Excitement for There was an Old Sailor
Have you ever wondered about the build up for the release of a new book after all the writing is done? There has been the pitch, the acceptance, the revisions, and still there is more…..
Excited about Old Sailor…
due out Feb 1, 2010, is reviewed here. This review first appeared in Bookseller and Publisher Summer edition.
.Hurry up Feb 1
Advance copy of There Was an Old Sailor
A first advance copy of ‘There Was an Old Sailor‘ was posted to me more than a week before Christmas. (thanks Virginia at Walker Books) I received notification of this while I was at Salamander Bay and was looking forward to it being at home waiting for me. But alas, alack, due to reasons unknown (postal strike, Christmas mail volume) it didn’t make it. Agggh! Frustrating to know it was in transit but not arriving. But, first mail yesterday, there it was!
It looks fantastic. Even better than the scans, gorgeous as they were. You can see the cover here.
Luckily we were having visitors for dinner so I didn’t have to wait long before beginning to share my book with the world
Old Sailor Release
Only two weeks until the February 1 release of ‘There Was an Old Sailor‘. I’m planning a blog tour and planning is underway for the launch at The Sun Bookshop in Yarraville. Details will follow but the launch is 2pm on Sat 27 February.
February is party time for me and my Old Sailor!
On Feb 1, ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ hits the bookshops.
On Feb 2, Dee White visits from her blog Tuesday Writing Tips to ask me some questions about writing picture books.
As if that’s not enough partying, I’m also having a celebration of the release of ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ during the first SCBWI meeting for the year, which is being held at Stoneman’s Bookshop in Castlemaine. The lovely Glenda Millard is going to speak about ‘Old Sailor’.
At 11.00 am on Sat Feb 20, I’ll be reading at the grand opening of ‘Enchanted by Books’ a new bookshop in Williamstown Victoria.
And then ta-da! there’s the official Melbourne launch of ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ at Sun Bookshop, Ballarat St in Yarraville Vic at 2pm on Sat 27 February. There will be nibblies to eat (possibly even a krill or two particularly for Jen Storer!) and a book reading as well as the launch. I’m still working on details and will post as soon as I can.
BIG month! Love it!
Not that I’m counting the sleeps until
…but it’s only 2 sleeps until ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ is officially published.
I’d heard some rumours that there were already books in store and was in the city so decided to check out the big retailers. And there he was! Old Sailor in multiple copies in multiple places. Yay!
I’ve also heard there are multiple copies in my local bookshop and a poster. I’m off to take a pic. Actually, I’m taking my own personal photographer to take a pic of me with my books and poster!
Stand by…
ps here’s another review
Sun Theatre launch of ” There Was an Old Sailor”
Saturday 27th was the official launch of ‘There Was an Old Sailor’. It was held in the foyer of Sun Theatre, and hosted by Sun Bookshop (which includes the across-the-road children’s bookshop Younger Sun).
It was great fun. We had a good crowd there and Danny Walsh‘s playing and singing drew in a few more off the streets. Cassandra Allen was unable to be there, she being in Switzerland and all, but her parents and a friend were there and it was lovely to meet them. My good friend, storyteller and fellow author, Jackie Kerin launched ‘There Was an Old Sailor’. Appropriate for her to be the launcher as without her, I probably wouldn’t have written the story or persisted in submitting it to publishers.

sailboat cake
Danny sang and played, including singing the story of the old sailor, which he’d set to music. He had us all singing along.The only bad thing about launches is there’s never enough time to talk properly to everyone. Thank you to everyone who was there. Perhaps I’ll just have to have another one!
‘There Was an Old Sailor’ – It’s Out!
‘There Was an Old Sailor’, my picture book with gorgeous illustrations by Cassandra Allen and published by the wonderful team at Walker Books Australia, is released today. Yeehah!
Here it is! In the front window of ‘The Younger Sun’ the wonderful children’s book shop in Yarraville. Note the poster too!
Me and my new book sitting in fine company, in between Bob Graham and Sherryl Clark!
The rollercoaster is worth it.
and a lovely review on Booktopia
here for ‘There Was an Old Sailor’. Scroll through newsletter to ‘kids books’
and…A Big weekend with SCBWI
I drove to Castlemaine, north-west of Melbourne for a SCBWI meeting which included a mini-launch of ‘There Was an Old Sailor’. Despite a hiccup because of an accident on the freeway, I was there in plenty of time. The meeting was in Stonemans Book Room which is a wonderful bookshop with a mix of new and second-hand books. Perfect place to while away an hour or three. But not Saturday. No whiling happening. We set up for the meeting in the middle of bookshelves. Our lecturn was a bookstand. It was fabulous.
First, Bernadette Kelly who talked about how she started writing. As well as a very strong sense of purpose, Bernadette acknowledges a level of serendipity in her beginning. Perhaps that’s the secret…put yourself in the world so that things can happen. She also talked about a great program she ran at her local school encouraging primary school children to write and illustrate and to see their work in print.
Glenda Millard was our second member speaker. Most of the assemblage were familiar with her work so she talked about her world and the people around her. She grew up at Campbell’s Creek on the edge of Castlemaine, so was able to point to landmarks we could all see. She had memories of Stonemans too. Her characters are drawn from those who peopled her youth. I guess that’s why they seem so real.
After afternoon tea, Glenda launched ‘There Was an Old Sailor’, reciting rhymes that she recalls from her childhood and suggesting that ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ may enter the consciousness of today’s children and stay with them. Wouldn’t that be lovely? I read the book, showing how I use the bollard sailor in classrooms.
Our final speaker was Ann Haddon of Books Illustrated. She’d brought samples of their picture book art and shared the journey she and Ann James have made with Books Illustrated. In a lovely and unexpected twist, she said that one of the images from ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ is off to Bologna with them as part of an Aust Publishers Assoc exhibition.
Here‘s a link for Sharon Greenaway’s report and pics from Saturday.
Then to top off a great Saturday, I woke on Sunday to discover a wonderful review of ‘There Was an Old Sailor’ in the Sunday Age. Spent the whole day grinning!
and the Whirlwind Blog Tour too
Thanks Amra. It's frustrating when you know it's in transit. But it was worth the wait. Now I'm waiting for the fish that'll come with it.
Claire
I had the same thing happen. A package took over three weeks to arrive. Just when I gave it up as lost-there it was. Congratulations on the new book.I received this cute award and I'm passing the love around.http://amrapajalic.com/2010/01/08/odds-and-sods-3/