sallymurphy.com.au

Sally Murphy, Australian author

What an Honour!

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It’s Bookweek, and that means today was announcement day for the Children’s Book Council of Australian Children’s Book of the Year Awards.  And…..

(pausing here for dramatic effect)

Worse Things was named an Honour Book!!!!

I am excited and chuffed and happy and, well, honoured.

There may have been a few happy teams today. Worse Things, like all my books, means a lot to me. And this was one was a bit of a hard sell when it came to getting it over the line for publication. But Walker Books took a chance, Sarah Davis made it look a-maaaaaaaa-zing, and, it seems readers are loving it.

I may or not be heading out to have a glass of champagne this evening with fellow West Australian book people, including fellow West Australian winners. at the CBCA Western Australian branch Bookweek dinner.

Dreams come true. Have a wonderful Book Week. Stay safe. Keep reading. And thank you because, if you are reading this, you are part of my writing journey!

PS. I should, of course, have mentioned the other winners. So many talented creators and amazing books in the winners list as well as on the shortlist and notable list.  Head to the CBCA website for all the details – and get reading!

A Great Thing Happened to Worse Things: It’s Notable!

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Hooray and hurrah! And all the other celebratory noises, too. I am happy dancing like crazy here, with the news that Worse Things has been named on the CBCA Notables list for 2021, in the Younger Readers category.   Knowing that the judges deemed my book worthy of this honour is an amazing feeling. Biggest congrats to the amazing Sarah Davis who is responsible for the amazing cover art – and the internals too! I still can’t believe she illustrated one of my books.

You can see the full notable list here.  One of the nicest things, for me, is seeing so many of my creator friends – authors and illustrators – also with books on the list. I can’t name them all because I might miss someone out, but it’s especially lovely to be on the list, in the same category, with my two special writer buddies Claire Saxby and Sue Whiting (who, incidentally, also each had a second book on the list in other categories). We have been friends for a looong time, but never imagined we would all appear on an a list like this at the same time.   Congratulations ladies!

Here we are celebrating – although  I must confess this photo is a few years old. We are currently in three separate states, and not sure when Covid will allow us to be together again. Thank goodness for Zoom!

Here’s to good friends, and to our books, and to the CBCA who runs the awards – and to you, my readers!

Upcoming Event

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If you are in or around South West WA, or fancy a day trip, I will be holding my first live author event for a veeerrry long time, hosted by the wonderful Collins Booksellers in Victoria Street Bunbury. Here’s the details:

I would love to see YOU there (and YOU and YOU too!)

A Quick Catch Up

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2020: the year of time simultaneously racing by and standing still. It is hard to believe it is late August already, and yet so much has happened this year, and looking back to February (when 2020 was just starting to look interesting) seems an age ago.

So what have I been doing since I last posted? Quite a lot – my day job (I teach future teachers at university) has been busier than ever this year, mainly because of the impact of the pandemic on my students’ studies. I’ve also been working on what I hope might be a new verse novel, and I was lucky enough to actually visit a real school last week.  Thanks to the staff and students of Yanchep Beach Primary School for welcoming me so warmly.

Although it hasn’t been the ideal time to launch a new book – no booklaunch  or other physical events during a pandemic – Worse Things has been read and shared and talked about lots online, which is really pleasing. Some highlights:

I have also been delighted by the people who have told me they’ve read and enjoyed it, and lots of posts on Instagram and other social media by readers spreading the word. Thank you!

Lastly, in between all this busyness, I have been walking lots. I am fortunate to live in Western Australia where, although we must remain cautious about Covid 19, our current situation means I can move around the state. My daily walks, mostly to my much-loved beach, are a form of meditation for me. If you are on Instagram, you can see the glimpses I share, hoping to spread the beauty to those who can’t wander far from home. In the meantime, here’s a glimpse of a wintry beach.

Thanks for dropping by.

Worse Things: The Cover Story

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As part of recent Readalong, I reflected  about each of the covers of my three previous verse novels: Pearl Verses the World had had two different covers, and two different titles, for different editions; Toppling had had three covers and two titles, and Roses are Blue just the one cover.  Additionally, there was branding. As you can see from the three Australian covers, whilst there’s not a series, the cover design links them to me, the author,and to the style of the book, all verse novels.

Pearl Verses the World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always loved these covers, and the branding part was exciting to me, because it felt like the brand was ‘Sally Murphy’ – even though of course there is a lot more to it than that. I felt that the cover design was a perfect match for the illustration style and for the form and content of the books. And feedback from readers young and old matched that. My post about the Pearl Verses the World cover, especially, drew dozens of comments here and on Facebook and Instagram.

However, the cover of my fourth verse novel, Worse Things is different. Very different.

Everything is different – the colour pallet, the font, the and the illustration style, too. The illustrations take up the whole cover, with the title part of the illustration. But guess what? I love it just as much as I loved those other covers.  Why? Because I think it’s perfect for this book. And I think Sarah Davis is a genius.

Although still a verse novel, and having some similarities in style and even themes, Worse Things is a bit of a break away from the earlier ones. The age of the characters is slightly older than the characters in the earlier books, meaning it is likely to be enjoyed by slightly older readers – although I think readers who enjoy the first three will also connect with the fourth, and vice-versa.

Worse Things is also a multi voice novel, with three characters telling the story, and I love the  way Sarah has captured key elements of each character’s life and their story, and used them on the cover. Readers will hopefully come back, after they’ve read the book, and be able to see why those images are there.

I’d love to hear what you think about this new cover. If you haven’t read the book, what do you think is suggested by the images?  You can comment here, or on Instagram or Facebook.

And, if you’d like to get better acquainted with the cover, I turned it into a digital puzzle for you to have a go at! You’ll find that here.