Links Recap

Another week, and more fabulous posts!

Starting with the most important posts - author Phil Earle is raising money for his son's school, hit hard by the Boxing Day floods, and has raised £1400 so far, and my friend Caitlin has started a blog on life with a chronic condition, books, and other things.  Please check out those two, even if you don't have time to read everything else here!

Also, we relaunched fab forum Bookish Peeps, which myself and Michelle help Jesse to run, and would LOVE to see more people there!

Right here, I posted some random thoughts on book blogging. 

If you're interested in blogging but not sure where to start, my friend Daphne is currently looking for a co-blogger for Winged Reviews, one of the best blogs going! Details here. And there's a brilliant review of Daphne's fabulous Illumicrate over on YA Midnight Reads - are you signed up?

Next week sees my friend Stacey's first #ChatClassics as part of the #2016ClassicsChallenge! 8pm GMT on Saturday 16th Jan. I'm working on a recommendations post for Teens On Moon Lane, but there's a few from me here in last year's post. I also loved Lucy The Reader's video on books she wants to read for it. The challenge also gets a mention in this awesome video by Reality's A Bore.

If your classics knowledge is red-hot, don't miss our Sporcle quiz!

I shared most of my favourite posts about looking back on 2015 last week, but since then have found this gorgeous one from Zoella, which I adored! I also loved best books of 2015 posts from Jess Hearts Books and Minerva Reads. And this one from Caitlin on books, TV and film!

There are SO MANY great chats coming up! Rebecca Wells, Ashley Herring Blake, and Mackenzi Lee have just announced the Bi YA Book Club. Details here.

The next #CountdownML chat is on 25th January, looking at late Jan/early Feb releases. I'm hugely grateful to Chelley from Tales of Yesterday for hosting the first, check out her post on it here.

She also had brilliant interviews on her blog with two of the authors who had books out last week, Marieke Nijkamp (This Is Where It Ends, which I'm hearing brilliant things about) and Lisa Williamson (paperback release of The Art Of Being Normal, my favourite YA book of 2015.) And a great one with Jessie Sullivan from wonderful publishers Stripes!

Lisa also did a fabulous 5-4-3-2-1 on Teens on Moon Lane, and the Guardian have an extract from TAOBN. http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/ng-interactive/2016/jan/06/extract-the-art-of-being-normal-lisa-williamson?CMP=share_btn_tw Also doing 5-4-3-2-1, the excellent Rohan Gavin!

Also on Teens, great guest posts from Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison and Katy Birchall!

I was also on MG Strikes Back,relaunching my Happy Book Birthday feature with six fabulous authors!

Fab bloggers The Book Smugglers have moved into publishing and have already published some things by INCREDIBLE authors - including Kate Elliott and SL Huang, favourites of mine. You could be next! There's an open call for novella submissions.

Sadly I can't get up to Storytellers Inc on 7th February for their Spinster Sunday event, but it looks AMAZING! Holly Bourne, Non Pratt, Natasha Farrant, Jenny McLachlan, Sara Barnard and Keris Stainton are a dream line-up. Tickets now on sale.

I LOVED the fabulously talented ladies of Hamilton doing My Shot!

Also non-bookish but WONDERFUL, artist Brian Kesinger did some Calvin and Hobbes-style Force Awakens artwork which may be the cutest thing EVER!

I'm very excited for Nikesh Shukla's collection of essays from emerging BAME writers, poets, journalists and artists - and it was FANTASTIC to hear that my friend Wei Ming Kam will be one of the 20 people writing for it!

I also really loved Juno Dawson's Guardian piece on the need to talk about mental health without stigma.

I really like LD Lapinski's tweets and can't wait to read a novel by her. That got a LOT closer to happening as she signed with superstar agent Claire Wilson, whose clients include Katherine Rundell, Lauren James, Sara Barnard, Mel Salisbury, Alexia Casale and several of my other favourite authors! (And Louise Jones, who again I am DESPERATE to read a book by!)

This Kimberly Ito post on spoilers and trigger warnings is brilliant!

One of the best books I've read so far in 2016 was Eric Lindstrom's Not If I See You First; I requested after a brilliant Kody Keplinger review and interview with Eric - check them both out, then buy the book!

I love adult/all-ages colouring books (especially the fabulous Colour Me Mindful series!) Great post here by Sarah McIntyre on why she does, too.

And finally, there's a great Guardian calendar of upcoming events in children's literature! For best use, combine with the spreadsheet me and Debbie run, as that has more release dates.

Have you read any of the above posts? Are there any other fantastic ones I've missed recently? Let me know in the comments!