Book Club Questions – The Breaking

9 March, 2021 Site Manager Leave a comment

The Breaking – Book Club Conversation Starters (pdf, 451 kb)

The Breaking

19 December, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

by Irma Gold

Hannah Bird has just arrived in Thailand. Disoriented and out of her depth, she meets Deven, a fierce and gutsy Australian expat who sweeps her into thrilling adventures rescuing elephants.

As they head deeper and deeper into the fraught world of elephant tourism, their lives become tangled in ways Hannah never imagined. But how far will they go to save a life? Continue reading The Breaking →

Author

Irma Gold

1 December, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

Irma Gold is an award-winning author and editor. She has previously published a short fiction collection, Two Steps Forward, and her short fiction has been widely published in anthologies and journals like Meanjin, Island, Westerly, Going Down Swinging and Review of Australian Fiction, among many others. She has also published three children’s books, with another two forthcoming in 2021. She is co-host of the Secrets from the Green Room writing podcast.

The Breaking is her debut novel. It won the NSW Writers’ Centre Varuna Fellowship Award and received development funding from artsACT and CAPO. Irma is Ambassador for Thailand’s Save Elephant Foundation and has worked with rescued elephants in Chiang Mai, Surin and Kanchanaburi. www.irmagold.com

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The Ghost Squad

18 November, 2020 Editor-in-Chief 1 Comment

by Sophie Masson

Imagine a world where all seems normal and yet nothing is — a world very much like our own, yet jarringly unlike. A world where two clandestine organisations, the Ghost Squad and the Base, are engaged in a secret battle for control of information so dangerous it could literally change life as humans have always known it… Continue reading The Ghost Squad →

Author

Sophie Masson

2 November, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

Born in Indonesia of French parents, and brought up in France and Australia, Sophie Masson is the award-winning and internationally-published author of over 60 books for children, young adults and adults. A former chair of the Australian Society of Authors and current chair of the New England Writers’ Centre, in 2019 Sophie received an AM (Member, General Division) award in the Order of Australia.

Sophie’s novel The Ghost Squad will be published by MidnightSun in February 2021.

Books

The Making of Ling Li’s Lantern

18 September, 2020 Random Editor 2 Comments

As an intern at MidnightSun Publishing, every day brings something different. No two books are the same and so neither is the publishing process. I have the wonderful opportunity to get a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak, to be a small part of every process involved in taking a project from its genesis as a humble manuscript, to its completion as a published and tangible book that people will hold in their hands and lose themselves in.

Ling Li's Lantern cover — Ling Li’s Lantern cover

For children’s book author Steve Heron and illustrator Benjamin Johnston, that process is finally complete, with their masterpiece, Ling Li’s Lantern published on 1^st September 2020. I had a chat with Steve and Ben about the making of their book and what the different stages of the journey looked like for them.

As with many fantastic books, the beginning of Ling Li’s journey was almost also the end. Ling Li’s Lantern was sent to many different publishing houses before MidnightSun fell in love with her story. Finally, after months of hearing ‘nothing but crickets and rejections’, as Steve puts it, from publishers other than MidnightSun, his manuscript was finally Continue reading The Making of Ling Li’s Lantern →

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Mountain Arrow

1 September, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

by Rachel Hennessy

The second book in The Burning Days series

The River People and the Mountain People have survived for another season. But at what cost? Pandora has returned to her village. She is haunted both by her failure to bring her friend home and the vision she has seen of the last days, The Burning, when creatures swarmed the city. How did these monsters come into being in the first place? And are the last remnants of humanity really safe from them? Continue reading Mountain Arrow →

Uncategorized

Open for Submissions!

1 August, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

The month of August has arrived and MidnightSun is now open for submissions. Thank you for your patience. It’s great to be back! We have managed to read through the slush pile (when I say ‘we’ I really mean our amazing editor Alicia) so now we are looking for new work.

We are especially interested in picture books that tell an intriguing story; it could be contemporary or historical. We love books that reflect the diverse society we live in, that considers the environment and give children hope for a better world. However, books that are didactic and only have a mission to teach, rather than to tell a story, bores us. We want stories about kids with two mums or two dads (or more), stories about kids who don’t conform to gender norms, kids who are adventurous, shy, scared, happy, travelling the world, looking after their parents. Stories that surprise and delight us. Most of all, we want stories where the language sings.

