[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-islay-book-festival-2019":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Last week Reeve & McIntyre were in the Hebrides for \u003Ca href=\"https://www.islaybookfestival.co.uk/\">Islay Book Festival\u003C/a>!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/801074_original-2c01d95725.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n...In fact, all the Reeve family and most of the McIntyres were there, too! Highlights include my dad getting his beloved kippers for breakfast, and Glasgow Auntie giving our guesthouse hens a cuddle. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/800498_original-8e71d3a20c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\nWe had some new books out! My picture book, \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/grumpycorn/\">Grumpycorn\u003C/a>\u003C/i>, the second installment in our Roly-Poly Flying Pony series, \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/kevins-great-escape/\">Kevin's Great Escape\u003C/a>\u003C/i>, and Philip Reeve's \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.philip-reeve.com/railhead/\">Railhead\u003C/a>\u003C/i> trilogy (that's the first book, with Edinburgh-based Ian McQue's lovely cover). Thanks to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.theceltichouse.co.uk/\">The Celtic House\u003C/a> bookshop/boutique/cakehouse in Bowmore for stocking books for our events! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/802251_original-7ac0164030.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nFor our first festival-organised school visit, we visited \u003Cb>Port Charlotte Primary School\u003C/b>. Check out this fabulous display they made! Their teacher had led them in writing brand-new stories and drawing pictures inspired by our book \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/the-legend-of-kevin/\">The Legend of Kevin\u003C/a>\u003C/i>:  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/792024_original-fe039dd509.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/790890_original-e3ccba0c58.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/791091_original-2a8ff64bb0.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/791476_original-ae5e51a37e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/791566_original-c41dcfbbfa.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI led a picture book session with Year 1-3, where I showed them how to design a Grumpycorn-inspired book cover. Meet \\r\nclever spin-offs Icedlollycorn, Fish Finger and Chipscorn and Sausagecorn! (But I prefer his spelling.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/792302_original-6a5a4e4ee0.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWe also did a Legend of Kevin event, but sadly I was too busy to manage to take any photos. A group from \u003Cb>Keills Primary\u003C/b> were able to come along, too, and I really enjoyed meeting the students individually during the signing session and having chats with them.  \\r\n\\r\nOur next stop was \u003Cb>Port Ellen Primary School\u003C/b>, where we also drew Grumpycorn-inspired book covers! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/794256_original-69e6e1835e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/794538_original-238d9fbfbd.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's a lovely drawing from our Reeve & McIntyre session with the upper primary, and a picture of journalist \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AngusM1966\">Angus MacKinnon\u003C/a>, who drove us between schools and did a great job organising our books signing sessions. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/794695_original-0b4afbd261.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBack that night in Bowmore, I spent some time mending Kevin's broken wing, as he'd taken rather a beating during the events, demonstrating the bit in the story where he arrives on a boy's balcony with a broken wing. (It was all rather meta, poor Kevin. He's all stitched up now.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/797349_original-65790cdc04.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\u003Cfont size=\"1\">\u003Ci>Kevin plushie created by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/chloe_applin\">Chloe Applin\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nThe next morning, we were off to \u003Cb>Bowmore Primary School\u003C/b>, for more enthusiastic Kevinning! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/794999_original-9fd828c1b9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHorses can be quite tricky to draw, but I actually get quite inspired by seeing the children's variation on my drawings. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/795245_original-efd4b539bf.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd then we went to \u003Cb>Islay High School\u003C/b> and made comics.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/795495_original-621f2b8286.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere are a couple Comic Jams that Philip and I did, taking turns on each panel: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/796566_original-cca7598c3e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/796789_original-feaacd80ff.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nSea monkeys are lots of fun to draw (I once did a \u003Ca href=\"https://youtu.be/KB_h2VpFFUI\">TEDx talk\u003C/a> where I showed a bunch of scientists at the end how to draw Sea Monkeys, if you want to watch.) And here's Philip signing a copy of \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.philip-reeve.com/books/\">The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines\u003C/a>\u003C/i>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/797023_original-87ed3bd11c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe following day I had a big public \u003Ci>Grumpycorn\u003C/i> festival event! I got to see Edinburgh-based writer-illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://www.moraghood.co.uk/\">Morag Hood\u003C/a>, who'd led a session for very little ones just before my event: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/797520_original-53f827e46e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd once again we drew unicorns! (Unicorns are very popular on Islay, I discovered.