australian authors expected

 
Alison Lester is one of Australia's most popular and well-loved author/illustrators. The antics of her characters in the Clive Eats Alligators, Tessa Snaps Snakes, Rosie Sips Spiders series are known to a whole generation of Australian children and have been published in many languages around the world. The best-selling Quicksand Pony series has been extremely popular with older readers. Other titles include Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo (based on Alison's experiences during her time in the Northern Territory helping Aboriginal children develop their writing and drawing skills) and perennial favourites Imagine and Magic Beach. Alison's latest title is Are We There Yet?, a picture book based on Alison's travels around Australia with her family.

 

Alison's very individual style celebrates the freedom of childhood. As one reviewer says, 'The children in her picture books have oceans of time at their disposal ... their imagination is all-powerful.' While not strictly autobiographical, Alison's books reflect her upbringing on a farm in the Gippsland area of Victoria where she still lives with her family. She is happy to talk to groups of students across the K - 6 but also to high school students.

 

Alison's books have received many honours in the past. Her picture book, Clive Eats Alligators was awarded CBCA picture book of the year in 1986, Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo was short-listed in 2000 for the same award and her experienced-based picture book, The Journey Home, was honoured by the judges in 1990. Her novel, The Quicksand Pony, was named a CBCA Notable Book in 1997.

 

Michael Panckridge is the author of the acclaimed Legends and Anniversary Legends series. These series are a culmination of many years of dedicated sports mania combined with an enthusiastic exploration of what boys and girls really want to read. Michael Panckridge enjoys talking to children, parents and teachers about reading and writing — and especially boys about reading.

Michael is a teacher at Geelong College and has been working there for 12 years. He is pretty mad-keen on sport. He has played and coached a variety of sports and takes an active interest in cricket, football, soccer, tennis, hockey, golf. He also collects sporting things. He has a massive collection of football cards and lots of cricket books

Michael is the author of the acclaimed Legends and Anniversary Legends series with Black Dog Books. These series are a culmination of many years of dedicated sports mania combined with an enthusiastic exploration of what boys and girls really want to read. The blend of engaging narrative and informational text has captured the imagination of children all over Australia including reluctant readers. With over 100 000 copies sold, the entire first series has been re-issued.

He is also the author of three series with HarperCollins. The Toby Jones series (all five books have now been published) is a mixture of fantasy and sports action as the hero Toby travels back through time, encountering a lot more than just old cricket matches. Brett Lee, Australia's premier fast bowler also contributes to the books with his wealth of cricket knowledge and experience.

Similarly, Laurie Daley, ex Australian Rugby League captain and now prominent media broadcaster, lends his experience to the League of Legends series – a 3 book action filled sporting adventure series centred on the rugby league trials and mysteries for Sam Davies and his friends. Shielding the Truth and Live Action are the titles of the first 2 books in this series. The 3^rd title, On The Bell, is due to hit the shelves in April, 2008.

The Clued Up 6 series is a collection of 6 novels based around the adventures of a group of friends living in a country town. The novels are fast paced and lively with plenty of action and drama as the kids meet a variety of dangerous challenges. Horse racing, swimming, ghosts, motor bikes and a bushfire are the major themes running through the first five books in the series – each book addressing one theme. Taking the Chequered Flag, a dirt bike and motocross extravaganza, has just hit the shelves.  

Michael spends a lot more time watching sport than he does playing it, although manages to maintain his fitness running around the streets of Geelong.

Michael Panckridge has only been writing since 2001 and already has 30 books to his credit. A recent novel The Cursed, published by Black Dog Books, is a fast paced adventure with a dash of horror and fantasy thrown in for good measure. There has already been an expression of interest from a film director! His interest in the concept of invisibility brought about The Cursed – and an exploration into more mysterious elements. The story combines elements of fantasy and adventure and hopefully the fast paced action is still of great appeal to all readers but particularly boys and reluctant readers.

A follow on story based on ghosts and trains – published in February 2008, called The Vanishings, allowed Michael to explore two more interests as he continues to delve into the 'other' side – the train in this story, as well as the small, isolated and disused railway station where much of the story is set, provide a surreal backdrop for his ghost and spirit characters to haunt and wreak havoc.

 A newspaper review (The Sunday Age, 23 March, 2008) said… "The Vanishings is a wonderfully imagined story that is perfectly paced, haunting and very creepy."

Apart from being a mad keen sports fanatic, Michael has many other interests including music, reading, sport (did we mention that earlier?!!) watching films and keeping fit.

Michael Panckridge enjoys talking to children, parents and teachers about reading and writing — and especially boys about reading.

Visit Michael's website at www.michaelpanckridge.com.au

 

 

Poetry Reading & Amartya Session, 2 Oct. 09

 


Hi --

Here are some interesting pix taken at the poetry reading. It was a
lively affair indeed!

-- Srimati
http://SrimatiLal.com

--
Anjana Basu
161/3 Rashbehari Avenue
Calcutta 700 019
9831005126
24642685

The French are coming!

