Last week we celebrated the publication of Sarah McIntyre’s brilliant comic book, Vern & Lettuce. And because Vern is a woolly sheep, Lettuce loves to knit and Sarah shares her studio with one of the founders of Stitch London, the evening had a knitting theme.

All guests were challenged to knit a sheep, with prizes awarded for the Most Splendid Sheep. It was a great night, bringing together lots of top knitters and comic-creators. Fuelled with cupcakes, brownies and glasses of fizz and armed with wool and knitting needles, the Stamford Arms was soon full of people stitching little sheeps.

Here’s Kate Brown, author of Spider Moon, getting stuck in:

And here’s me and David, failing to submit to the knit but having fun nonetheless:

Sarah looked fantastic in a sparkly party dress and spent much of the evening signing copies of her gorgeous book, which is out now!

We are so pleased to be publishing the Canadian author Ken Oppel’s latest book,  HALF BROTHER, in January 2011. It has just had the most fantastic preview in the Bookseller – Lindsay Stainer from Blackwell’s calls it ‘compulsively readable, extraordinarily gripping and moving’  and ‘a triumph’ – and she’s absolutely right. The novel tells the story of a boy whose parents adopt a chimpanzee in order to teach it language (based on true experiments conducted in the 1970s) - and the heartbreak that ensues after the experiment comes to an end.  When I was a young teenager, there were two novels which affected me enormously: PLAYING BEATTIE BOW by Ruth Park, and SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER by Bette Green. I guarantee that HALF BROTHER will inspire a similar passion in readers that these two remarkable books did in me - this is a book that readers balancing precariously between childhood and adulthood will never forget. If anyone would like a proof copy, let me know – i have five to give away, so first-come, first-served!

If, like me, you missed the launch party for Monkey Nuts by Robin and Lawrence Etherington  last Thursday, it sounds like you missed a treat!

The party took place at the lovely Kew Bookshop in London, where the owners, Mark and Isla, had created the most amazing window display:

Publisher, David Fickling, and author, Robin, both gave energetic speeches, glasses were raised and co-creators Robin and Lawrence were kept busy signing books for the rest of the evening.

The brothers had bowls of actual monkey nuts to help them keep their strength up, although, as anyone who’s ever met them will know, they’re never short of get-up-and-go! Everyone in the signing queue was asked “monkey or robot?” so that Lorenzo could doodle a pic of their chosen character. And some lucky people got both!

Check out the Etheringtons’ blog for more info, pics and a video of the speeches.

John’s new book, NOAH BARLEYWATER RUNS AWAY, is already looking like it’s going to be a huge book for this autumn – and we’re thrilled. John is on his UK tour this week, after a fabulous launch in Dublin last week with 200 people squeezed into the wonderful Gutter bookshop. After some emotional speeches, John’s extensive family and friends enjoyed some true Irish hospitality late into the night – and although the event was slightly marred by David being nearly stranded in Dublin, a very good time was had by all.

To read all about Andy Mulligan’s TRASH tour, check out Carli Bennett’s brilliant blog, Writing from the Tub. Andy wrote his own blog while on tour, which Carli kindly hosted.

We met Carli at the Trash dinner and she clearly knows her stuff, so do browse her reviews of the latest YA fiction while you’re there. Meanwhile, we’ll keep aspiring to blog as regularly as the experts do!