I just wanted to highlight that Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature funding programme is now open for applications.
Live Literature funding is open to Scottish schools, libraries, community groups and not-for-profits. It provides partial funding for author visits, meaning over half of author fees and all expenses are covered by Scottish Book Trust. This applies to both in-person and remote events running any time before 31st March 2024.
You can find me on the Live Literature Directory here!
The upcoming deadlines are 20th February, 21st August and 20th November.
I love doing events and, while I am scaling back the number of events I’m planning for 2023 in comparison to last year, enquiries are still very welcome.
In the meantime, here are some photos from a few of my favourite events of 2022. It was a big year – five festivals, two libraries, around 18 schools and a five-week exhibition… no wonder I’m tired!
My local libraryInternational Literature Festival DublinForest School visitFalcons & Fairy Kings – Image courtesy of Nick AndersonKendal Mountain FestivalQueen Elizabeth Grammar School Primary Transition Project
It’s getting ever closer to the Winter Solstice and we’ve had days of snow and frost here in Scotland! So what better time to have been featured on Golden Books Girl as part of A Golden Blogmas 2022?
I wrote a guest post for lovely Amy all about my childhood holidays, snow-related folk tales and whether there is really such a thing as Christmas in a fairy realm without seasons… You can read it here!
It also seems like a good time for a seasonal reminder that The Sky Beneath the Stone might just make a lovely gift for a young (or young-at-heart) person in your life. If you’re ordering from your local indie bookshop, make sure you give them as much notice as possible as there are postal strikes happening (support the workers). You can also support indies by ordering through Bookshop.org.
If you’d like your copy dedicated, drop me a line on the Contact page and I will get a signed bookplate posted out to you, free of charge, although it may not arrive in time for Christmas Day.
On Sunday 20th November I am going to be in the wonderful town of Kendal for the annual Kendal Mountain Book Festival!
I’m so excited about this one because: a) it’s the first festival I’ve been involved with in Cumbria, the county where TSBTS is set and where I grew up b) KMF is the UK’s biggest adventure festival so you know Ivy would love to be there c) it’s a festival I love going to anyway, and has featured some friends and many writers I love!
The event will be taking place at 1.30pm on Sunday 20th November at the Abbot Hall Social Centre on Dowker’s Lane, Kendal. Come ready to share your favourite places and learn how to tell a story about them! (Participation is not required, for the shy beans out there.)
Tickets are free and you can reserve yours here. Suitable for all ages but most especially ~9-12 year olds.
I have just spent the past week setting up an exhibition at Florence Arts Centre in Egremont with Jessica Meagher, one of my oldest friends, with whom I run Heather & Yew.
As the flyer says, the exhibition is all about the Cumbrian folklore, history and nature that inspired Underfell – the fairy world underneath Cumbria – in The Sky Beneath the Stone. There are loads of historical images of the settings, newly commissioned works of art and photography, and lots of interactive elements like a collaborative map, a forest of stories and a mapreading challenge!
There are free events happening all through summer, as well as one special event where tickets are £5 – a creative writing nature trail at Dubbs Moss nature reserve.
We had our opening event on Saturday – a visit from Gary from Cumberland Bird of Prey Centre with a whole range of birds. We were worried the rain would slow us down but in the end we brought the whole event into the theatre at Florence and everyone had a turn at flying Buzz the Harris Hawk!
By the end of the day we also had loads of additions to our map. It was such a fantastic start to the exhibition!
The World Beneath the Fells is open at Florence Arts Centre from the 29th of July until the 4th of September, Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 4pm. Hope to see you there!
I recently wrote a guest post for Cumbria Wildlife Trust about learning to become ecologically literate as an adult.
I remember running through a field with my best friend on her parents’ farm when I was about ten years old.
I heard the strangest sound overhead – I thought it was a metal detector or maybe a robot, and couldn’t for the life of me understand why it was coming from the sky. It was nearly 20 years later that I finally learned what a lapwing sounds like.
Actually, for most of my life I didn’t know the names of many birds beyond magpies and sparrows, or the difference between beech and birch. I grew up outside Whitehaven and spent much of those years playing outdoors with my brothers and friends: nature was the backdrop to our fantasy worlds, inspired by The Lord of the Rings. Mounds of earth overgrown with long grasses were our mountain ranges; the bog at the bottom of the field was a deadly swamp. There was a whole village in the hollows of the hawthorn hedges, and an old railway sleeper behind the barn was a narrow bridge over a ravine.
This summer I’m going to be in Cumbria almost every weekend for the exhibition I’m running with my friend Jess, The World Beneath the Fells – all about the world of The Sky Beneath the Stone.
More about that later, but for now I wanted to let you know that I’m running a free five-week creative writing workshop for young people aged 16-25.
“Whether you’ve been writing since you could hold a pen or have never quite been sure where to start, this workshop is for anyone aged 16-25 who’s interested in discovering how stories work. We’ll learn about character development, story structure and worldbuilding, using the places we know and experiences we’ve had to propel our writing to far-flung planets or times gone by – or right here at home. Participants will work towards completing a short story or outlining and beginning a book, with the optional opportunity to read your work or have it read out at the final event of the exhibition, BETWEEN THE PAGES.
Every Sunday from 31st July to 28th August 2022, 2-4pm, Florence Arts Centre. Participants should do their best to attend all sessions.
FREE but places are strictly limited.
To apply, send a paragraph about yourself and why you would like to participate to alex.mullarky@gmail.com. Please feel free to email with any questions you have about the course!”
