Headline Blogger Party 2011

On Friday I was invited to join various other bloggers (most of which I didn’t know- it wasn’t just YA) at Headline HQ in London to meet several of their authors, chat, look at a few books they’re excited about in the coming year or so and just having fun!

I arrived slightly early (the start was 4pm) and enjoyed the incredible views from the top of the building! Sam Eades then came up to meet me and just sort a few last things with another editor/publicist from Headline, whose name I cannot remember (EDIT: it’s Katie Sheldrake!). We didn’t have long until a large party arrived, complete with a bunch of bloggers I know including Liz, Darren, Darren, Sarah and Matt.

Look at all the goodies!

As per usual, it started with a bit of commingling- and I spent some time chatting to awesome blogger peeps after which the Headline team showed us an awesome video of their lineup. In short:

• Crypt- this reminded me of Department 19, except not D19, if you get what I mean. Sam Eades was wonderful and got me a proof copy! It’s publishing in September.
  Blurb:

  Meet Jud Lester: Star agent with CRYPT, the Covert Response Youth Paranormal Team. When a crime is committed and the police are at a loss, CRYPT is called in to figure out whether something paranormal is at work. Jud is their star agent. Jud, unwillingly paired with new recruit Bex, has just landed his biggest case yet … people have been disappearing in mysterious circumstances while others are viciously attacked – yet there are no suspects and a complete lack of hard evidence. The only thing that links each attack is the fact that survivors all claim that the culprits were 17th century highwaymen. Can Jud and Bex work out what has caused the spirits of these dangerous men to return to the streets of London before they wreak more death and destruction? A fantastic blend of teenage spies, horror and ghost-busting for fans of Cherub and Young Bond

• Pure- a new dystopian Headline is publishing next year. The concept seems slightly cliche, but I’m not gonna say anything until I’ve actually read it…
  Blurb:

  We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar, benevolently. Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the ‘Pure’. Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders’ regime, isn’t as perfect as others think. Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world.

• Cathy Brett’s new novel Verity Fibbs is coming in October. It looks to have the same Cathy Brett awesomeness!

After the video, the authors were introduced, and I spoke to Cathy and Jenna mostly, though I did get around some of the others I did not know.

Jenna Burtenshaw and Cathy Brett…

The evening was concluded with a great bookish Quiz, which my diminutive quiz team failed quite epically at. There were only four of us (Cityboy/Geraint Anderson, another publicist from Headline and another blogger) so we did have some help from Quiz-Queen Sam Eades and Quiz-Queen-Assisstant Maura Brickell! We still didn’t win, but it was fun doing the quiz, however badly we failed at it…

The Winning Quiz Team

After the quiz, some of the Headline team and bloggers and authors went out to a local pub. I’m not too sure about British pub laws, but I’m pretty sure that you have to be accompanied by parents if you’re under 16…so I promptly left for Home and arrived just in time to pop by my youth club.

It was quite an entertaining day!

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Cathy and me (I had my eyes open in another pic, but I looked weird. Click the link above for more)