January 2010 Archives

Just a quick reminder that I'm being interviewed on Waterstone's Twitter @waterstones tomorrow, 1 February at 5pm and the questions are coming from you!  You can log on live and ask questions there, or send questions in advance to tag #patrickness.  Lots of good questions already coming in.  Don't miss out!

And, equally importantly, my Australia Schedule for my visit in Feb/March is up on the Events page.  These are all my public events (I'll also be visiting tons of schools), and booking and ticket info are included.  So, if you're an Australian fan and want to see me, here's your chance!

I expect to be doing at least one public New Zealand event, too (and possibly something else extra-cool in NZ as well), so stay tuned.

In the meantime, hello to the first-time commenters:  Luke, Stephenie, Chris and Eliza.

I went to the Costa Book Awards Ceremony last night, which was great good fun.  The Ask and the Answer won the Children's Book Award, and the very nice Christopher Reid, from the Poetry Category, won Book of the Year.  Saw lots of celebrities and went home with a big cheque!  Can't complain.  And ended up, too, with a surprisingly good photo of myself in a suit.  A rare sighting indeed.

Don't forget I'm answering your questions on Waterstones Twitter @Waterstones on Monday, 1 February at 5pm.  You can come on live or twitter your questions in advance with the tag #patrickness.

And hello to the new commenters:  Cambria (great picture!), Megan, Ingrid, Ashley, Alicia, Lauren and Ian.

This could be fun.  On Monday, 1 February, at 5pm (GMT), I'll be taking over I’ll be taking over the @waterstones twitter for an hour to answer your questions about The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer, and Monsters of Men. Come online then with what you'd like to ask.  Or you can tweet them in advance, making sure to include tag #patrickness.  See you there!

Tuesday (26 Jan) is the announcement of the Costa Book of the Year, which I'm up for as winner of the Costa Children's Book of the Year.  Only one children's book has ever won, and it's tough competition, so fingers crossed.  It'll be a fun night whatever happens, though.

And a quick hello to the new commenters:  Damla, Maggie, LaylaViolet, Christie, Annie (and her daughter), Sean, Garrett and Zead (you've heard more than I have, Zead, so let's call that a tentative date for now and when I get final word, I'll put it up here). 

I've just got my very own Author Page on Waterstones.com.  It's got downloadable chapters and podcasts and a nifty new picture of yours truly.  Check it out.  And maybe buy some books while you're there. 

Busy week ahead (more when I'm allowed to tell you).  The Costa Book of the Year is announced on Tuesday.  A children's book has only won it once, but you never know!

And hello to the new commenters, Jo, Heather (May for UK, Ireland, Aust; Sept for the US), Michelle, LaylaViolet (he's talking to both him and us, I think), Chris, Mickayla, Doel (love to hear what your uncle thinks!), Stacey and Emily.  Great to hear from you all.

In addition to the Arvon Foundation writing course I'll be teaching that I mentioned earlier, I've also added a new appearance to the Events page.  I'll be appearing in London at the LSE Literature Festival on a panel discussing "The Future of Teen Fiction".  It's free, but you will need a ticket.  Hope to see there!

And hello to the new commenters (I can't answer every questions, I'm sorry!):  Skyler, Philippa (good luck with the writing), Sophie (not really, it's usually painful but necessary, you have to be fearless about it), LadyViolet, Cambria, Sian (search my name and "Booktrust" and you'll find a whole set of writers' tips I wrote for new writers!), Ciara (do a web search, you'll find loads), and Lance.

Just to say that I've added an Arvon Foundation course to the Events page that I'll be teaching the week of 14 June with Celia Rees (and Meg Rosoff as the guest writer).  It's for adults only this time (sorry!), but if you're familiar with the Arvon Courses (which are weeklong writing courses in beautiful locations), check it out.

And hello to the new commenters:  Tab, Zead (I should know soon!), Marisa (I put in your short comment, too many spoiler questions in the long one, sorry, but thanks!), Robyn, Nick and David T.  Cheers.

Lots of stuff to do about the Costa Book Awards this week, including an appearance on Swansea radio (and that interview on the BBC).  I've also been:  writing, writing, writing (new stuff, but still secret, shhhh), reading lots, having a review printed in the Guardian, slipping on a frozen country, and gearing up for a busy week ahead.  Things are percolating, but there'll be announcements soon, including my full Australia/NZ itinerary.

In the meantime, hello to all the new commenters I couldn't name individually over the holidays, and special hellos to Amber (In 'Knife', it's mentioned that the Spackle prefer to be buried in the swamp, which works best with their bodies) and a hi to Luke Campbell.  And thanks to everyone who's been leaving them!  I do read every single one.

So how's that for a good day?  I not only win the Costa Children's Book Award for The Ask and the Answer (and didn't the judges say nice things about it?), but I also got interviewed about it on the BBC.  Cool.

I wasn't planning on writing a new entry until next week (I repeat, even authors need a break), but the comments were piling up, so a special all-comment entry.

A couple things about comments, by the way.  They don't go up until I approve them (saves on spam), which means I do read them all.  I also regularly strip out last names, just to protect some of the very youngest commenters.  And also, many of the questions I get (like when does Monsters of Men come out) are answered elsewhere on the site, so do feel free to poke around!

But a welcome to all the new commenters (deep breath):  Kendra, Michael and Rachel (best of luck to you both in the writing), Taylor, Lili (please don't explode), Ali, Amanda, Georgia, Melanie, Viktoria (hi again), Sarah, Grace, Calvin (careful, "I am the Circle" is just a bit evil), George (book three is already dedicated, sorry), David (news soon on the German book three), Winston (I wrote a whole series of writing tips online here), and Zead.  Phew! 

Thanks again to everyone, and happy new year!