The times they are a-changin'

Less than a month to go now before HCC closes and Hampton Academy opens. Times have been extremely busy during the last term allowing precious little time to update this blog. I am now considering whether to start anew or refresh this blog site. Please watch this space...

Carnegie Medal 2010

Shortlist announced today! Details here.

Wicked Young Writers' Award

The Wicked Young Writers' Award has been established to recognise excellence in writing, encourage creativity and help develop writing talent in young people.

Any young person between the ages of 5 and 25 years old is eligible to enter, making the award the first of its kind to reward excellence to such a wide age-range of young people across the whole of the UK. More details here.

World Book Day 2010

World Book Day falls on Thursday 4 March.

Every HCC student will receive a £1 book token which can be exchanged for a specially published book. This year's titles can be viewed here.

In the library, classes will have the opportunity to celebrate World Book Day by listening to and watching authors and storytellers read aloud the special books via a video link as part of the Read to a Million Kids programme.

HCC Library features in a national newspaper!

A photo of HCC library appeared in The Independent today accompanying an article about the new Hampton Academy.

Carbon Diaries to be filmed

Read more: Saci Lloyd turned down Johnny Depp.

Being a children's publisher looks fun...

Costa Book Award latest

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness was this evening announced as the winner of the Costa Children's Book Award. This, Ness's second book in the Chaos Walking trilogy, was described by the Costa judges as "a major achievement in the making". Congratulations to Patrick! The overall winner - the 2009 Costa Book of the Year - will be announced on 26 January. More details from the BBC.

HCC Midwinter Writing Competition

Write a mini-saga on a subject of your choice.

What is a mini-saga*? A mini-saga is a story told in exactly 50 words – no more, no less. Hand your mini-saga to Mrs Duane or Ms Stanbridge by 29 January 2010. Prizes will be awarded for the best entries.

An example of a mini-saga:
Fear pulsated down my spine as I crossed the eerie graveyard. Footsteps gained on my shadow. Turning the corner, there he was, the man that had ruined my entire life. “Dinner,” Jess’s mum shouted. “Okay, I’m coming!” she replied, before placing her book down on the bed and running downstairs. (With thanks to Spinebreakers.)

*Mini-sagas were invented by the science fiction writer, Brian Aldiss, while he was working on a massive, 3 volume novel. As an exercise, he tried to encapsulate all the essential elements of a story in exactly 50 words.