Novelists
Philippe Vasset
Journalist, Philippe Vasset also studied Geagraphy and Philosophy in Paris and in USA where he worked for an investigation center. His last novel Un livre blanc, was published in 2007.
Books available in English
Africa in Washington (Indigo Publication, 2000), Script Generator (Serpent's Tail, 2004)
Script Generator
ScriptGenerat reads both like a novel and the end of all novels. The book follows the investigation of a geologist as he looks for the missing chapter of a 'How-to' manual that describes how the software ScriptGenerator[copyright][registered][trademark] can automatically generate books and scripts. The chapters of the manual alternate with a page-turning narrative that takes us to the depths of African mines and Swiss ski resorts.
Inclsive and well versed in the art of marketing speak, ScriptGeneratoris a brilliant novel about creativity and individuality in the computer era.

Laurent Mauvignier
Laurent Mauvignier was born in Tours in 1967 where he studied Fine Arts and then Literature. Since 1997 he dedicates himself to writing.
In the Crowd (Faber and Faber, 2008)
May 1985, Jeff and Tonino, two Parisian football fans with serious drinking habits, are on their way to the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. So too are Tana and Francesco, newlyweds from Genoa; Gabriel and Virginie, a young Belgian couple with troubles of their own; and Liverpool supporter, Geoff Andrewson, who is travelling with his two thuggish brothers.
On the eve and day of the game these four groups of characters converge and cross paths, and as the excitement of the build up gives way to horrific tragedy, their lives and relationships are changed forever.
A mesmerising portrait of people attempting to come to terms with a devastating historical event and their role within it, In the Crowd is a hugely compelling and emotive novel.

Olivier Germain Thomas
Olivier Germain-Thomas is a writer, an editor and a radio productor. He studied Literature and Philosophy at the University of La Sorbonne and work for his thesis on the symbolism of Buddhist art in India. He worked for many cultural institutions and created the monthly magazine l’Appel (The Call) in 1973. Since 1997 he’s in charge of the collection “Chemins d’Eternité” (Paths of Eternity) at Flammarion Editions and in 2006 he was awarded the Great Prize of Literature for all his work by the Académie Française.
Bibliography
Le Bénarès Tokyo (Editiosn du Rocher, 2007), En chemin vers le Bouddha (Albin Michel, 2001), Le voyage des Indes (Imprimerie Nationale, 2003), La Tentation des Indes (Albin mIchel, 1993), La mosaïque du feu (Editions du Rocher, 2004), La Traversée de la Chine à la Vitesse du Printemps (Editions du Rocher, 2003)
Le Bénarès Kyoto (Editions du Rocher, 2007)
On this way from Varanasi to Kyoto, the author leads us through a unique adventure, travelling toward East. With philosophy and irony, Olivier Germain Thomas reveals a vision of India between eros and divine, of Thailand as a mysterious woman, of Tonkin as a soldier of Diên Biên Phu and of an unknown China between humour, Tao and Buddha. Japan finally, walking through the montains inhabited by spirits and secret mirrors in the sanctuaries… We came out of this essay with a mind opened by other conceptions of life.


Poetry
Andre Velter
André Velter was born in 1945 and shares his life between his travels to Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Tibet and his comparative studies on poetry all over the world. Poet, he also animated many literary program and wrote some liteary chronicles for the daily newspaper Le Monde mainly abour Orient. He’s also the director of the collection Poésieat Gallimard Edition. All his poetic work is dedicated to breath, to revolt, to wild love and physical and spiritual jublation. Very attached to the orality of poetry, he worked with many comedians and musicians to create intense polyphonies. In 1996 he was awaraded the prestigious Goncourt Prize for Poetry.

Books available in English
Women of Afghanistan (Ruminator Books, 2003), Afghanistan: The Land That Was (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002),
Tant de Soleil dans le sang
Alphabet de l’espace, 2008, written with Ernest Pigon-Ernest, music of Pedro Soler)


Comics

David B.

David B., or Pierre-François Beauchard was born in 1959 in Nimes in the South of France. He’s a graphic novelist and an illustrator for comics. He is one of the representatives of what is called « the new comic book ». Epileptic is one of his famous works.
Books available in English
Epileptic (Jonathan Cape Ltd (23 Mar 2006)), Nocturnal Conspiracies: Nineteen Dreams (NBM (29 Jan 2009),
Epileptic (L’Ascension du Haut Mal)
Epileptic was originally published in six volumes between 1996 and 2004. This complete edition appears in a crisp, vigorous, idiomatic translation by Kim Thompson.
The story is relatively straightforward; its treatment not so. When Beauchard is a nine-year-old child in Orléans, his brother Jean-Christophe, four years his senior, begins to suffer epileptic seizures of devastating frequency and intensity. Soon Jean-Christophe's ailment becomes the dominant fact of family life…
“Epileptic is by no means an easy read in any possible sense. No one is going to use this book as an excuse to avoid dealing with "proper" literature. It is long, and its subject matter is as deep, dark and dense as Beauchard's artwork, which is blocky, high-contrast and reminiscent of woodcut illustrations to the grimmest of Grimm folk-tales. The ultimate justification for Epileptic's existence as a graphic novel is that it is nigh-on impossible to imagine it being anywhere near as effective in any other genre. Whether traditionalists like it or not, the graphic novel is the first-choice mode of expression for many profound sensibilities, seeking to tell tales as rich and complex as can be found in any narrative form”. Charles Shaar Murray