If you know anyone who might be interested in taking part, please put them in touch as I’m really hoping to have a few keen pupils!
Here are six books I think you’ll love if you enjoyed reading The Sky Beneath the Stone.
Secrets of the Last Merfolk by Lindsay Littleson
They gave you the box, they gave me the key. The merfolk exist, and they want us to find them.
New friends Finn and Sage discover an incredible secret: real merfolk live under the wild waves off the Scottish coast. The sea-people are brave, proud, powerful — and in grave danger.
Can Finn and Sage help defeat a terrifying enemy before the last of the merfolk are lost forever?
Why I loved it: beautiful Scottish coastal setting, two friends on an outdoor adventure, mythical creatures!
Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna
Cassie Morgan has run away. After seven years spent waiting for her mother to return, she flees her dreary boarding school and sets out to find her. But the world outside her school is full of hidden magic and children have been going missing.
With the help of a talking cat and a flying broom, Cassie escapes to the enchanted village of Hedgely. There she will begin her training in the practical skills of witchcraft with the Hedgewitch, who watches over the Hedge, the vast forest that marks the border between England and Faerie.
Why I loved it: such immersive nature detail, alternative history, practical magic and a liminal forest.
The Hunt for the Nightingale by Sarah Ann Juckes
Ten-year-old Jasper has been waiting all spring for his beloved nightingale to return to his garden and sing. But it’s not there, and neither is his sister, Rosie. His parents seem sad and preoccupied, so gathering his courage, his backpack and his treasured Book of Birds, Jasper sets out alone on a walk to find them both.
The expedition takes Jasper through town and country, meeting a host of characters who are also searching for lost things. Helping his new friends, Jasper begins to see that he may not find what he is looking for when he reaches the journey’s end, but even in the darkest of moments, a nightingale’s song can be heard somewhere.
Why I loved it: an outdoor adventure, emotional themes sensitively explored, birds, birds and more birds!
The Ghost of Gosswater by Lucy Strange
The Lake District, 1899
The Earl is dead and cruel Cousin Clarence has inherited everything. Twelve-year-old Lady Agatha Asquith is cast out of Gosswater Hall to live in a tiny, tumbledown cottage with a stranger who claims to be her father. Aggie is determined to discover her real identity, but she is not alone on her quest for the truth. On the last day of the year, when the clock strikes midnight, a mysterious girl of light creeps through the crack in time; she will not rest until the dark, terrible secrets of the past have been revealed …
Why I loved it: Cumbrian setting, very practical protagonist, an old manor house setting and a spooky island on a lake.
The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle
When Fionn Boyle sets foot on Arranmore Island, it begins to stir beneath his feet …
Once in a generation, Arranmore Island chooses a new Storm Keeper to wield its power and keep its magic safe from enemies.
The time has come for Fionn’s grandfather, a secretive and eccentric old man, to step down.
Soon, a new Keeper will rise. But, deep underground, someone has been waiting for Fionn. As the battle to become the island’s next champion rages, a more sinister magic is waking up, intent on rekindling an ancient war.
Why I loved it: a real-life setting imbued with magic, timey-wimey stuff, totally heartwrenching conclusion.
The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson
They call me Yanka the Bear. Not because of where I was found – only a few people know about that. They call me Yanka the Bear because I am so big and strong.
Found abandoned in a bear cave as a baby, Yanka has always wondered about where she is from. She tries to ignore the strange whispers and looks from the villagers, wishing she was as strong on the inside as she is on the outside. But, when she has to flee her house, looking for answers about who she really is, a journey far beyond one that she ever imagined begins: from icy rivers to smouldering mountains meeting an ever-growing herd of extraordinary friends along the way.
Why I loved it: heroine on an epic adventure, enchanted forest, stories retold, magical transformation.
These are just some of the brilliant MG books I’ve been lucky enough to read lately. If you have recommendations for more books along these lines please do send them my way!
Hello! I’ll be in various places around Scotland talking about The Sky Beneath the Stone in April, starting with the book launch at my local, wonderful Lighthouse Books in Edinburgh on Friday 1st April at 7pm. Free tickets are available or you can contribute £3 which is redeemable against a copy of the book.
It’ll be a busy weekend because we have our first roller derby game for over two years on the Saturday and then on Sunday 3rd April I’ll be at Moat Brae in Dumfries as part of Big DoG Festival! The event is at 2.30pm and costs £3, and amazingly there will be actual birds of prey you can meet in the garden afterwards.
At the end of the month I’ll be over in Glasgow running a couple of workshops for the schools programme at Wee Write on the 28th April. More information is available here.
You’ll be able to buy a copy of the book at all of these events, and in the meantime you can always pick up a copy at your local indie bookshop or order a copy through my Bookshop.org affiliate page. 10% of author royalties will always be donated to Cumbria Wildlife Trust so they can keep doing the amazing work they do.
If you have read and enjoyed the book it would be so helpful if you could take the time to leave a review or share it on social media!
Starting on publication day (24th Feb) The Sky Beneath the Stone is going on tour! I’ve written some guest posts and there’ll be a couple of reviews and a Q&A too.
These are the links to the blogs – check them on the dates above to see the posts.
To all the blogs above, thanks for having me and featuring TSBTS!
Kelpies have made an amazing interactive map of Underfell for you to navigate your way around Cumbria’s subterranean fairy realm, and a beautiful downloadable poster.
One last thing – I am counting down the days to publication on my Instagram with some throwbacks to growing up in Cumbria.
Alex Mullarky 