Available for school and library events in England, 2nd  -6th July 2012.  A WITCH IN LOVE publishes in July 2012 and is the second of three books following the critically acclaimed A WITCH IN WINTER suitable for age 12+, Ruth will talk about how she became an author, her inspirations for the Winter Trilogy and her research into witchcraft legend and old English.  She can speak to groups of any size (up to 150 children). An event would need to be supported by book sales, access to a computer and projector and an experience of holding author visits is essential. 
For more information on Ruth and her books visit www.ruthwarburton.com

To book a place on the tour please contact Mia Churcher on 020 7053 6697 or mia.churcher[at]hachettechildrens.co.uk

Only three weeks to go until Lighting the Future, our joint SLA/YLG/SLG weekend course, which is taking place this year from 8th-10th June in Old Windsor. If you are coming to the course and would like to tweet about it, or if you can't attend but are interested in following tweets about it, we suggest using the hashtag #LTF12.

We look forward to seeing you there and/or reading your tweets!

For more information please visit the Lighting the Future website at http://www.lightingthefuture.org.uk/.

International bestselling author Philippa Gregory will be taking part in a live-streamed event at 1pm on Wednesday 30th May.  The event will be streamed from a venue in north London, where Philippa will be talking to a live school audience of 13-14 year olds from South Hampstead High School about the first book – Changeling – in her new series for teenagers, Order of Darkness.

Other schools, book groups and individuals across the globe will be invited to register to watch the live online event and submit their own questions by visiting www.philippagregorylive.com.  The event will also be made available to watch on demand for one month.

This is the first in a series of live-streamed author events from Simon & Schuster’s children’s and YA list.  Others to follow include Sophie McKenzie and Darren Shan.  For more information please contact Elisa Offord on 0207 316 1939 or 07966 326939.  To register to take part and submit a question please visit www.philippagregorylive.com

Tell The Siobhan Dowd Trust how you spread the Joy of Reading and win £1000 worth of books for your school!

The Siobhan Dowd Trust is proud to announce that Michael Rosen, Poet and ex-Childrens’ Laureate will be on the judging panel of a schools campaign, which is asking teachers and librarians for their ideas about how they encourage a love of books in their schools. The Trust will use the entries to build up a database of ideas which can be shared and swapped… and the ten best or most innovative ideas will receive £1000 worth of books selected by experts as some of the titles which every school should have one (or more) copies of. All schools in the UK are welcome to take part: nurseries through to sixth form, fee-paying schools are not eligible for a prize although they are welcome to share good ideas.

For details of how to enter (and the start of the database), please see the section for Teachers and Librarians - http://www.siobhandowdtrust.com/teachers-and-librarians

It is not too late to book  in for the one-day conference, which  will include walks, lectures, readings, and parallel sessions on topics that will appeal to students, teachers, Dickens experts, and the ‘interested reader’. The event will include an evening symposium of contemporary children’s authors speaking on how reading Dickens has influenced their work. The venue is V&A Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, London.  For more information or to book, visit: www.le.ac.uk/engassoc/conferences/D2012.html

BBC RADIO FOUR

TUESDAYS 22ND AND 29TH MAY 16.00 - 16.30

Presented by Michael Morpurgo

Produced by Beaty Rubens

Featuring Philip Pullman, Michael Rosen, Julia Donaldson, Margaret Meek, Nick Gibb MP,  and many others…

Episode one: Easy as ABC?

Episode two: Beyond the Reading Wars

Enter the Litro and IGGY International short story competition for 11 – 19 year olds

Are your pupils enthusiastic about writing? Why not share their tales with us for a chance to win £2,500 and see their words published in Litro short story and poetry magazine and displayed on a poster on the London Underground.

To enter the competition, go to www.warwick.ac.uk/litro

Good Luck!

Closing date: 24^th July 2012, Entrants must be aged between 11- 19 on the date of the entry

Twitterspace and Facecloud: Web 2.0 and Beyond for School Librarians is a brand new title in our Case Studies series.

Sure to be an important guide to what librarians can achieve in this rapidly expanding area, this Case Study is a must for your professional development. Topics covered include virtual author visits, storytelling with technology, using QR codes, Noodletools, Voicethread, Skype and personal learning networks.

As the rise of social media changes the way we think about and work in school libraries, this eclectic selection of case studies shows how school librarians are meeting the challenge of Web 2.0 and beyond.