Golem-spotting in Fife!
I recently received one of the best gifts a children’s author can receive: artwork inspired by my writing. Karl Barrs, a teacher in Fife, sent me this photo of golems his class made out of clay after tuning in to an author event I did online for Education Scotland’s Glovember celebration of books. I wrote [...]
How to Buy a Golem Book (and Spread the Word)
Friends and family here in Scotland and around the world have asked me how they should buy the book. They want to know what would benefit me most as a brand new author. As an author at the beginning of my career, what I need help with the most is getting word out about my [...]
“How to Make a Golem” has been officially launched
“How to Make a Golem (and Terrify People)” has been officially released. Thanks to Floris Books for throwing me a fabulous book launch party last night–they even supplied the guests with chocolates in the shape of eyeballs! That is truly attention to detail. Thanks also to everyone who came out to hear me read and [...]
Once Upon a Universe
Last night I debuted on stage at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in front of a sell-out crowd as part of the Once Upon a Universe project. Performing in front of a large audience, obscured by lighting, was nerve-racking, exhilarating and ultimately a whole lot of fun. I was proud to have been a part of [...]
Mikku and the Trees at Tree Spirit
In preparing for a tree story-walk, I stumbled across a wonderful resource for environmentally-inclined storytellers (and people who simply love trees): www.spiritoftrees.org. This site lists folktales, and links to folktales, concerning various species of tree. Of particular interest to readers of this blog, the full text of Margaret Read MacDonald‘s telling of Mikku and the [...]
Transition Tales in Totnes: Imagining A Positive Low-Energy Future
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtVT7Bd74ZE&hl=en&fs=1] Transition Town Totnes, in the south of England, has also hitched story to imagination in an effort to change the course of their community’s future. Seeking creative ways of coping with the twin specters of peak oil and climate change, they have hosted a series of storytelling workshops with adults and children both in [...]
Re-storying Cities: the Glasgow 2020 Project
What can be learned by inviting citizens to re-story their cities? This was a question posed by Demos, a British think tank for “everyday democracy.” From my perspective, the most interesting finding to come out of the experiment was the utility of the re-storying process itself. By engaging citizens in creative ways, a diversity of [...]
