As I mentioned last week, The Ask and the Answer was shortlisted for the very prestigious Carnegie Medal, which also means that it participates in their brilliant Shadowing Scheme, where school groups read all 8 books and debate them.  The Shadowing website has a lot of cool features where reading groups can chat with one another or write reviews of the books, lots of cool stuff.

They've also uploaded video interviews with a number of shortlisted authors, including myself!  So you can see me waxing lyrical about The Ask and the Answer while marvelling at my very short hair.  Check out the others, too, though I'm not sure why they stuck Marcus out in a field.

And of course Monsters of Men is out, isn't it?  I was in central London yesterday signing copies at key bookstores, so look out for a sign copy if you want.  My excellent publishers Walker Books have been featuring it on their website and twittering about it, too, with competitions.  It's also Book of the Month on LoveReading, so lots of stuff going on!

Big hello to all the new commenters and Monsters readers (Mireia, "Cuchillo" is the first book, the second should be out soon).  And be sure to scroll down through the past diary few entries for even more news.  Phew, it's been busy!  And of course I've been working on a new book, too...