Thanks, Kathryn Cole

This week I was shocked and dismayed to find out that Kathryn Cole, editor at Tundra Books, was no longer with the house. I enjoyed working with Kathryn these last few years; she's the editor of a picture book of mine, 'Mr. Zinger's Hat,' which is due out fall 2012.

So I want to thank you, Kathryn,for all your efforts and wish you the very best. It was an honour making books with you. And I look forward to hearing what's next!

Wild Word on the Street

The Word on the Street festival is upon us this Sunday. It's a wild time, with rogue authors dashing here and there and mad readers snatching up books. Or visa versa.

I'll be reading twice on Sunday. At 12:10 p.m. I'm going to read my new picture book 'Ella May and the Wishing Stone'.

At 1:40 p.m. I'll be reading from my latest kids' novel, 'Banjo of Destiny.'

Both are at the Children's Reading Tent.

In between I'll be downing a double espresso.

Come by and have a listen or just say hi. After all, if an author reads and nobody is there to hear, has a tree really fallen in the forest?

Or something like that.

The photo, by the way, has absolutely nothing to do with Word on the Street. It's an old photograph my brother Lawrence found of a puppet show that my cousin Ellen and I put on when we were kids. I don't know where he digs this stuff up.

Want to write picture books? Come and study...with me

At the end of August my thoughts turn to...continuing education. That's right folks, the excitement of fall classes is upon us.

I'm teaching two courses at University of Toronto continuing studies this fall. "Writing For Children: Picture Books" begins on Wed. October 5 (12:30 p.m. to 3). In eight sessions we will work through a number of creative and inspiring exercises with the goal of producing two manuscripts. There will be little 'lectures' by me and lots of show and tell, as well as information on the mysteries of getting published. These classes are usually small and attended by a really interesting mix of people. I always enjoy them.

The other course follows the first. "Writing For Children: Picture Books II" is intended for people who have already taken the first course and others who have taken other writing courses and want a straight workshop experience. In this course there are no formal talks or exercises. Instead, each week participants read their manuscripts aloud for discussion and helpful criticism. I also offer more written responses. And as well, there will be two guests. One will be by a children's book editor who will talk about how manuscripts get chosen and the best way to reach publishers. The other will be an experienced illustrator who will talk about what manuscripts are appealing to artists, etc. This class begins on Monday October 3 (6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.)

Both classes are held somewhere on the U of T downtown campus, around Bloor or College and St. George.

The Continuinng Studies website is at: http://learn.utoronto.ca/Page4.aspx.
The phone number is 416 978-2400.

If you have questions, feel free to email me at cfagan@interlog.com

Be careful what you wish for

This summer when you're on holiday you might keep your eye out for a stone with a line going all-all-all the way around it. That's a wishing stone. But wishes don't always work out they way you expect, as Ella May finds out in my new picture book, "Ella May and the Wishing Stone," which should be in the stores any time now. The wonderfully talented Genevieve Cote is the illustrator. (Sorry for missing the accents, Genevieve. I don't know how to get them on this keyboard.)

I had heard about wishing stones many, many years ago, after my daughters came home from visiting relatives in Cape Breton with their mom, Joanne Schwartz (now a fine picture book writer herself). But my first attempts fell flat. I had to let some fifteen years pass before trying again.

Here are some quotes from the early reviews:

"Cary Fagan is no newcomer to kids' books, and he does a great job here with both the fun, engaging story, and the fine tricks of repetition and structure that make 'Ella May and the Wishing Stone' ideal for the early reader. ...an original and imaginative treatment of one of the hardest lessons of early childhood--sharing."
--Quill & Quire

"Fagan believably captures the delicate balance of friendship in the very young and lets the story pay out with welcome complexity. Thoughtful and touching."
--Kirkus Reviews

The Banjo Newsletter

Ok, the title of this post is a bit of an insider joke--as it's the name of an actual magazine. But here are some odds-and-ends about my latest kids' novel, 'Banjo of Destiny.'

The novel is going to be published in Turkish by Hayykitap, which I understand is an excellent publisher. So look for it at your favourite bookshop in Istanbul. (I want a book launch!)

The CBC Children's Book Panel has put it on their recommended summer reading list. Many thanks.

Finally, this from a new review from Norm Ravvin in the "Canadian Jewish News":
"Fagan makes subtle use of his story's fable-like message, and there is no cloying lesson to be had in the final pages. One can feel, instead, the joy some people gain from making a thing, from making music, and from sharing these things with others. There is much that parents and their kids can share in the novel."

Sure, Norm is an old friend of mine. But the man has integrity; he would not accept the bribe I offered. (Why he didn't want to hear me play banjo for a whole evening I can't stay.) Instead, I simply bought his own new novel, "The Joyful Child," published by Gasperau Press. It's a beautiful looking book and next on my reading list.

Norm, by the way, is not the first reviewer to comment favourably on the ending. To be honest, the original manuscript did have one of those triumphant endings that we see all too often in books and that can be hard to avoid when trying to end a story. But it bugged me so much that I finally had the inspiration of how to change it in the last draft before publication. It became quieter but, I think, more honest, and I'm very glad that people have liked it.

About the accompanying photo: a jam session in Mars Hill, North Carolina where I recently went for Blue Ridge Old Time Music Week. It was heaven.

Jacob Two-Two has been Hackmatacked!

The Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award is an Atlantic Canadian book award voted on by kids. And "Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas" has used every piratey trick to fight its way onto the short list. Which means that kids in the Atlantic provinces will soon be reading the book to discover how Jacob Two-Two came to Canada, what parrots should never say, and that not everyone's treasure is the same.

And if anyone can tell this ignorant Ontarian where the name of the awards comes from, I'd be much obliged.

A chat with 'Kirkus Reviews'

Here's an interview just published by the American magazine 'Kirkus Reviews' about 'Banjo of Destiny.' Yes, now you can finally learn such fascinating tidbits as how I failed as a child to learn to play the ukulele.


http://www.kirkusreviews.com/blog/childrens/banjos-and-bluegrass-banjo-destiny-cary-fagan/