Trash by Andy Mulligan has been shortlisted for The Red House Children’s Book Award  – the only national book award voted for entirely by children. Voting closes on 21st May – that’s in just over a week  – so please make sure your opinion counts, by voting here! Votes will be counted in preparation for an awards ceremony on 11 June, in Birmingham. 

‘This is a riveting adventure of three boys who have nothing, attempting to fulfill a dead man’s last altruistic wish. Their success rides on their ability to outsmart and out run the police. With the odds against them they band together forging a future from the trash.’  (Cecie O’Bryon England’s review of TRASH  for The Washington Times)

If you haven’t yet read TRASH  – get to it!!

 TRASH  is reverberating around the globe at the moment, and it’s music to our ears listening to all the fantastic reviews and nominations the book has received! Here are just a few tit bits from our TRASH stash :

For starters, check out Andy Mulligan’s brilliant new website – click here to have a look! 

• Winners, with the best Independant Booksellers’ window display of TRASH - ‘THE BOOK NOOK’ in Hove!!

• An interview with Andy Mulligan from Alex Riley’s ‘Lit Blog’

• TRASH  has been chosen for the Winter 2010-2011 Kids’ Indie Next List (“Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers”) – woohoo!

• TRASH  has it’s very own facebook page – become a fan!

• TRASH  has been included in the School Library Journal “Best Books of the Year” list (check out their review here).

Have a brilliant weekend!

Andy Mulligan went on a whirlwind tour of America a few weeks ago, alongside David as his publisher, to talk to the movers and shakers across the pond about the novel, TRASH. Andy talks here about his  few days in the US…

New York, New York! – imagine, rolling in from the UK for the first time and seeing all those sights from the movies. I sat in the limo waiting to be swept up in a car chase, mugged in Central Park or at least screamed at by yellow-cab taxi-psychos. I was rather disappointed to find that the city is in fact the most organised, courteous and beautiful of places. My neck is half broken from staring upwards at the glittering skyline. Anyway, the Random House US machine is an astonishing beast, and I’ve been talking ‘Trash’ to executives, librarians, teachers and booksellers for hours now. The enthusiasm! – it’s wild!

BOSTON

I didn’t even know Harvard Universtiy was in Boston, and here I am walking its leafy lanes – how stupid am I? As a teacher, half my students want to study at this gorgeous place. What a treat to be having supper that evening with some truly erudite booksellers and library-leaders. Overwhelming again to hear that ‘Trash’ is close to their hearts.

WASHINGTON

We’re moving fast, David Fickling and me – David is my publisher and a man of infinitely more charm and sophistication than me, so I let him do most of the talking. We flew into the city early, and were picked up by a brick of a man with the robot voice of a security agent. He turned out to be one of the US President’s former drivers, so our limo swept past the White House as he told us tales of thwarted kidnaps and nabbed terrorists…I have never felt so safe in a car. I didn’t want to get out! However, we have dinner tonight with more shakers and movers of the publishing world, who all promise to throw ‘Trash’ out to the world. This is an overwhelming experience! I don’t want it to stop!

BACK HOME

It’s over, I’m sorry to say - the first ‘Trash’ US tour came to an end in the exquisite city of Chicago, overlooking Lake Mitchigan – another huge turn out of interested booksellers, journalists and publishers. More penetrating questions about the book’s origins – everyone wants to know who the children are, which means I get to talk about the various streetkids they’re based on, which inevitably brings a tear to my eye. Clearly I am going to have to toughen up. It’s also clear that out here the vast industry of publishing is still very dependent on the dynamism of individuals: I have met the most dedicated groups of librarians and booksellers, passionate about their roles in spreading good literature. It’s been eye-opening and very encouraging. I spent a few restful days in Greenwich Village, looking for the ghosts of Leonard Cohen and David Byrne – I think the Village is too gentrified for them, sadly. I had to stand still and gawp at the beauty of the buildings, and I think my love affair with New York has only just begun. But I’m back in London, hard at work…
 

Yesterday, Andy Mulligan, author of TRASH*, and his agent, Jane Turnbull, came to visit us at DFB. Here they are, sitting at David’s table with a copy of the very red book proof:

Andy has just got back from the Philippines, and although we’ve been exchanging emails about his book for months, this was the first time we’d actually met (I’d already disappeared home for Christmas last time he came to visit). 

We had lunch in Jamie’s Italian, which is dangerously close to our office. Jane had asparagus risotto (which looked way more professional than my attempt at the same recipe last week) and Andy let us try his chocolate and espresso tart (which was just as awesome as Jamie’s menu promised).

Here’s a sneak preview of the TRASH jacket, in pride of place on my notice board:

And a proper image so you can admire Richard Collingridge’s stunning artwork:

 We hope Andy and Jane will be coming for lots more lunches!

*Coming soon, the book David calls our “thriller from Manila”.