In terms of middle-grade books for 8-12 year olds we want books with strong protagonists who experience a lot in a short space of time and change through their adventures.

We are always on the lookout for edgy, contemporary YA stories. Maybe the characters are rebelling against gender constraints at school or explore their sexuality. Perhaps they are saving the world through activism, coping with the death of a loved one or are bullied.

Adult fiction is the backbone of MidnightSun and we love stories that are not easily defined or pigeon-holed. Stories that cross over several genres: literary fiction and thriller, crime and speculative fiction. We regularly publish short story collections, often by new writers, because we love them. As for all the books we publish, the language has to lead the way into the story.

In fact, the bottom line for every single book we publish is that we have to love it! So send us your most beloved writing and we look forward to reading it. Just remember to please read the updated submission guidelines carefully before submitting. Thank you!

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Esmeralda’s Nest

1 August, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

written by Robert Moore, illustrated by Mandy Foot

HB 32 | 215 x 215
ISBN: 9781925227666 | $29.99
Picture book | October 2020
MidnightSun Publishing
Distributed by NewSouth Books

Each day Esmeralda collects a variety of objects and waddles down the hill.

Everyone wonders why the Saddleback sow is carrying a bottle, fencing wire and a pair of trousers in her mouth.

Only Esmeralda knows. Nothing will stop her. Continue reading Esmeralda’s Nest →

Author

Mandy Foot

1 August, 2020 Editor-in-Chief 1 Comment

Mandy Foot’s obsession with drawing animals began when she was two, with chalk, on her grandparents’ pavement. Now as a best-selling children’s book illustrator and author of over 20 books, her canvas has evolved and her studio is shared with her joined-at-the-hip Border Collies. An Ambassador for Raising Literacy Australia, Mandy shares her passion of literacy and drawing via workshops with thousands of school students every year.

Author

Robert Moore

1 August, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

Robert Moore lives in Adelaide and is a published author of several children’s books and fiction as well as numerous poems, articles and short stories. He won the inaugural Feast Short Story Competition and was awarded a special commendation by AsthmaSA for his play Breathe Easy which was written and workshopped in conjunction with children and staff from Para Hills Primary School.

Teacher Notes

Teacher Notes – Esmeralda’s Nest

1 August, 2020 Site Manager Leave a comment

Teachers’ Notes for Esmeralda’s Nest (pdf, 176 kb)

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Ling Li’s Lantern

20 July, 2020 Editor-in-Chief 2 Comments

Written by Steve Heron, illustrated by Benjamin Johnston

HB 32 | 210 x 297 | ISBN: 9781925227673 | $29.99
Picture book | September 2020
MidnightSun Publishing
Distributed by NewSouth Books

After she is set a challenge to test her wisdom, Ling Li returns from the village marketplace with only a lantern to light her way. How will she prove herself to her father?

Ling Li’s Lantern is a heart-warming story about compassion, kindness and the true nature of Continue reading Ling Li’s Lantern →

Author

Benjamin Johnston

20 July, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

Benjamin Johnston works as a mild-mannered architect by daytime but roams imaginary streets as a masked vigilante-illustrator by night. Add to this that he is also a husband and dad of two girls… and he is really looking forward to the day he might actually have enough time for everything he wants to get done. Drawing and illustrating for children have always been his passion. He is the illustrator and co-creator of the successful STEM-inspired Engibears series.

Author

Steve Heron

20 July, 2020 Editor-in-Chief Leave a comment

Steve Heron’s passion is to write quality kids books that will touch and tickle kids’ hearts and foster hope. Steve’s first series of picture books that focus on social issues were released in 2007. His first middle-grade novel Maximus was published by Serenity Press in 2018. Steve completed a Diploma of Children’s Writing and Publishing in 2015 and in 2016 received an Order of Australia Medal for contribution to the social and emotional wellbeing of children. Ling Li’s Lantern is Steve’s first stand-alone picture book.

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