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  • February 21, 2019
You are here: Home / Archives for party

PenguinRandomHouse Summer Party 2018

June 26, 2018 By achuka Leave a Comment

Francesca Dow

I first began being invited to publisher events and parties when I was reviewing for The Scotsman (teenage fiction), Literary Review (adult biographies and general children’s books) and the TES, so my name label would read variously Michael Thorn TES, Michael Thorn The Scotsman or plain Michael Thorn reviewer. Once the website was established, it gradually became a toss-up as to whether my badge description would name TES or ACHUKA as my credential. Eventually ACHUKA took hold, and it is a long while since I reviewed for TES or anywhere else for that matter.

Last night was the first time I arrived to find my badge had been printed as Michael Thorn, Freelance Journalist. I have been wondering what that means. Certainly the number of people I meet at events who are aware of ACHUKA is diminishing year on year. For that reason it’s quite useful to have ACHUKA on my badge, as it prompts people to ask and allows me to explain.

Anyway, your ‘freelance journalist’ was delighted to be included on the guestlist once again for what is always one of the most pleasant events of the year. Last night’s was especially so and had something of the atmosphere of Puffin Summer Parties of old, in the time of Philippa Milnes-Smith (who can be spotted in the photogallery) when they were held on the Kensington Roof Gardens. Here, just as there, when the gathering crush diminished somewhat with the onset of the twilight hour, small groups of four or five found somewhere to sit together on the perimeter of the garden, or in one of the interior rooms.

As always when I go through the snaps (and very much just ‘snaps’ they are this year, taken with my tiny RX100) I see people I regret not having had the chance to speak with. It was a gloriously warm evening – this summer looks set to equal that of 1976 – so inevitably nearly everyone moved immediately to the outside courtyard, making it very difficult to move around. I was delighted early on to spot Anne Fine and determined to speak with her, but the opportunity didn’t arise. I’m embarrassed to admit my failure to have read a book sent to me especially by another of the guests last year limited me to a friendly acknowledgement but not the usual catch-up chat we generally have.

It was good to meet Kyoko Nemoto, author illustrator of How To Fly Like An Elephant, and to hear about her recent 25-day Camino de Santiago trek (a walk she plans to comnplete next year). Check out the photos on her Instagram @kyoko_nemoto_illustration

It’s always a joy to meet Natalia and Lauren Ohara and I can’t wait to see their second picture book due this autumn.

Just before leaving I spoke with a BBC writer who has been part of the team working with a YouTube star that PRH have high hopes for, so I’ll be watching that space with interest.

According to one agent I spoke with, publishers are not as excited as they have been for YA. They’re now mainly looking for younger fiction but placing it is really difficult as everyone wants something that’s going to have instant appeal, so representing new writers who may need a book or two to build a reputation is really tough.

The event was held at Home House, a Georgian property that once housed the Courtauld Collection (before its move to Somerset House), now a private members’ club.

Here’s a link to the Snaps Gallery https://goo.gl/w4dEt4

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: party, PRH, summer

The Summer Party – PenguinRandomHouse

June 28, 2017 By achuka Leave a Comment

While I try and get my head around the new Google News layout and the loss of various sort options, let me explain the lack of photographs from Monday’s Summer Party on the river terrace at Somerset House.
The annual PenguinRandomHouse party is always a fabulous gathering but it invariably falls in June, a month I have a love-hate relationship with, as I am a hay fever sufferer. Pollen seems to be particularly virulent this year, and I am always badly affected when in London. My eyes were just too itchy and weepy for photography. I kept my shades on for as long as evening light allowed.

I had a great time, even though it turns out I was also hatching a tooth infection.
First up I spoke with 29 yr old Oliver Rodney, strategist for Amazon.
Then with Felix, grandson of Topsy and Tim creators Jean and Gareth Anderson.
This year Francesca Dow’s speech was big on the word magic. “Welcome to our party of wonder and magic… We have a magic wonder tree and we’d love you to help us decorate it with your favourite words.” She told all the creatives who contribute to the company’s publishing programme that they imparted a “special and important magic, the best kind of magic. That’s what you do, all of you, so well. You offer, in this very best sense, an education.”
I never got near enough to Francesca this year to see what she was wearing. Nor did I get close to the magician who was performing card tricks amongst the crowd.
The terrace was so packed it was a case of bumping serendipitously in to lots of familiar faces, including Laurence Anholt and Nigel Hinton, excited about his new novel The Norris Girls with indie Welsh publisher Candy Jar.
Best of all was meeting, towards the end of the evening, Natalia and Lauren O’Hara, whose picture book Hortense and the Shadow is sure to be one of the autumn highlights, as it provided me with another opportunity to tell them face to face how much I enjoyed their presentation at a recent preview event.
My evening ended in a long chat with the guy behind the games, films and entertainment reviews site kidzcoolit.com

 

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: magic, party, summer, terrace

PenguinRandomHouse Summer Party

June 28, 2016 By achuka Leave a Comment

Sweets, wine and animated conversation on the terrace of Somerset House at this year’s PenguinRandomHouse children’s books summer party…

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: event, party

Otter-Barry Books Launch (with photos)

June 9, 2016 By achuka 1 Comment

otterbarry

A new imprint has been born.

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

One committed to creating a diverse list that will include traditional tales as well as new stories and, cheeringly, a strong emphasis on poetry.

