Children's Books North - We Are Three

 Children's Books North 

We Are Three! 

It hardly seems possible that it is already three years since we launched Children's Books North with our very first social event in Manchester February 2020. Our third year was another packed year of celebration, promotion and championing the creativity in the North and Scotland. Now seems like a good time to look back on a great 2022 ... 

2022 Mentor scheme

The second year of our mentor scheme for aspiring publishing professionals brought a brand-new cohort of mentees for Emma, Tilda and Liz to work with. Luke Power, Joanne Ruffell and Helen Varley joined us to take their first steps into learning more about the publishing industry.

We're absolutely delighted that for our 2023 mentor scheme we will be joined by more publishing professional mentors, giving us the opportunity to offer additional mentee places to aspiring professionals. Watch this space for further announcements.

CBN Summer Social

After a long two and a half years, we were finally able to meet in June 2022 for only our second in-person CBN social. 

CBN Summer Social in Leeds

We were delighted that so many of you came along to celebrate everything we've achieved as a network and to socialise with fellow CBNers. Our brilliant CBN Committee, Shaniah, Maria and Tom were able to join us too, along with some of our first mentees. 

CBN with the Committee: L-R Maria, Emma, Tilda, Tom, Shaniah

CBN with the mentees: L-R Tilda, Helen, Sarah, Joanne, Emma

It was a joy to see you all and to gather together, as we move our socials round each of our regions. Next stop, Edinburgh, for the 2023 social on 22nd June - save the date!

CBN x Just So Festival
2022 also brought our first ever Festival collaboration, as CBN staged a takeover of the Telling Tales stage at Just So Family Arts Festival in Cheshire.

CBN x Just So programme of events

Massive thanks to Catherine Jacobs, Corrinne Averiss, James Harris and Jenny Pearson with her writing partner Sam Copeland, who entertained audiences on the brilliant Telling Tales stage in the woods and ensured the North was fully represented at Just So. And a big shoutout to Rachel Morrisroe and her fabulous Drama Llama event.

Pathways into Publishing event
Emma, Tilda and Liz spoke at the in-person Pathways into Publishing event at Portico Library as part of the Manchester Festival of Libraries.
 

 
CBN Twitter 23 Pitch
In 2023, we held the second CBN Twitter pitch event, giving aspiring authors and illustrators the opportunity to pitch to publishers and agents, and, again, we had some success stories including Ashley Thorpe signing with Alice Sutherland-Hawes.
 
"I was in the middle of writing my middle grade manuscript, Shadow of the Orishas, when the 2022 #CBNPitch came around. I thought this was a great chance to put my name out there as a writer based in the North, and to support others too. You never know how it’s going to go with these pitches - you never want to get your hopes up. But to my delight, not only did Alice show interest in the pitch but offered to represent me on reading the finished manuscript." Ashley Thorpe

 “As soon as I saw Ashley’s pitch as part of the CBN Twitter event I knew I had to read it, and I’m so thrilled it’s worked out. CBN Pitch is a great initiative and I’m delighted to be working with Ashley! I’ll look forward to taking part next time!”
Alice Sutherland-Hawes
 
Publishing Round Table
 We also held our first ever publishing round table, with our publishing professional members discussing what more we can do to work together.
 


These were just some of the highlights from 2022. We have lots more planned for 2023 and many more opportunities for CBN members to get involved in the network. 
 
Thanks for all your support over the last three years. We couldn't do it without you!

Emma, Tilda and Liz x


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mentor Scheme 2024 - Applications Open

Image
Children's Books North 2024 Mentor Scheme Applications Open! Applications are now open for the Children’s Books North Mentor Scheme! The scheme offers twelve aspiring publishers living in the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Scotland four hours of mentoring with a publishing professional over four months, with the goal of demystifying the industry for new talent. Mentoring will work on a 1:1 basis and mentees will be matched with a mentor that suits their interests and experience, whether that’s editorial, production, design, marketing, sales or agenting. For more info on publishing roles, see document here for a list of different departments within publishing. Applications are open to anyone interested in beginning a career in publishing. No previous experience is needed and we also welcome applications from those looking to change career path. The only essential is a love for children’s books and to be based in the North of England or Scotland. Scroll to the ‘How to Apply&#
Read more

Looking North: The Children's Books North Directory

Image
Looking North:  An indispensable di rectory of Children's Books North members We are delighted to be launching our Directory of Members, which lists published children’s authors, illustrators and publishing professionals based in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Scotland.   Tilda Johnson said: ‘ The Directory is a key resource in our aim to connect the children’s book professionals living in our regions, to promote our members' work, and to champion the importance of regional diversity in children’s books and the publishing industry.’ Members are listed along with their details, short bios and recent covers, enabling booksellers, librarians, schools, festivals, literacy organisations, agents and publishers to easily get in touch. The Directory is also a valuable resource for authors and illustrators looking to connect with other creatives working in their region and to forge new networks. Our plan is to update the Directory annually, as the network grows. It wil
Read more

Northern Highlights - Jenny Bloomfield

Image
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Jenny Bloomfield    Where do you live, and how would you sum up the place in three words?   Leeds - Urban, Dales, Evolving   What is special to you about creating children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process?  Children's books are mini-works of art and a favourite book will be looked at hundreds and hundreds of times - not many books get this much attention from their audience! I am always drawing (I've drawn every day since 1st September 2014 - you can see every single day on my instagram @Jennybloomfield ) so I love being able to transfer my sketchbook observations and ideas to a living breathing story. For instance,  The Worry Jar , has some scenes at a swimming pool and I was able to go back to all the drawing I did sitting on the side of the pool while my kids were having lessons.   Jenny's sketches by the pool The Worry Jar, Oxford University Press, 2022.       Tell us about your upcoming/most recent book. The Worry Jar  is
Read more