VISIT TO CORNELIUS VERMUYDEN

Had a great return visit to Cornelius Vermuyden School on Canvey Island. I spoke to all of their Year 8s and then presented copies of GHOST GAME to some pupils who had done good work during the term. Congratulations to them.

WORLD WAR 1 STORY

I am honoured to be one of the contributors to Tony Bradman's anthology of new stories about the 1914-18 War, called simply STORIES OF WW1 and published by Orchard Books. All the stories, by writers such as Malorie Blackman, Ian Beck, Geraldine McCaughren, Adele Geras and Linda Newberry, are brilliant and give a wide window onto the lives of people - soldiers and civilians - who went through that terrible time. My story, called WHAT'S IN A NAME, uses as a starting point something that happened to my family back then.

There has already been an excellent review of the book:

http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/index.php?title=Stories_of_World_War_One_by_Tony_Bradman

PARTNERS IN CRIME WINS

I was very pleased to learn that PARTNERS IN CRIME had won its category in the Coventry Inspiration Book Award.

My thanks to everyone who voted for it. And now I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony in June.

Last Four

PARTNERS IN CRIME is among the four books still standing in the Coventry Inspiration Award in the Adult 'Fancy A Quickie' section. Eight books have already been eliminated. Two more will be eliminated next Monday (17th) and then the winner will be announced on 19th February. If you've read the book and would like to vote for it, follow this link:

http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000735/fancy_a_quickie/2008/partners_in_crime

FIRST REVIEW

The first review for ON THE EDGE has just come in and I'm glad to say it's a really good one - and made even better because it's from Julia Eccleshare who is probably the most distinguished  children's book reviewer in the UK. It is on the Lovereading4kids site -
http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/book/9781781123096/On-the-Edge-by-Nigel-Hinton.html

On the Edge

Nigel Hinton

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This title is in stock

Lovereading4kids Price: £5.24

 

RRP: £6.99 Saving £1.75 (25%)Julia Eccleshare's comment:

 

Interest Age Teen, Reading Age 8+ Brilliantly told, this is a deeply moving story and scarily credible contemporary story. Dillon and Robbie’s dad has been banned from contacting them so, when he rings up out of the blue and say he’s on his way over to pick them up, Dillon is immediately suspicious. But Robbie is keen to go and Dad says Mum’s agreed to the plan. But Dad is out of control and soon Dillon and Robbie find themselves in the middle of a very dangerous situation. Nigel Hinton captures the love and fear the two boys feel for their dangerous Dad in this thrilling adventure.

ON THE EDGE

I'm really pleased to be able to announce the publication of a new book today. It's published by my favourite publisher, Barrington Stoke - run by the keenest and friendliest people I've met in that world.

The book is one that I care about very much and which I hope will find a big readership. It's a fast moving and suspenseful story with some tough themes at its heart. 15 year old Dillon and his young brother, Robbie, haven't seen their dad since he came out of the army and was violent towards them and their mum. But now he has turned up out of the blue saying that he's just been to see their mum at work and that she's given him permission to take them off for a few days' holiday. Robbie is thrilled but Dillon isn't quite so sure. Dad is persuasive, though, and they set off - but is this 'holiday' really what it seems.....?

The title I used when I was writing the book was OUR FATHER. Then later I called it MISSING IN ACTION. Finally, in conjunction with the people at Barrington Stoke, we agreed on the final title - ON THE EDGE. And here's the striking cover:

 

   

PARTNERS IN CRIME

 

 

PARTNERS IN CRIME is now 10 years old so it is particularly pleasing and surprising that it has just been shortlisted for a prize. It is in the Quick Reads category of the Coventry Inspiration Book Award. The award is for books which will get readers hooked on reading. The Coventry awards are unique in the country in that they have something for all ages, including adults and involve the whole family and the whole community.  

I guess that I always write in the hope that the book will hook young readers and make them readers for life, but this is especially true for the books I write for Barrington Stoke who specialise in producing books for young people who aren’t naturally drawn to reading.  

The Coventry award is decided in a novel way, as in January 2014 they hold weekly eliminations of the shortlist "Big Brother" style until only the winners are left standing. Fingers crossed that PARTNERS IN CRIME will be one of those.

Although PARTNERS IN CRIME does work with ‘reluctant’ readers, I recently saw how its appeal goes right across the spectrum. The book is being used by Folkestone Academy as part of their English course for all their Year 8 students. They invited me down to talk to the whole year group and I did four sessions in which I talked about writing in general and then PARTNERS IN CRIME in particular. I was very gratified to see and hear the students’ enthusiasm for the book – their questions and comments showed how much they had enjoyed and been engaged by the story as part of their course and teachers reported that many of them had borrowed the books to re-read at home. 

The students asked many interesting and wide-ranging questions in each of the sessions but one question that came up in all four sessions was who was who on the cover. It’s a credit to the cover designer that when I turned the question back on them and asked them to say which character was which they unfailingly identified Marco, Perry and Toddie.

If you've read and enjoyed the book, you can vote and comment on the Coventry Inspiration site :  http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000735/fancy_a_quickie/2008/partners_in_crime