff have put into World Book Day celebrations and the enthusiasm of the students, proves that not everything of value can be tested and entered onto a balance sheet. But don’t take my word for it, here are a few photos and some feedback about World Book Day that I received from staff and students at the schools I visited:
Acting out a story at Bishop Stopford School (photo: Hilary Sutton)
“Seeing 200 faces rapt, involved and amused … was a joy. Introducing them to new books in such a lively manner will undoubtedly lead to more reading enjoyment.” —Hilary Sutton, Librarian, Bishop Stopford School
“I’m so excited I could burst!” — Year 7 student, Bishop Stopford School (I have to admit, that one is my favourite!)
Discussing comics and graphic novels with students at Parmiter's School (Thanks to Angus for the photo)
“World Book Day is an incredibly important time for school libraries, as it's the perfect opportunity to promote everything that's great about books and reading for pleasure. At Parmiter's we embrace it wholeheartedly by putting on a week's worth of activities for all year groups. From author talks and signings to books sales and competitions, the world is your oyster! We look forward to planning something new every year.” — Nicola Davison, LRC Assistant, Parmiter’s School
Developing ideas during a writing workshop at Skinners' Academy (Thanks to Skinners' Academy for the photo)
"They were so inspired that we sold out of books and have had to buy many more copies for the library." —Susannah Phillips, Librarian, Skinners’ Academy
I would like to thank all of the staff and students at Holloway School, Parmiter's School, Bishop Stopford School, Skinners’ Academy, Littleover Community School, Ashcroft Academy and Montsaye Academy for their hospitality, enthusiasm and inspiration! Thanks also to booksellers Brenda and Terrie, with help from Zoe and Mia at Parmiter's, and Stuart Cleaver from Quinn's Bookshop at Montsaye.
Finally, if you haven't already done so, please check out the World Book Day Teen Fest website which has loads of exclusive author videos, playlists and blog posts to keep the festival going!
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Dave Cousins is the author of a number of award-winning books for children and young adults. Visit www.davecousins.net for more information.
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.
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.
Why pick up a book? I mean, there are so many other things you could be doing: watching TV, hanging out with your mates, playing a game, tweeting, texting, sharing pictures on Instagram, surfing YouTube … Why switch off all that multicoloured, moving, bleeping, tweeting interactive fun and sit down quietly with a book?
Tricky one that. It’s a question parents, teachers, librarians, book-sellers, writers and publishers have been wrestling with for years.
One of the tenets of writing is “SHOW, don’t TELL” and that could also apply in this case. When I visit schools, I try to avoid telling young people that they SHOULD be reading. Sure, I’ll explain how important books have been to me, share my enthusiasm for some of my favourites, but then I read something—SHOW them what I mean—in the hope they’ll be inspired to give books another go themselves.
The programme of literature festivals and events offered by London'sPop Up organisation takes this idea even further. Pop Up Director Dylan Calder explains: “The children read a book, meet the author of the book, then experience a workshop around that book to create creative responses.”
Earlier in the year, I took part in a number of Pop Up Booklinks events. When I arrived at the schools, the entire class had already read 15 Days Without a Head and produced work based on the story, including hot-seating, where students would take it in turns to interview each other as one of the characters. The teachers said the pupils’ enthusiasm for the project was evident in the way they had approached the tasks and the quality of work produced. The video below shows a small sample of film posters students produced having been tasked with casting and promoting a movie of the book.
The fact that pupils know they are going to be meeting the author creates an extra dimension to their reading experience and associated work. The opportunity to both question the author, and share their own responses, brings them closer to the book and makes reading a much more inclusive process. Working with the author on the students’ own creative project further breaks down barriers between reader and creator, and provides an important channel for self-expression.
My overriding impression from the classrooms I visited was one of great enthusiasm. Dylan Calder sums it up perfectly: “Children should come away from Pop Up wanting to read more because they had such a great experience.” Maybe that answers our question.
If you’d like a Pop Up Education programme in your learning community email: education@pop-up.org.uk
Below are links to a couple of short films showcasing recent Pop Up events in June 2013, run in partnership with London museums and galleries.
Waiting for Gonzo by Dave Cousins is out now in paperback, audiobook and kindle, published by Oxford University Press. A soundtrack of original music inspired by the book is also available. To find out more, please visit davecousins.net.
On Thursday three-eighths of the Edge were at Blackheath Bluecoat School. Sara, Katie and Dave had a great afternoon with Year Ten students talking about how and why they write, what's involved in getting a book published, as well as sharing a few secrets about what they did before they were authors.
Here are a few pictures from the event …
Edge Authors Katie Dale, Sara Grant and Dave Cousins
Dave introduces The Silver Skull of Silence …
There were lots of great questions from the Year Ten audience and staff …
… some of which had our panel momentarily lost for words!
Lynn and Caroline next to the gallery of librarian portraits produced by the students
A huge thanks to all the staff and students at the school for making our Edge authors so welcome, especially Caroline and Lynn in the library.
(Additional thanks to Caroline for taking the photos)
Edge author Dave Cousins on the curious incident of the dog in the locker. A couple of weeks ago I read an article about a student in an American high school, running a library of banned books from her locker. What started as a small act of rebellion against censorship, turned into something much more significant and interesting, when she discovered that her classmates wanted to borrow and read the books because they had been told they shouldn’t.
“Before I started (the library), almost no kid at school but myself took an active interest in reading! Now not only are all the kids reading the banned books, but go out of their way to read anything they can get their hands on. So I’m doing a good thing, right? ”
A few days later I read in the press about the cancellation of an appearance by award winning children’s author, Meg Rosoff, at an independent school in Bath. Having somewhat belatedly realised that the novel she would be talking about, There Is No Dog, explored the idea of God as a nineteen year old boy, the school felt that inviting Rosoff to speak would not be an appropriate reflection of their Christian ethos.
The discussions that followed this news, both publicly and amongst friends and fellow writers were passionate and wide ranging in opinions. As far as I was concerned this reaction served as a perfect illustration as to why young people should be encouraged to read and discuss books such as There Is No Dog, precisely because they are thought provoking and stimulate debate.
In an interview on Radio 4’s Open Book programme some weeks before her event was pulled, Meg Rosoff said that her intention when writing the book had been to simply pose questions that would make readers realise that somebody else was thinking about these issues. And that she believed it was part of the writers job “to look at the dark questions of life.”
I don’t wish to enter into a specific debate about There Is No Dog, or the school’s decision to cancel Meg Rosoff's visit. I would like to suggest however, that books tackling some of these “dark questions” provide an excellent opportunity for schools to engage students in informed debate. Hiding away from an issue or a difficult question won’t make it go away. Ignorance, fear and prejudice will merely continue as a result. Whereas a generation of young people who read widely, and are encouraged to explore different viewpoints and ideas, will surely be better equipped to shape our world in future.
A final thought. The library in the locker clearly showed that young people like to read what they’ve been told not to. The question is – how can we stimulate similar interest in books that haven’t been banned? Your thoughts on this would be most welcome.
