Making Good Choices

By Chris Routh (Chair)

If you are one of those people who feels compelled to go to all the sessions at conferences, it may be worth trying a slightly different approach at FCBG’s annual conference this year – just to ensure you get the full benefit of what’s on offer. Identify one or two sessions that are of least relevance or interest to you and use them to spend some quality time in both the publishers’ exhibition and the book shop.

We are particularly delighted that Norfolk Children’s Book Centre will be providing the book shop this year. Established by Marilyn Brocklehurst over thirty years ago, the Centre continues to grow in reputation as a valuable source of advice and expertise when it comes to identifying and buying great books. As always, in addition to titles by the speakers and panelists, there will also be an ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of additional books (for all ages) to choose from.

If you are at the conference on Saturday you will have to decide which workshop to attend. This year we have four very different sessions on offer:

Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet are the award-winning creators of such epic rib-tickling sagas as ‘Barry the Fish with Fingers’, ‘Supertato’ and ‘Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell’. Come and find out about how Sue and Paul work together and meet some crazy new characters.

Middle grade fiction author Amy Wilson will be talking about the magical stories she writes -including the critically-acclaimed ‘Snowglobe’, which was published in October last year. This session provides an opportunity to find out about the inspirations and challenges of writing for 9-12 year olds.

Experienced author M A Bennett will be telling us about her debut Young Adult novel ‘S.T.A.G.S.’ – a psychological thriller which amongst other things, explores the question of how sociable social media really is. The hotly anticipated sequel ‘Dogs’ is due for publication later this year.

Guy Puzey is a teacher of children’s literature and literary translation at Edinburgh University. He has translated ‘Adventures with Waffles’ and ‘Astrid the Unstoppable’ by Norwegian writer Maria Parr. An ideal choice for those with a general interest in children’s books or a specific interest in translation.

Throughout the conference weekend there are opportunities to network and build your list of contacts. At the gala dinner you will have the choice of which table to sit at. Will you take the opportunity to catch up with old friends or live adventurously and sit with people you don’t already know. Both options will have great outcomes – and the choice is entirely yours.

For more information about the programme and how to book your place see here.