BLOG BREAK Representation, Elation and Frustration

Nick Cross presents his fortnightly selection of must-read blogs.


You can't have missed the depressing CLPE report on ethnic representation in UK children's books a few weeks back. As well as triggering lots of conversation on the SCBWI-BI Facebook group and elsewhere on social media, the report spurred Rashmi Sirdeshpande into writing a couple of excellent blog posts. The first examines the outcomes of the report, and talks about how the most important issue is ensuring representation for a huge swathe of the UK population. The second post highlights some publishing heroes who are already working to improve inclusivity.

Space on the Bookshelf are doing story sacks again. Hooray! This time, Sally Poyton has chosen Is it a Mermaid? written by Candy Gourlay and illustrated by Francesca Chessa. On the Space on the Bookshelf site, you'll also find reviews of the book, and interviews with Candy and Francesca.

I missed Vanessa Harbour's recent book launch due to a scheduling failure, which I'm still a bit miffed about. But luckily, she's written a blog post so we can all pretend we were there!

As a rule, I don't recommend blog posts that I had a part in. But I'll make an exception for Paula Harrison's post about recovering from failure, in which myself, Maureen Lynas and Candy Gourlay share our tales of fails (and no, mine isn't about scheduling).

Claire Watts is having similar thoughts about the unpleasant spectre of rejection. How do you "Keep Calm and Carry On", and is that even the best strategy?

Nick

Feature image: Blog Break logo by Nick Cross


Nick Cross is Words & Pictures' Blog Network Editor. An Undiscovered Voices winner, he both writes and illustrates for children, and was honours winner of the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for fiction.

Nick also blogs for Notes from the Slushpile. His most recent blog post has advice for writers of fiction set within living memory: How to Keep Nostalgia in the Past.

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