A whole weekend of children’s books at Bradfield College, Berkshire – a splendid setting and the warmest days so far.
A great success for the FCBG Annual Conference 2010 .
We were there for the Saturday speakers.
Hadn’t realised that there would be so much cake.
Definitely a bonus!
A Gothic Imagination started the day with Sarah Singleton, author of The Poison Garden and Century . She carried us through the attics of neurosis and cellars of repression, describing gothic style as somewhat claustrophobic, with decay and a feeling of being trapped in the past.
John Burningham(author of Mr Gumpy and many many more books), gave some amazing reflections on his work and career as an illustrator and author, somehow even finding a flair for trains in Japan.
Truth Lies and Violence was a lively seminar with Graham Marks (I Spy – The Constantinople Caper) and Marcus Sedgwick (Revolver). They even managed to travel to get the real feel of the settings for their books and in Marcus’ case tried out a gun to see what it would feel like.
Books at Bedtime, in the middle of the afternoon, wasn’t at all soporific! Wendy Cooling , David Melling and Clara Vulliamy were inspirational in their illustrations and composition of picture books. Hugless Douglas and The Bear with Sticky Paws are two of their titles.
And even time to relax too!
Time to look at new books coming on the scene, chance to meet up with friends.
We enjoyed the opportunity to sit back and listen to the creativity of writing and illustrating.
Just wait until the children start getting stuck into those books.
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