Mother's Day Angst

It's Mothering Sunday in the UK, today - who are your favourite fictional mums? Some of mine are the wonderfully fickle and cringefully embarrassing Mrs Bennet obviously, the kind heroic story-writing Mrs Waterbury of The Railway Children and the extremely capable 'Mum' from The Oxford Reading Tree's early reader Mum to the Rescue.

If you were choosing a fictional mum who would she or, let's not be rigid about this, they or even he be? 

Choosing is hard and here is my last choice of top birthday picks from our first year. As I type, I don't know which it's going to be so while I think let me thank you for all your kind birthday wishes and draw your attention again to Nick's wonderful photo montage of contributors and all those generous people who've shared their good news with us over the last year - What a lot of good news! We couldn't make Words & Pictures happen without you all.  If you would like to join this lovely group of contributors have a look at our FAQs,  Features Guidelines and Monthly Themes for this coming year 2.

Story by Roderisck Hunt,
Pictures by Alex Brychta
©Oxford University Press

Actually, after some perusing of the backlist, I can't choose - it's like asking a mother to choose between her children - I honestly don't know how I've managed the angst so far. So on Mothers' Day and our last Birthday Month weekend  I shall say 'use the labels on the left and the archive list on the right to do a lucky dip!'

Last week was a wonderful week, along with all the lovely birthday wishes we had the chance to relive World Book Day with Sheila Averbuch, Pencaitland Primary and their whole school story. David gave us a flavour of the latest SCBWI London YA Masterclass with Judy Waite and Lorraine's report of the London Discover Story Centre's panel event gave us some great tips on How to Make Money from Writing and Illustrating for Children. On the subject of events isn't a Book L[a]unch a fabulous idea? Thank you Chitra for sharing.

Tatum Flynn gave us some compelling reasons to book for the SCBWI Writers' Retreat and we rejoiced with UV Honorary Mention George Kirk and latest Slush Pile Challenge winner! Finally we had a new featured illustrator - welcome Portia Rosenberg. Do have a good look at Portia's Gallery her scenes are atmospheric, her characters alive, and with a marvellous Moose, she has the creepiest wolf I ever saw.

Next week among the delights, we welcome back Sam Hawksmoor with a post about time travel in children's fiction. This is a great way to end our Birthday month - birthdays being all about the passing of time.  Nicky will be sharing some more marketing know-how to kick off Marketing Month and Nick will be back on blogs.  I am also very much looking forward to our  new contributor Chloe Yelland's post on the late nineteenth, early twentieth illustrator, Walter Crane.

If you're mothering or being mothered today, I hope it's fun. But for all us motherless children I especially hope Mrs Bennet 'in all her glory' will make you smile!

Jan Carr

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Jan Carr is the editor of Words & Pictures. Her fiction is all over the place, she blogs occasionally and loves to write in magenta. You can contact her at editor@britishscbwi.org.