Bite Risk was shortlisted for the Biblio-Buzz award (organized by Haringey Libraries and Alexandra Palace). Shortlisted authors were:
Simon James Green - Finn Jones Was Here
Nazneen Ahmed Pathak - City of Stolen Magic
The Song Walker - Zillah Bethell
Nadine Aisha Jassat - The Stories Grandma Forgot
Midwinter Burning - Tanya Landman
Bite Risk - Me!
I didn't win - that honour went to Simon James Green for the superb Finn Jones Was Here, and Nazneen Ahmed Pathak picked up the Library Award (in the library she grew up in!) for the extraordinary City of Stolen Magic - BUT it was a day I'll never forget, and I feel very privileged to have been shortlisted. We started the day by walking through the theatre in Alexandra Palace to be greeted by rock-concert lighting, fog machines and 900 hyped-up children who reacted as if we were Taylor Swift.
After that we all did workshops for smaller groups (Simon somehow kept 700 entertained in the main auditorium). Then it was signing time. An hour and a half of frantic scribbling into books and onto papers and scrapbooks (I had to refuse to sign a child's head, sorry) before being whisked away for ten minutes of hydration and sandwich-nibbling while the children had live music and fun in the theatre.
Finally, it was time for the ceremony! Jack Meggitt-Phillips (author of the Beast and the Bethany series) hosted a Q&A with all us authors. I answered questions about falling pigeons and what I would like my palace to be made of (cheese, in case you're building one).
We ended the day with another signing session, before heading off tired but happy down the hill. I was absolutely buzzing after meeting so many enthusiastic readers and meeting my lovely fellow shortlistees.
WHAT A DAY!
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