Going ape for the story form

When I was a kid we had a subscription to 'National Geographic.' My favorite articles were about Jane Goodall's experiences among the chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream Game Reserve by the shore of Lake Tanganyika. I loved the photos of her reaching out to some enormous male chimp or making friends with a new infant. And I think, well, that I was a little in love with Ms. Goodall.

That's the source for the short story "My Life Among the Apes" which was published recently in the excellent journal 'Taddle Creek.' (I suggest you all subscribe!) A link to the story can be found here:


http://www.taddlecreekmag.com/my-life-among-the-apes

The magazine also posted "Valentine's Fall" on its recommended reading list. "A damn good book" was the verdict. No wonder I like the magazine.

'Ten Lessons' A Silver Birch Express Honor Book

Today at the Silver Birch Awards 'Ten Lessons for Kaspar Snit' was named a Silver Birch Express Honor Book! (Yes, that deserves an exclamation mark.)

And did I like being cheered by hundreds of kids? Yes, I did.

Thanks so much to everyone who organizes these great awards, to the teachers and librarians who run the program in their schools, and most of all to all the kids who read the books. Cheers to you!

I've been visiting a lot of schools in southern Ontario and will be going to a few more before the school year is out. What a treat to be able to meet so many kids in person and talk about books. Yup, being an author feels pretty good today.

Frye Festival

On Monday I head off to the Frye Festival, a literary festival in Moncton. This will be my first time at the festival, and in New Brunswick (the last maritime province I've yet to visit). I feel pretty lucky as a children's author because I get to read not only at the festival, but in schools too. Meeting lots of teachers, kids, and the volunteers who drive authors around (always the nicest people, and deeply informed about where they live), I get a much better sense of the place. Should be fun!

They're saying nice things about "The Big Swim"

The first reviews of "The Big Swim" are coming out and they're rather nice. Publishers Weekly writes, "Fagan perfectly captures the summer camp experience" and calls the book "satisfying and charming." CM Magagine calls it "a thoughtful exploration of how children judge each other and the bonds of friendships." The review in Quill & Quire is also very good but I read it standing in a bookstore, too cheap to pay for it, so I don't have a copy to quote from.

The image, by the way, doesn't come from the book. It's from the cottage we borrowed last summer.

In the middle of winter, a taste of summer (camp)

April fool's day is the official publication date of 'The Big Swim,' a short kids' novel about a boy nicknamed "Pinky", his first camp experience, the arrival of a 'bad' kid, a girl named Amber Levine, and the infamous Big Swim. Since it is now listed on amazon.com and indigo.com I figure I can get away with this rather early notice. Mostly it's an excuse to post the great cover, designed by Michael Solomon of Groundwood Books. I think the cover perfectly captures the book's spirit of humour, adventure, but also its darker side.

I wrote the first draft immediately after the first draft of "The Fortress of Kasper Snit" quite a few years ago. Three Snit books and several others have made it to publication first. Some stories just want to take their time.

More 'Jacob'

Life has been busy and I haven't had a chance to post much lately. But I'm pleased to be able to mention that 'Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas' was named a 'Book of the Year' by 'Quill & Quire' magazine and a best book of 2009 by the magazine 'Resource Links.' Sweet.

Writing Courses

In the last week of January I'll be starting two new introductory courses in writing picture books. I believe that one is full but there may be spots for the other (Thursday afternoons) for anyone interested. Contact the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto. The website is learn.utoronto.ca.