Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "philippa-dowding"

I may be the last person in the Western hemisphere to go, but I FINALLY made it to Manhattan last week. It was quite powerful, almost overwhelming. I didn't realize how much all those American icons meant to me, a Canadian, until I was on the top of the Rockefeller Centre staring down into the lego land of the city, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State and Lady Liberty all right there as I scanned the skyline.
Today, I kick off TD Children's Book Week - I have three readings, the first one today at Barbara Frum Library. I will be reading from my Lost Gargoyle books, and I know there will be an aside (or two) about the four huge gargoyles on the Chrysler building and the giant lions on the front of the NYC Central Library ... the world's a pretty magical place!

I can't tell you (dear reader) how totally honoured I am that The Gargoyle at the Gates is a starred review book in the spring edition of the Canadian Children Book Centre's (CCBC) Best Books for Kids & Teens 2013. I simply cannot believe the awesome company that my book is in!
A few of the other starred reviews this year: Arthur Slade (Hunchback Assignments, bk 4), Deborah Ellis (Parvana's Journey), Cary Fagan (The Boy in the Box), Shane Peacock (Becoming Holmes) and Gordon Korman (Ungifted).
Thanks CCBC, very very honoured indeed.

I'm a children's author, a job I love, but I have another life as a writer: I'm also a copywriter, and have been for over 20 years. I have two writer's hats, it's great. Today I found out that I won an ACE award (Award for Circulation Excellence) in my marketing copywriting life, for a cold gift donor program I wrote for Zoomer magazine. A real honour! Frankly, I owe any success I have as a children's author to my years of sweating it out as a copywriter, since good writing is good writing, the rules don't change much from medium to medium. If you'd like to read more, please visit my (other) blog: www.phdowding.blogspot.com

Always very very nice to win!

So very honoured that the folks at My Book Addiction blog have chosen my forthcoming book, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, as their 'Waiting on Wednesday' pick for this week! Thank you!

The list "spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating."

In their "Why I'm waiting" section, they had this to say: "Simply put: This just sounds like a fun read! Every now and then I like to read things that aren’t overly complicated or mind-boggling, and this sounds like it fits the bill perfectly. The cover caught my eye and once I read the synopsis it went directly onto my TBR list."

Read more about MyBookAddiction on their great book blog: http://mybookaddiction.com/waiting-on...

For all of you who have ever wanted to fly ... here's a beautiful book trailer for my forthcoming title, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, available January 2014. Many thanks to the talented George Panayotou for the transcendant video design.

Enjoy the flight!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW5lI5...

I guess I come from a pretty creative and kind of eccentric family. Recently, in an idle moment, I googled my last name (okay, I do google myself once in a while, usually if I have a new book coming out), AND I found this perfectly interesting link: http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/y...

My grandfather, Murray Dowding, was a very talented photographer in the early 1900s, and the local historical board in his home town of Chipping Sodbury (how British!) has created a 2016 calendar using his images, each one matched by a modern day POV picture. Interesting.

Here's more about my peculiar, and peculiarly talented, ancestor and his interesting photographer's eye: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/08/...

... it'll sound like this: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/11/...

Introducing the world premier of Fifth Season, a musical collaboration of 7 sultry, warm, inviting instrumental pieces between me and my long-time editor, Allister Thompson.

Go listen on bandcamp now, download (free or pay what you wish) and enjoy with my deepest compliments: http://thegatelessgate.bandcamp.com/a...

Really honoured that my 2009 title (and my first book), The Gargoyle in My Yard was named a "Great Reads for Kids" book in a new initiative from the Toronto Public Library and Kumon Math and Reading Centres.

There are 200 books on the list, about half of them are Canadian, and ALL of them are really great reads for kids 6-12. I'm so proud to be among them, thank you Toronto Public Library and Kumon!

Here's a link to a longer blog post about the Great Reads for Kids, take a look and find a great book for your child: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/11/...

"Strange events transpire that will keep the reader turning pages with bated breath. Mixing colorful, descriptive imagery with plentiful dialogue, Dowding creates an excitingly spooky tale. Add Daigle's ghostly drawings, and readers will be enthralled with this second novel in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong Series."
--American Library Association Booklist Review, Dec. 3, 2015

Wow! Thank you ALA for this amazing review for my new book Myles and the Monster Outside (2015). Here's a longer blog post if you'd like to read more: http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2015/12/...

"By turns scared, angry, and in denial, likable Carter grounds the well-plotted story. The maze is no tired narrative time-machine device; like Mr. Green, it has a spooky agenda of its own. Otherworldly illustrations, drawn with hallucinatory clarity, complement the text, enhancing the mysteries...

This original take on time-travel historical fantasy is a sure bet for young scary-story enthusiasts. (historical note) (Fantasy. 9-12)" --KirkusReviews, June 2016

Wow, what a fantastic review for Carter and the Curious Maze, my new title in the Weird Stories Gone Wrong series for middle grade readers. Thanks KirkusReviews!

Here's the full review on Kirkus, if you'd like to read it: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

And here's the Goodreads page for the book (also doing pretty well there!): Carter and the Curious Maze

Finally, please enjoy the book trailer for a peek at those "otherworldly illustrations" by Shawna Daigle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauvF...