Here and there, this and that

    Everyone's talking about the Sainsbury's Christmas advert (and the 'making of' video) just now, Mog toys are flying off the shelves and the book is topping the bestseller list - great news for Save the Children to whom the profits go.

    Judith Kerr, still going strong at 92, is surely a role-model for us all; in case you didn't see it, here's my report of her appearance at last year's Edinburgh International Book Festival where she took the stage with her son Matthew Kneale to explore creative heritage.

                                                        ~~~~~

    Not book-related but still on the subject of ageing well, this excellent gentleman has become Mr. C's hero, while this video neatly links cats and skiing!

                                                        ~~~~~

    Back to books now, and in other news, the Costa Book Awards shortlists have been announced, and I'm pleased to see Melissa Harrison's At Hawthorn Time in the novel category. It's a story of contemporary rural life set over a spring month, but it's an original and unsettling piece, beautifully done, and it deserves its place on the list.

                                                        ~~~~~

    A Clerk of Oxford has posted a typically thoughtful and thought-provoking piece, stemming from St. Hilda, abbess of Whitby. I've had the novel Hild by Nicola Griffith on my wish list for some time, and I was wondering if anyone had read it. Here's an interview with the author.

                                                        ~~~~~

    Lastly today, as a PLR Twitter advocate I'm reminding UK writers to ensure that ALL your books are registered at www.plr.uk.com. Paperbacks and audiobooks - anything with a different ISBN - should be listed along with hardbacks so that they qualify for payment under the PLR scheme. Illustrators and translators should check, too. If you have writer friends, please nudge them to make sure their registration is up to date.

Comments

[Freda]

Judith Kerr is wonderful isn't she? So is the 97 year old skier, and as for the cat rescuers - where do you find them Karen! Lovely post

[KarenB]

I've read *Hild* several times and am in the midst of a re-read. It's astonishing; I can'r recommend it highly enough. But don't just take my word for it: here's a review by a fellow Canuck who brings in the fiction of Dorothy Dunnett as a comparator: <http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/our-year-in-reading-2015/>. *Hild* is the first book on the page I linked to.

[Cornflower]

Thanks, Freda!

[Cornflower]

Popping over there now. Many thanks, Karen.