Who knows where the time goes

So my plans to update this newsletter on a more regular basis were sabotaged by an unexpected house move. On New Year’s Eve. Symbolic to wake up in a new home in a new year, I suppose; less to fun to have to nip over and clean the old place!

While all that was happening, other forces were at work and, rather splendidly, one of those forces means that my Doctor Who book Caged (available now from all good booksellers and some naughty ones) won an award! A British Science Fiction Association Award, no less, for best fiction for younger readers! I am absolutely delighted about this; my very first award for my writing. There’ll be pictures here when I have it.

And - because it’s now months since I wrote anything here, I’ve had another book come out in the meantime, and yet another announced. Last one first: I have written my first ever Target novelisation, for the first episode of the new season of Doctor Who. Titled The Robot Revolution, it will be out in June from a range of booksellers; do choose a non-naughty one.

And then my other project - completely different from my usual - is my book with Woman’s Hour, which came out at the end of February. The book contains a quotation for every day of the year from someone interviewed on Woman’s Hour, and each quotation is followed up with some reflection or discussion by me. This was such a lovely project: I got to delve into the audio archive, and listen to some incredible stories. It’s a beautiful book too, which I personally think would make an excellent birthday or Christmas present for every single person that you know.

One other project which I want to flag up is my ongoing column with Interzone. It’s called Dancing in the Library, and its my reflections on my reread of Ursula K Le Guin, as I make my way through the volumes published by the Library of America. I’ve written two so far (the first on the Orsinian stories, the second on the early Hainish stories), and the rest will be coming over the next few months. So do a good deed for the day and subscribe to Interzone!

Last of all, if you’re free at the start of August, my retreat for speculative fiction writers will be running again in lovely sunny rural France. We still have a space or two. It’s very relaxed - no ‘classes’, just a chance to work in peace and quiet, and have a couple of one-to-one tutorials with me about your work. Plus cheese, wine, bread, and excellent company. What’s not to like?