Boys will be boys - Guys in UK YA

by Jo Wyton

It's a busy Friday, what with Candy slinging her Singapore and all, but I'm going to bustle her out of the way for a minute to highlight some of the top guys in UK YA today. A lot of the YA people hear about right now is big, commercial fiction written by women, and more often than not, it's girly enough to make any boy worth his grimy underpants throw up. But go into the children's department of any bookshop and you'll see a huge number of male authors, and they're writing some of the most brilliant books. Here are four of them:

http://jowyton.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/boys-will-be-boys-four-of-top-guys-in.html

Singapore Fling – What makes an editor read on? First Pages

By Candy Gourlay

Notes from the Slushpile suffered the slings and arrows of a trip to Singapore to bring you reportage from the Asian Festival of Children’s Content. This is the second of a series covering the First Page Panel organized by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. With many thanks to the deathless efforts of the organizers of a superb Festival.

(left to right) Sohini Mitra, Commissiong Editor, Penguin India, Vatsala Kaul-Banerjee, Publishing Director, Hachette India, Alvina Ling, Editorial Director, Little Brown Books, USA,  and Sarah Odedina, Managing Director, Hot Key Books

Singapore Fling – What’s a couple of bestsellers between editors?

By Candy Gourlay

Your intrepid Notes from the Slushpile reporter managed to get herself invited to speak at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content – which was a combination of children’s literary festival, book fair, and a SCBWI Conference. This is the first of hopefully several exhausted ... er ... exhaustive reports. With many thanks to the amazing organizers of an amazing Festival – and to the editors for so generously sharing their stories and allowing us to badger them with questions.

You’ve got to congratulate the organizers of the AFCC. There on one panel, an editor from the house of Twilight and an editor from the house of Harry Potter. Please salivate quietly, everyone.