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Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2009: A Directory for Writers, Artists, Playwrights, Designers, Illustrators and Photographers (Writers' & Artists' Yearbook)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
by: Kate Mosse (foreword)

June 30, 2008
"The Writers' and Artist's Yearbook" (W&AY), published by A&C Black, has a long-standing reputation as a 'must-have' for any writer looking to get into publication. While a number of similar books now exist - including "The Writer's Handbook" (TWH), published by Macmillan, and "Writer's Market" (WM), published by David & Charles Ltd - W&AY remains the original font of knowledge, and for me, the premier choice.

All of these books contain roughly the same extensive listings of publishers, agents, print media, producers etc, and in truth there is little to choose between them. Indeed the competition is gradually catching up, and it is notable that TWH has undergone a major facelift for this year. Of course a lot will come down ... Read More:

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Jumpstart!: Literacy - Games and Activities for Ages 7-14

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
by: Pie Corbett

November 01, 2003
I love it! The children in my class love it!

It is full of literacy starters and games to get children thinking. It fits really well with the Ros Wilson 2020 / Big Writing and the Literacy Hour.

I wouldn't be without it.

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Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
by: Maryanne Wolf

November 06, 2008
In Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, Maryanne Wolf, an expert on the reading brain, describes how our brains manage to read. Reading is not an innate activity, but it is an invention, and only a few thousand years old at that. It does not come naturally to humans in the way that walking or eating does and on the first page of this book, we learn that it is only because of the remarkable "plasticity" of our brains that we are able to achieve an understanding of the written word.

The book is divided into three parts. Firstly the history of how humans learned to read, secondly how reading is learned and how it develops, and thirdly what happens when in cases like dyslexia, something goes wrong in ... Read More:

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The Writer's Handbook 2009: 816

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
from: Macmillan

July 25, 2008
I bought the 2001 version when I was a student and purchased this one because I wanted to get back into writing again. It has definately improved with age and still contains every contact an aspiring writing could ever need. There's a very in-depth article in this addition on the UK tax implications for the writer which I found interesting (perhaps, that says more about the reviewer than the book!).

Would highly recommend and best to read with a notepad, pen and highlighter handy.

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Children's Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2009 (Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook) (Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
from: A & C Black Publishers Ltd

August 07, 2008
I bought the 2001 version when I was a student and purchased this one because I wanted to get back into writing again. It has definately improved with age and still contains every contact an aspiring writing could ever need. There's a very in-depth article in this addition on the UK tax implications for the writer which I found interesting (perhaps, that says more about the reviewer than the book!).

Would highly recommend and best to read with a notepad, pen and highlighter handy.

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The Art of Fiction: Illustrated from Classic and Modern Texts

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
by: David Lodge

July 28, 1994
The book might be cheap but it isn't worth the amount of money asked. I thought I would get an idea how to write a novel, just some insight and advise, and instead I get nothing. The author with great care, talks about ancient books, that are probably very important books, but are of no relevance really to anyone trying to write for fun and in our current century.
I don't need to know who or why someone wrote something in 100 years ago and while Jane Astin was an excellent writer, I don't want to know about her style or what it is called.
I had been looking for some qualified advise what to do in writing a story and what not to do, what techniques to apply and how certain sentence structurs could be used, I do not care to know how ancient ... Read More:

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Your Writing Coach: From Concept to Character, from Pitch to Publication - Everything You Need to Know About Writing Novels, Non-fiction, New Media, Scripts and Short Stories

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
by: Jurgen Wolff

April 19, 2007
I was one of those people who said for years that they wanted to write, but never quite got round to it. In January of this year, I decided to stop procrastinating and DO something about it. I bought lots and lots of books on writing, and I have to say that of the seven or eight I bought, ''Your Writing Coach'' is by far the best (with Stephen King's ''On Writing'' coming a close second.)

First of all, it's immensely readable. Like one of the other reviewers of this book, I read it from cover to cover, rather than just dipping into it, though now I am writing regularly, I refer to sections of it again and again.

It is very well laid out, with an overview of each chapter, and a summary of the key points, along with exercises to help you. There ... Read More:

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Oxford Reading Tree: Stage 1: Kipper Storybooks: Pack of 6 (1 of Each Title) (Oxford Reading Tree)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
by: Roderick Hunt

January 10, 2008
I was one of those people who said for years that they wanted to write, but never quite got round to it. In January of this year, I decided to stop procrastinating and DO something about it. I bought lots and lots of books on writing, and I have to say that of the seven or eight I bought, ''Your Writing Coach'' is by far the best (with Stephen King's ''On Writing'' coming a close second.)

First of all, it's immensely readable. Like one of the other reviewers of this book, I read it from cover to cover, rather than just dipping into it, though now I am writing regularly, I refer to sections of it again and again.

It is very well laid out, with an overview of each chapter, and a summary of the key points, along with exercises to help you. There ... Read More:

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Writer's Market UK 2009

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
from: David & Charles Ltd

April 25, 2008
In previous years I have purchased both the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook and the Writer's Handbook, but last year decided to give Writer's Market UK a try.

I was so impressed, I bought the 2009 version, rather than going back to either of the other two. I feel there is more inforamation and the accompanying website (which is free to use) is invaluable.

Clearly, directories of this sort have to be compiled many months in advance of the year stated on the front, and so some information will be outdated by the time many people purchase the book. There will always be changes to the staff of magazines and publishing houses, and this will be an issue that affects all three of the main writers' directories, not just Writer's Market UK. Writers should ... Read More:

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Writing a Novel and Getting Published for Dummies (For Dummies)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Publishing and Books
by: George Green, Lizzy Kremer

April 13, 2007
This book will give you a rare and precious feeling of safety as you begin the interminable wrestle with words. It's good for beginners but it's also good for intermediates like me who are still trying to learn the art of the craft, or is it the craft of the art? I wouldn't know if it's useful for advanceds because I'm not one, but I hope to be with the help of this book. It is big, it is clever and it is funny, and it's more genius than dummy.
Matthew Connolly
(former arts critic for The Times)