[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-edinburgh-book-fest-2017":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Hey, Philip, is it time again for Edinburgh Book Fest???\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/edbookfest17_1_zps0abcb6eo-14740d8896.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI first met my co-author at this very same festival, back in 2010, and since we started working on books together in 2012, it has most definitely changed the course of my book career! For our joint event, we presented our fourth book together, \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.co.uk/jinks-o-hare-funfair-repair/\">Jinks & O'Hare Funfair Repair\u003C/a>\u003C/i> and got the audience up to help us with a whole variety show of activities. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/276116_original-191080a878.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI did a solo event, too! Here's my presenter, Ruth Collin, and the stage crew who helped make it all happen! (Shockingly, writer of \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/prince-of-pants/\">The Prince of Pants\u003C/a>\u003C/i>, Alan MacDonald, had been booked to do the week before with illustrator David Roberts. I'll only forgive him because he is David Roberts.)  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/276419_original-15a54a731a.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe audiences are the best part, and I was thrilled to meet this one who'd created her own special Pugs shirt! (She also helped us with the Hook-a-Duck and rolling the giant dice during the event.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/276654_original-341fe591f8.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\nHere's the big Authors' Yurt where most people hang out between events and catch up with everyone. The two people with headpieces play huge roles in running the festival: associate director \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RolandGulliver\">Roland Gulliver\u003C/a> and children's programmer \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/janet_smyth\">Janet Smyth\u003C/a>. The lady on the left is \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/lolashoneyin\">Lola Shoneyin\u003C/a>, director of \u003Ca href=\"http://bookbuzzfoundation.org/\">Book Buzz Foundation\u003C/a>, which helps get books to children and mentors writers and illustrators in Nigeria. She was there representing Book Buzz and Nigeria's \u003Ca href=\"http://akefestival.org/\">Ake Festival\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/276771_original-8ab5522830.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe festival did brilliantly this year, getting a record footfall of \u003Ca href=\"https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/news/edinburgh-international-book-festival-enjoys-another-extraordinary-successful-year\">250,000 people\u003C/a> in the festival village. There may be a whole huge arts festival and Fringe festival going on at the same time, but the Book Festival is a big deal! I took the train up with Stuart and we were both excited. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/277975_original-c2889472c5.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWe stayed at the Roxburghe Hotel, which had been refurbished since our last visit and was looking very swanky! I liked the little egg cosies at breakfast, and here are writer-illustrator team \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/cerrieburnell\">Cerrie Burnell\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Lillustrator\">Laura Ellen Anderson\u003C/a> dining \u003Ci>most elegantly\u003C/i>, ha ha. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/277237_original-cdba1d5f71.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhen we were tweeting photos of our room, we all realised we had exactly the same room, identical decor. So we played Telephone Tag on our matching red phones, as you do. (That's writer-illustrator \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/StevenLenton\">Steven Lenton\u003C/a> on the end.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/277336_original-aa4f94f6a7.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's my studio mate \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ElissaElwick\">Elissa Elwick\u003C/a>! She was doing several events, including some with her small-but-perfectly-formed co-author \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/PhilipArdagh\">Philip Ardagh\u003C/a>, talking about their Little Adventurers picture book series. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/278231_original-7740b62c4d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI got a peek at \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CressidaCowell\">Cressida Cowell\u003C/a>'s new book - lovely production values, so many pictures! - and got to see the big Ideas Book where she makes early sketches of what she'll be drawing inside. Cressida was BookTrust's Writer-Illustrator in Residence right before I was, and you can read blogs from both of us \u003Ca href=\"https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/writer-in-residence/#!?sortOption=MostRecent&pageNo=1\">over on their newly refurbished website\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/277649_original-b0ab2835fc.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere are two top Scottish lasses! Writer-illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://www.debiglioribooks.com/\">Debi Gliori\u003C/a> and writer \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Pamela_Butchart\">Pamela Butchart\u003C/a>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/278283_original-a819d713c6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nIllustrator \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ClareElsom\">Clare Elsom\u003C/a> left Edinburgh without getting to see the portrait official festival photographer \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/chrisclosephoto\">Chris Close\u003C/a> had shot of her, so I tweeted her a couple pics of it: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/278575_original-e21143424d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI got to wear my brand-new \u003Ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/esther.marfo.92\">Esther Marfo\u003C/a> dress! I'm very proud of the red sleeve lining, that's why you'll see me walking around with my hands up in the air.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/281484_original-ee984d57e5.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"sarah philip\">\\r\n\\r\nI went a bit mad pretending to be a portrait photographer and taking floaty pictures of everyone. Here are Laura and Cerrie again: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/281240_original-489e2636cc.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"lil cerrie\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd I got to meet OUP illustrator/storyboard artist/comic creator \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/splitwigs\">Sav Ayküz\u003C/a>, so we tried to look as literary as possible. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/279206_original-e6d5188087.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/278937_original-5df1a98a5c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOo, look, it's writer \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/gill_lewis\">Gill Lewis\u003C/a>! Did you know that she started out as a vet? That's why she's so knowledgeable when she writes animal stories. She let me take inspiring and uplifting pictures of her, too. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/279312_original-b3433d072f.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/279703_original-aca33a4752.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/279929_original-6d1cb6c637.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/280114_original-083714b0ea.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nMoving on swiftly... here's \u003Ci>Beetle Boy\u003C/i> \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MGLnrd\">M.G. Leonard\u003C/a> with Philip and her husband \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/samsparling78\">Sam Sparling\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/280521_original-94d74c3e6c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhat's this? Oh, it's just Philip standing around the Yurt with props. We needed the water for our event's duck pond. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/280690_original-583229d3eb.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhat's a literary festival without The Gruffalo illustrator \u003Ca href=\"https://axelscheffler.com/\">Axel Scheffler\u003C/a>? (I'd have taken a photo of \u003Ca href=\"http://www.juliadonaldson.co.uk/\">Julia Donaldson\u003C/a> and Malcolm, too, but they looked rather busy, buried under a pile of their grandchildren.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/280945_original-2d07ea06ab.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ci>Supertato\u003C/i> writer \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Hendra\">Sue Hendra\u003C/a>! And I'm dying to know the name of the guy on her right; I met him, but I'm rubbish with names and need help.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/281763_original-1e81bf3dbc.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"sue\">\\r\n\\r\nThere's Janet with \u003Ca href=\"http://www.vivianfrench.com/\">Vivian French\u003C/a>, another essential part of any Scottish book event! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/281998_original-096582432a.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"viv\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd there's Ardagh looking as short as possible next to writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.traceycorderoy.com/\">Tracey Corderoy\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/283050_original-c4cdb68e0e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHuge thanks to everyone who made this festival happen! Director \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/nickbarleyedin\">Nick Barley\u003C/a>, Janet, Roland... and here's our OUP publicist \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/hannahepenny\">Hannah Penney\u003C/a>! (Thanks for organising us, Hannah!)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/283264_original-b521b25042.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's the excellent Andrew Jamieson, who introduced our Jinks & O'Hare event, and Joely Badger who got our tech working right:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/282362_original-c8bace4509.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"presenters\">\\r\n\\r\nIt takes a big team to run this show! Thanks to everyone on staff! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/282395_original-f437bc1f22.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"team\">\\r\n\\r\nAnother terrific year, Edinburgh. xx\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/282745_original-b6522c5018.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"fireworks\">","2017-08-31T21:10:00.000Z","edinburgh-book-fest-2017",[],"edinburgh book fest 2017",1776628729171]