The guest list at last night’s launch, held at the October Gallery in Holborn, included a host of poets and illustrators, alongside a mix of authors, agents and reviewers that spoke volumes for the high standing and reputation already enjoyed by Janet Otter-Barry courtesy of her previous publishing experience (notably with Frances Lincoln).

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

She told the assembled guests that the idea of setting up a company had come to her as far back as 1988. “I remember suggesting to my then fiancée David Ross, now my husband, how about we set up a publishing company together. For some reason he wasn’t keen!”

She feels that having acquired better market knowledge and experience, NOW is at last the right time to do this, “to set up Otter-Barry Books as a new independent children’s publisher.”

“We all know that children’s books have proved amazingly resilient to challenges from other media, and I do passionately believe that children’s books are here to stay and will never be taken over by digital media whether it’s apps or ebooks. Families do love beautiful books and they love sharing physical books. And schools love books too. So do libraries.”

ACHUKA is delighted that the new list will be championing poetry.

“I was very clear from the start that I wanted to include poetry on my list, and my colleagues have fully supported that and have shared my enthusiasm. Children love poetry, we know that. We also have so many fantastic poets in the UK who are brilliant at performing and workshopping poetry. We need to get more poetry out there, more poets into schools and festivals, more poetry into bookshops.”

Three cheers for that!

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Otter-Barry recognises that hers is a small company right now, publishing about 12 hardbacks per year plus 2 to 4 poetry titles. “But we will grow,” she promises.

Guests at the launch event were shown the first six picture books already published (on 5 May).

Mother and daughter partnership Joyce and Polly Dunbar’s  I Will Not Wear Pink.

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Nandana Sen’s Kangaroo Kisses.

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Nicola Colton’s illustrations for James Carter’s Zim Zam Zoom

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Karin Littlewood’s IMMI

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Princess and the Castle

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Jackie Morris’s The Seal Children with a fabulous new cover treatment

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Otter-Barry has two poetry titles coming in August: Dinosaurs and Dinner Ladies from debut poet John Dougherty and the beautiful Adder Bluebell Lobster from the award-winning poet Chrissie Gittins

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

ACHUKAphoto: OtterBarryBooks &emdash;

Slideshow (sometimes needs clicking to kickstart)

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: event, imprint, launch, party, photos

Penguin/RandomHouse Summer Party Photo Gallery & Speech

July 14, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: authors, illustrators, party, summer

My Brother Is A Superhero

July 8, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

Solomons

Nosy Crow is excited about My Brother Is A Superhero by David Solomons, which received its launch in the impressive Map Area of City Hall last night.
It has to be admitted that the book has been given fantastic branding. The jacket design by Picked Ink‘s Laura Ellen Andersen (artwork) and Rob Biddulph (typography) is eye-catching, designed to appeal to its core 9-14 audience, and the publisher has managed to receive a book jacket quote from Steve Coogan – “You’ll laugh until you fall out of your tree house”.

According to Kate Wilson, Nosy Crow MD,  the books’  first print run is ‘frighteningly big’. Several foreign rights have already been sold. Dominic Kingston, Nosy Crow’s publicity manager, tells me the book is being heavily promoted in gaming magazines.

David Solomons is a screenwriter (with the screenplay for Five Children And It amongst his credits). This is his first novel.

Author signing

The Map Area, City Hall

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: City Hall, event, launch, London, party

My Name’s Not Friday – Launch Event

July 6, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

Here is publisher David Fickling, understandably excited about publication of Jon Walter’s second novel, My Name’s Not Friday, published last week and celebrated at a gorgeously warm and sunny launch party in Lewes, where the author lives.

Here at ACHUKA we immediately recognised Walter as a special writer when his first book, Close To The Wind, was published last year.
And here is our review of the second novel: ACHUKAreview

We were surprised that Close To The Wind was overlooked by various children’s book awards but feel certain this latest book will receive the attention it deserves.

publisher and author

publisher and author

the cake

the cake

Filed Under: Blog, Books, Features Tagged With: event, launch, party

Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise – The Launch Party

April 30, 2015 By achuka Leave a Comment

Here are some photos from last night’s launch party for Walker Books’ Hoot Owl, Master of Disguise, written by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien.

The party was admirably hosted by https://www.byronhamburgers.com/, at their Rathbone Place branch, just off Oxford Street.

The book trailer:

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: event, launch, party

Puffin Party 2014 – 50 photo slideshow

July 8, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: event, party, Puffin, slideshow

Puffin Summer Party 2014

July 8, 2014 By achuka Leave a Comment

http://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/puffin14.mp4

puffinclassics

The emphasis was very much on Puffin’s back catalogue of classic children’s books at last night’s annual summer party, with Francesca Dow citing several of the timeless titles pictured here in their new livery during an impeccably brief and well-judged speech, under the pavilion designed by Smiljan Radic at the Serpentine Gallery.

I enjoyed the party very much but it has prompted a rethink. At times I felt like a second cameraman at a wedding and I’ve decided the time has come to draw back from automatically documenting such events in ACHUKA photo galleries. The big pro dslr and humping great lens is proving a barrier to picking up nitbits of industry gossip and info, not to mention hampering me from doing my best to let people know about the titles on the ACHUKAbooks digital publishing list. 

I will still be up for being the photo chronicler by request for special launches such as the one in ACHUKA’s current Recent Event section. And who knows, I might just not be able to keep that camera in its bag.

Next test will be the Branford Boase award ceremony on Thursday.

Filed Under: Blog, Books Tagged With: events, party, Puffin, summer

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