[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-jinks-ohare-cheltenham-lit-fest-2017":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Just back from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature\">Cheltenham Literature Festival\u003C/a>! They didn't actually distribute pug balloons, but a creative kid fixed that: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/289204_original-aaeb268653.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nPhilip and I did lots of events this time, starting on Friday with talking to about 400 children from several different schools about writing and illustrating \u003Ci>\u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/jinks-o-hare-funfair-repair/\">Jinks & O'Hare Funfair Repair\u003C/a>\u003C/i>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/292240_original-5b3b52190c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nSome schools had to rush their kids off to catch buses, but it was great to get a chance to meet others individually in the bookshop tent, look at their drawings and sign and dedicate their books. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/289459_original-eed44aec65.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nEveryone drew a tiny portrait of themselves with Jinks & O'Hare on a roller coaster: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/290291_original-b293888d7f.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more photos under the cut!-->\\r\nThanks to the lit fest's Director of Education \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/alimawle\">Ali Mawle\u003C/a> for introducing us! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/291575_original-371107fe96.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nOur next stop was Cheltenham Ladies College, which is ... rather grand, to put it mildly.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/289831_original-29b0294bc9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nCheck out this hall where they hold morning assemblies! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/297105_original-46c77f6fc6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWe had a great time talking with the girls there, who had lots of good questions and enthusiasm. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/289788_original-704381c006.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThere was a prize draw for copies of Philip's \u003Ci>Mortal Engines\u003C/i> books. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/290411_original-3261cc8f1d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWhile I waited for Philip to sign those, I got busy drawing lightning-fast portraits of some of the girls (which is actually great practice for me!). \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/290758_original-18c2d7d416.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThat was fun. The girls come from all over the world, and I'm glad I got a chance to meet some of them individually.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/290946_original-9d15bc646b.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks to the team who took us around and gave us a little tour of the college! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/291181_original-799ff5721c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's Philip being suave back in the festival's VIP Lounge. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/291668_original-9139c0f09e.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd preparing for our next event (which did indeed involve ducks). \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/293297_original-bb1cc978e9.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWe were very lucky with theatres on this trip! Here's the gorgeous Parabola Theatre, and Philip there on the left, inflating one of our dice for the \u003Ci>Jinks & O'Hare\u003C/i> show. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/291996_original-9d8ede0beb.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks to the team at the Family Event who made everything run so smoothly! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/293025_original-3a358e981b.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere I'm teaching them how to draw the roller coaster:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/292610_original-2a4d1e6fdc.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nBig thanks to everyone who came along and drew with us!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/292456_original-87c6e5da82.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAfter the family event, Philip went off to do his Young Adult books event, chaired by author \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/WomackPhilip\">Philip Womack\u003C/a>, including \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/alicecrumbs\">Alice Broadway\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MESalisbury\">Melinda Salisbury\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/293532_original-8d9b8db714.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI had a workshop to lead, and I was gutted not to be able to go along to it, but I felt a little better when I got to meet the fabulous \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BegumNadiya\">Nadiya Hussain\u003C/a>, children's author and winner of the 2015 Great British Bake Off. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/293873_original-992207e967.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's lovely \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/cerrieburnell\">Cerrie Burnell\u003C/a> (with Philip and Scholastic publicist \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KatrinaAnneS\">Katrina Smedley\u003C/a>), who had chaired an event with Nadiya and introduced me to her when I was a bit too shy and was nervous about intruding. (I know she meets a LOT of people!) Thank you, Cerrie! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/297258_original-c0a1263e97.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd then it was on to the \u003Ci>Pug-a-Doodle-Do!\u003C/i> session!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/294171_original-e6d5dc2b55.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe workshop was a bit mad: about 500 people came through and it was kind of exhausting teaching people how to draw pugs, over and over again. I'm not sure they all actually realised I was an illustrator and not a children's entertainer or something, and I'm not quite sure I would do it again. But the kids and families made some lovely pugs pulling a sleigh and it was great to see it all laid out in poster form. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/293888_original-b6adb3659c.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nA lot of the kids drew themselves into the sleigh, and some of them even cut out snowflakes:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/294453_original-6aaa20834b.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks to the fab team who helped out and added more paper when a surprisingly large number of people came along! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/294861_original-dac96c596f.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nI love going to other people's events at festivals, but I don't always get a chance. So I was thrilled to be able to attend \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/_JimField\">Jim Field\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Rachel_Bright2\">Rachel Bright\u003C/a>'s picture book event. Jim taught us all how to draw a koala and I drew a picture of all three of them.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/294943_original-c93251de8d.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nThe real Jim and Rachel are a bit blurry in the last picture so here's a better one! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/295245_original-69617d52a0.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nHere are a few more snapshots of fellow authors at the festival. Here's poet \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Poetryjoe\">Joseph Coelho\u003C/a>: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/295646_original-95f7ab98cc.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/cnlester\">CN Lester\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/junodawson\">Juno Dawson\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/295781_original-2134e00dbe.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobGMacfarlane\">Robert Macfarlane\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/JackieMorrisArt\">Jackie Morris\u003C/a>, who just did a nature book together:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/296005_original-c001b467d6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nWith excellent illustrator \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/yuvalzommer\">Yuval Zommer\u003C/a> (check out his 'Sad-Looking Supermarket Fruit & Veg' series on Twitter): \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/297584_original-9430385e08.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nA pic with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/AndrewMarr9\">Andrew Marr\u003C/a> (mostly to impress my husband Stuart):\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/296263_original-bdddb61ab5.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd Jim Field again with another one of his collaborators, writer \u003Ca href=\"http://kesgray.com/\">Kes Gray\u003C/a>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/296687_original-b674dbb3c6.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd what writers and illustrators always like to see: a healthy stock of books in the bookshop! Thanks so much to the festival for being awesome and making everything run so well! I loved meeting everyone and was rather sad when I had to run off! You can follow the festival on Twitter at @\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CheltLitFest\">CheltLitFest\u003C/a> and see more photos on its hashtag, #\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=%23cheltlitfest&src=typd\">CheltLitFest\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/296950_original-1c2d4f9091.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">","2017-10-08T20:34:00.000Z","jinks-ohare-cheltenham-lit-fest-2017",[],"jinks & o'hare: cheltenham lit fest 2017",1776628729236]