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/798132_original-04878d56fb.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/798247_original-53126a5420.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/798591_original-824b5deae2.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\\\r\n\\r\nIt was fun (and kind of funny) having my parents along to several of my events! They live way off in Seattle, so they almost never see me doing things on stage. When \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NextEditionIsla\">Isla Rosser-Owen\u003C/a> invited us out for the festival, I asked if I could bring my family; she readily agreed to it, so my parents booked a cottage for three weeks! The visit turned into a wonderful family reunion kind of thing, with aunt and cousins dropping in. So, thank you for inviting us, Isla! And thank you for organising everything and making sure we were looked after so well. Here are my parents with Isla and her sister, Mariam Rosser-Owen.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/797863_original-7c2b32601d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nMy parents had a lot of fun going to other festival events, but Philip and I were so busy that we only managed one, the \u003Cb>Lurabus Walk\u003C/b> with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AngusM1966\">Angus MacKinnon\u003C/a> and his partner \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/tissysn\">Tissy Northcote\u003C/a>, who run the \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/IslayBeachHouse\">Islay Beach Cottage\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/798963_original-29d9518a4a.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nMy dad grew up on Islay, and we all met up for the walk right next to the lovely cemetary where my great-grandparents are buried:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/799136_original-2e5039c8ae.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAngus took us along by the lighthouse...\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/799286_original-eda8bb8657.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n...and then to the beach that only the day before, Ian Rankin had pronounced his new favourite beach. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/799598_original-0b268bf0a9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThen Tissy met us at the top of the hill with hot drinks and our roly-poly flying pony's favourite biscuits! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/799832_original-8d3a25ea52.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhile I was on Islay, a lot of children did a lot of drawing, but I managed to fit in some drawing, too: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/800554_original-632758e3ef.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThis drawing features the lovely hat I bought at the Islay Woollen Mill:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/804143_original-505beefc02.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe owner of our guest house had asked if I would draw something on his walls, so here it is, a ship full of sheep: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/800804_original-38655fdfe9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's the shop in Bridgend, where my dad grew up. (He went to Newton House School, but it's not there anymore, and been turned into guest houses.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/801357_original-40dcebc728.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWe also visited the \u003Ca href=\"https://www.islaymuseum.org/\">Museum of Islay Life\u003C/a>, and spotted my grandfather's microscope and christening gown. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/803601_original-6c61b38f6e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAs you'd expect on Islay, our trip had a bit of a theme... here's the Bowmore distillery: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/802341_original-a821319664.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nArdbeg distillery:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/801572_original-4a3c56b26d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBruichladdich distillery (thanks to the festival for organising us a tour!):\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/802610_original-41e40f5af4.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nArdnahoe distillery, which is brand-new and has a lovely cafe that we visited twice: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/802915_original-25f5b6a7c3.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd finally, Bunnahabhain distillery:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/803217_original-3707d5790d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBig thanks to Sarah and Sam Reeve for making the trip so much fun! It was great having them along: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/803331_original-591e3a6276.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks to my husband Stuart for the excellent fish pie, chicken stew, and general beach company: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/803873_original-e492ab6825.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHuge thanks to the festival volunteers, the Celtic House, Margaret and John at Lambeth House, and everyone who made the trip so fun! And the biggest thanks goes to my parents, for letting us all stay in their cottage and making the big trip out. You two are the best. xxx\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/801886_original-9118ea7c9c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOh, and I finally manged to get my mother a copy of \u003Ci>Kevin's Great Escape\u003C/i>, so thank you, Celtic House, for that! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/804467_original-b624b62d2b.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">","2019-09-08T20:09:00.000Z","islay-book-festival-2019",[],"islay book festival 2019",1776628730295]