Ten-Minute Blog Break - 16th December

It's been one of those days - I broke my tooth during breakfast, and everything that followed had to be fitted around dentistry! But fear not, because I managed to squeeze the Blog Break in, and good job too, because there are some great posts this week!

On the SCBWI-BI Facebook group, I've already flagged up Anne-Marie Perks's prominent (but strangely uncredited) appearance on the BBC News site with her wordless picture book illustrations. Over at Big Little Tales, Anne-Marie shares more background on the project and artwork from the forthcoming companion volume.

Last week, we had a wonderful story of perseverance rewarded (from Kathy Evans). This week, it's the turn of my fellow Undiscovered Voices 2010 winner Abbie Rushton. Ever wonder what it's like to have that meeting with a publisher? Read Abbie's post and find out all about it.

There's a great process-related post on Sarah McIntyre's blog this week. Responding to a query from an MA illustration student, Sarah tells us all about her sketchbooks and how important they are to her creative process.

Claire O'Brien also has some great advice for picture book illustrators, focusing on internet video training courses. In her blog post, Claire highlights some courses on a variety of sites that she's found engrossing.

Have you got a difficult teenager (or adult) who you want to buy a book for this Christmas? Nicola Morgan has gone straight to the source for her book recommendations, asking the teens of Larbert High School for their must-reads.

We're all about advice this week, and Candy Gourlay is happy to contribute. She's just made her first virtual author visit using Google Hangouts, and her blog post provides a guide as to how easily you can use the same technology.

Nick.

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A SCBWI member since 2009, Nick Cross is an Undiscovered Voices winner who writes children's short fiction for Stew Magazine.