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Archive of ‘Winter Magic’ category

Celebrating Winter Magic

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It’s been such fun being part of Winter Magic! As if it wasn’t enough to be part of one lovely middle-grade anthology this year, I’ve been lucky enough to be part of TWO – the crime anthology Mystery & Mayhem, and now this gorgeous festive collection.

It’s been wonderful to join forces with other middle grade authors, and to have the chance to collaborate on these projects. What’s more, it’s also been great to hear from teachers and librarians about how useful they’re finding these books, and how popular they are with young readers. Short stories make great bite-size reads, and teachers have told us that they find these collections incredibly useful for the classroom, providing a series of complete texts that they can share with pupils from beginning to end. An anthology bringing together lots of different authors can also offer a great way for readers to explore a variety of different kinds of writing – and to discover new authors they love.

Winter Magic also offered me a chance to try my hand at writing a story outside the ‘world’ of the Sinclair’s Mysteries, which was an enjoyable challenge. My story ‘Casse-Noisette’ explores one of my favourite Christmas traditions – going to the ballet. Set in 1890s St Petersburg, it will whisk you behind the scenes at the Marinsky Theatre, for the first ever production of the classic Christmas ballet The Nutcracker. I’ve been noticing The Nutcracker popping up all over the place this Christmas – from a brand new immersive production to the Liberty’s Christmas windows and displays (below)!

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I’ve had such a lovely time reading and enjoying the other stories in the anthology, and celebrating the book at several events.

We marked the launch of Winter Magic at Waterstones Piccadilly with mince pies, candy canes, chocolate treats, and mulled wine. Anthology curator Abi made a fantastic speech about the book, and lots of people came along to celebrate with us – it was especially wonderful to see a big gang of Little Star Writers in attendance!

A photo posted by Katherine Woodfine (@followtheyellow) on

I was back at Waterstones Piccadilly a couple of weeks later, together with Abi, Geraldine McCaughrean and Lauren St John, for a panel event all about the anthology. We talked about everything from Christmas traditions to our favourite books to read at Christmas – and signed lots of books for people who came along.

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I also popped along to lovely London indie the South Kensington Bookshop to sign some books, together with Abi, Emma Carroll and Piers Torday. As well as signing lots of copies of Winter Magic, we had chance to admire the shop’s beautiful window display – check out those snowflakes!

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Look out for more Winter Magic events coming up soon – including a session with Abi, Emma, Piers and Michelle Harrison at Waterstones Birmingham on 7 December.

You can also find out more about Winter Magic – and read some of the lovely reviews we’ve had so far – on my website here.

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Happy book birthday Winter Magic!

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I’m so excited that Winter Magic is published today! I’m delighted to be part of this beautiful and classic anthology of frosty, magical tales curated by the wonderful Abi Elphinstone and published by Simon & Schuster. Featuring everything from snow queens, frost fairs, snow dragons and pied pipers, it’s a real festive treat.

The anthology includes brilliant stories from classic children’s writers Michelle Magorian, Geraldine McCaughrean, Jamila Gavin, Berlie Doherty, Piers Torday, Lauren St John, Amy Alward & Emma Carroll. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of such an impressive line-up of children’s writing talent.

My story ‘Casse-Noisette’ is set in 1890s St Petersburg, and is told from the point of view of a young dancer in the very first production of The Nutcracker. I’ve always loved reading ballet stories by the likes of Noel Streatfeild, Eva Ibbotson and Lorna Hill, so it was wonderful to have a go at writing one of my own.

The book itself is a thing of beauty: a gorgeous hardback (my first hardback!) with silver foil on the cover, and fabulous endpapers featuring all the authors’ signatures. The beautiful cover illustration is the work of illustrator Thomas Flintham.

You can get hold of a copy of the book from Waterstones  The Hive  or Amazon now – or if you’re in London, I’ll be doing a special signing with Abi and Piers at the South Kensington Bookshop on Monday 7 November; and appearing at an event at Waterstones Piccadilly with Abi, Lauren and Geraldine on 22 November – find all the details on my events listing here.

Keep an eye out on social media for lots of fun festive tweets to celebrate Winter Magic – this week the authors celebrated publication day by sharing childhood photos of ourselves enjoying the snow. Here’s me aged 4, setting out on an intrepid winter adventure. Follow #WinterMagic on Twitter for lots more!

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Winter Magic Cover Reveal

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Check out the beautiful cover for forthcoming short story anthology Winter Magic,  illustrated by Thomas Flintham!

I’m so thrilled to be part of this beautiful collection of frosty and magical winter short stories from a whole host of wonderful children’s writers, which has been curated by the brilliant Abi Elphinstone.

Here’s how publisher Simon & Schuster describe the new book:

Dreamsnatcher’s Abi Elphinstone heads up this gorgeous collection of wintery stories, featuring snow queens, frost fairs, snow dragons and pied pipers from classic children’s writers such as Michelle Magorian, Geraldine McCaughrean, Jamila Gavin, Berlie Doherty, Katherine Woodfine, Piers Torday, Lauren St John, Amy Alward and Emma Carroll, among others. An unmissable, enchanting treat of a collection that will be enjoyed for years to come, by readers of all ages.

I love stories with wintery festive settings, and I had so much fun writing my contribution to this anthology. It’s another historical tale, but this time it doesn’t take place in the world of the Sinclair’s Mysteries series – but instead in snowy St Petersburg in the 1890s…

Winter Magic will be published in November, but you can pre-order now from Waterstones or The Hive or Amazon and add it on Goodreads.

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