[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-seawigs-at-oxford-lit-fest-2014":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Yesterday \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/oxfordlitfest\">Oxford Lit Fest\u003C/a> saw a sea life invasion!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_seawigs_group_zps04d29d56-a76459ba80.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nCheck out this wonderful Iris the mermaid costumes! It was made by Helen (\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/helen_geekmum\">@helen_geekmum\u003C/a> on Twitter) and even includes \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/621293.html\">Colin the crab\u003C/a> and Iris's pointy specs!  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_Helen_mermaid_zpsa94ee71e-08a99bf3ea.jpg\">\\r\n\u003C!--more Click for more under the cut!-->\\r\n\\r\nWriter \u003Ca href=\"http://jocotterill.com/\">Jo Cotterill\u003C/a> made these two great Seawigs!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_JoC_seawigs_zps1a098fa9-66f93ea9fe.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd she tweeted this drawing by her daughter. (You can follow Jo at \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jocotterillbook\">@jocotterillbook\u003C/a>.) \\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jocotterillbook/status/447389230252437504/photo/1\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_jo_drawing_zpsa7314a5e-e75bee5d9d.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nJo also took this photo of my co-author \u003Ca href=\"http://philipreeve.blogspot.co.uk/\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> and me leading everyone in a rousing rendition of the Eep Song:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_JoC_EepSong_zps9f921b96-8693093759.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was actually quite a star-studded audience! Here's one of my illustration heroes, \u003Ca href=\"http://minigrey.com/\">Mini Grey\u003C/a>, who came along with her son. Both made drawings! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_mini_grey_zps7db749fe-ed34c57cea.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWe got to see lots of people's fab drawings while we signed copies of \u003Ci>Oliver and the Seawigs\u003C/i>:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_JoC_signing_zps713d8b43-2d6cb74212.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cfont size=\"1\">\u003Ci>Photo by \u003Ca href=\"http://jocotterill.com/\">Jo Cotterill\u003C/i>\u003C/a>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nSo many details in this girl's drawing! Click on the photo for a close-up:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ca href=\"http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l27/jabberworks/Festivals/oxlitfest14_seawigs_drawings1zoom_zps3968b016.jpg\">\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_seawigs_drawings1_zps7ce04ba2-5d57aabc90.jpg\">\u003C/a>\\r\n\\r\nThis guy designed a cool Seawig for Cliff:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_seawigs_drawings3_zps4aa18762-c534bf0589.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nMore fabulous Seawiggery!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_seawigs_drawing_cliff3_zps48414aff-702d8e22da.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_seawigs_drawing_cliff2_zps0e5d456e-164f74b445.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_seawigs_drawings2_zps6d9dcf4e-f361c01bdf.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_seawigs_drawing_cliff_zps6f2b1a43-f201da2afc.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nEven the MC for our event, \u003Ci>The Sunday Times\u003C/i> reviewer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.nicolettejones.com/\">Nicolette Jones\u003C/a> (\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NicoletteJones\">@NicoletteJones\u003C/a> on Twitter) got into the swing of drawing a Sea Monkey! Here she is at lunch, with \u003Ca href=\"http://unbound.co.uk/books/saving-grace\">Paul Blezard\u003C/a> (who still had his tan from the \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/625071.html\">Emirates lit fest\u003C/a>).\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_nicolette_paul_zpsf97af4eb-4d06acf69a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks so much to everyone who came along, and a special thanks to the people who dressed up! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_Helen_mermaid2_zpsa72bfefe-c9e6b1fcb4.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd who put up with my singing voice, which is as clear and melodic as Iris's:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_JoC_tuneful_zps9ea14b3c-eb958006bc.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cfont size=\"1\">\u003Ci>Photo by \u003Ca href=\"http://jocotterill.com/\">Jo Cotterill\u003C/i>\u003C/a>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nBack in the festival Green Room, \u003Ci>Horrid Henry\u003C/i>'s \u003Ca href=\"http://www.francescasimon.com/\">Francesca Simon\u003C/a> asked to try on my Seawig:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_francesca_simon_zpsab39663c-e8ddb9ee82.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd the daughter of our Oxford University Press publicist Harriet Bayly turned out to be a big fan of our upcoming book, \u003Cb>\u003Ci>Cakes in Space\u003C/i>\u003C/b>, and we spent some time drawing Pilbeam the robot. (This book is the Uncorrected Proof copy, not the final version.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_cecily_cakes_zpsc20ebd02-24a7c1c33a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI got to meet NYC-based writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.pollyshulman.com/\">Polly Shulman\u003C/a> and her husband. Polly's written a book called \u003Cb>\u003Ci>The Wells Bequest\u003C/i>\u003C/b>, which I can't wait to read. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_pollyshulman_zps02e32d32-4623226a63.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOxford's always great fun to visit. Here I am, chucking Lewis Carroll under the chin, and the view from my bedroom in a hall of residence in Christ Church college. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_christchurch_zpse821ad40-2cc30d6b97.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHogwarts breakfast! The Great Hall is pretty cool.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_christchurch_brek_zps29c3dacb-3bd83bbe44.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nReeve and I also visited \u003Ca href=\"http://www.storymuseum.org.uk/\">The Story Museum\u003C/a>, to see what they're up to, getting ready for their \u003Ca href=\"http://www.storymuseum.org.uk/the-story-museum/events\">\u003Ci>26 Characters\u003C/i> exhibition\u003C/a>. Reeve has an uncanny knack of looking like a perfect Doctor Who.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_reeve_nonsense_zps01aa4d76-864c5aa601.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWe met up with The Story Museum's \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/tom_donegan\">Tom Donegan\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/neillcameron\">Neill Cameron\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/PhilipArdagh\">Philip Ardagh\u003C/a>, Nicolette Jones and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.wormworks.com/tedpages/tdhome.htm\">Ted Dewan\u003C/a> in the pub. We were raving about the amazing Storyloom that Ted's designed, and just as the last few us of were about to leave, he invited us back to The Story Museum and said he'd fire it up for us. It's just too awesome to contemplate. (You can read \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/510709.html\">an earlier blog post I wrote about it here\u003C/a>.) Here's Ardagh, hard at work on it:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_storyloom_ardagh_zps4f02b465-9c39a6b0a6.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd Reeve; I'd say this photo proves he's the perfect candidate to follow Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who. But I don't want him to be Doctor Who; I want him to keep writing stories for ME!\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/oxlitfest14_storyloom_reeve_zps1c23efe7-7c7fa9ba17.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nBig thanks to Oxford lit fest for hosting us, everyone who took part in our event, Nicolette for chairing, The Story Museum, Oxford University Press and everyone who made it such a fantastic weekend. If you missed us, keep an eye on my \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/events/\">Events Page\u003C/a> to see if we're coming somewhere near you!","2014-03-23T19:26:00.000Z","seawigs-at-oxford-lit-fest-2014",[],"seawigs at oxford lit fest 2014",1776628726250]