Ali Shaw's Blog, page 2

Yesterday was quite a bewildering day for me. I dropped Inka off at nursery and was stuck in a traffic jam on the way home, when my phone pinged with a message from my sister-in-law. She was letting me know about a review of The Trees from the Herald Scotland. Which obviously I couldn’t read, because I was slogging my way throughthe traffic, but as soon as I was parked I got to it. The review said:

The Trees is a stunning and vivid examination of the relationship between humans and the enviro...

Just a reminder that I’m going to be reading at Mostly Books in Abingdon next Wednesday, 16th March, at 7.30pm. They’ve got just a few tickets remaining, so do come along and see me if you’re in the area.

Info and tickets can be found here –http://www.mostly-books.co.uk/2016/02...

One of the reasonsI’m really excited about The Treesbeing published is that it contains four of my drawings. SoonI’ll upload several more of the pictures I drew for it, but in the meantime I’ve tidied up and compiled lots of old onesin the Drawings section of this site. You can see them all via the link in the menu.

I’ve added an events page to the menu, which should stay up-to-date with any upcoming appearances I’ll be making to talk about The Trees. There are two so far, with more to be confirmed.

Firstly, I’ll be appearing at Bath Literary Festival for Bloomsbury’s Fresh Writing Showcase. I’m fresh to Bloomsbury, which is what qualifies me for such an adjective, once the dust has been blown off. Witness thisat Bath Guildhall, March 3rd.

Secondly, I’ll be heading down to the wonderful Mostly Books in A...

My daughter and I are painting when the knock comes. Inka is two years old, and learning to splodge spots and stripes onto the paper. I am trying to paint a picture of a troll, in fluorescent colours with a brush thicker than my thumb. I get up and hurry to the door and it’s a courier, dressed like he’s in the military (why do delivery companies costume all their staff like bomb disposal experts?). After signing for the package he hands me, I return to Inka feeling strangely nervous. This all...

I mentioned last week that I’d just completed the second draft of my next book (I’m going to need a codename for this project, aren’t I? I don’t think I’m ready to share theactualtitle just yet). I’d worked hard to get it finished by the end of September and felt pleased to have met my own deadline, but it feltstrange to complete it at the same time asthe final proof of THE TREES.

For those who are interested, the process of editing a book for a publisher goes something like this:

I’ve just finished typing up the second draft of my fourth novel. Trying to decipher my own handwriting made my eyes ache, but I’m pleased with what I’ve done. I started this thing back in April, when I was enormouslygratefulto receive an Arts Councilgrant to allow me to do so. Since then I’ve been working away atit as fast as I can, in between looking after my little daughter, and am soon to embark on draft three. Now that I’vemade some progressI’ll besharing some of the writing experiencehe...

I’m doing some updating here. Check back in a few days/weeks/however long it takes me to see things a little more clearly.

I’m really excited to be visiting Blackpool for 2015’s Wordpool Festival. I’ll be talking at the Central Library at 11am on Thursday 2nd July, and there will be elevenses (pastries, coffee, tea). I used to live just up the road in Lancaster, so am really looking forwardto being back in that part of the country. Please do come along if you can make it!

Click on the poster for all the details, and the rest of the Wordpool programme. Hope to see you there.

There will be a lot more to say about my new bookin the future, but for now I’m pleased to be able to share the followingtrade announcement from Bloomsbury.

Helen Garnons-Williams at Bloomsbury UK and Rachel Mannheimer at Bloomsbury US have acquired the new novel by award-winning writer Ali Shaw (author of The Girl with Glass Feet) from Sue Armstrong at Conville & Walsh. The Trees is a wildly imaginative, epic and enchanting novel in the vein of Pan’s Labyrinth and Spirited Away. A post-apocal...