The tenth Jiggy McCue book, Kid Swap, is now on sale. I hate the far-too-young-looking cover (I mean I REALLY hate the cover!) but the story's good. I'm now writing the eleventh Jiggy, and when that's done I'll start on the twelfth. The eleventh will be called One For All and All For Lunch, the twelfth Rudie Dudie.

A little book of mine called Young Wizards is also now out, though you might have to order it. It's published by Edinburgh publisher Barrington Stoke and follows my previous books for them, Young Dracula and Young Monsters. Young Dracula was the inspiration for the BBC-TV series, though the series and my book have very little in common beyond the title. An audio reading of Young Dracula (the book) is available.

My most recent non-comic novel, Juby's Rook, can be read by confident readers of ten and up, though its rightful place in bookshops is the young adults section. Set in 1999, the story concerns a cavalier act committed by the British government against the population of a Dorset village during the Second World War - a crime (as I see it) that has never been apologised for. Having said that the book can be read by confident younger readers, I'd better add that it's not recommended for anyone younger than thirteen because of one or two slightly 'adult' words in the text. I mention this to forestall complaints from parents and librarians.

JIGGY McCUE BOOKS ON CD

Three of the Jiggy McCue books are available on CD. They are Nudie Dudie, The Killer Underpants and The Toilet of Doom. All three are read by Kris Marshall.

SHORTLISTS, AWARDS AND MENTIONS

Ryan's Brain was shortlisted for the Tower Hamlets Book Award

The Griffin and Oliver Pie was shortlisted in the Portsmouth Children's Book Award

A Crack in the Line was shortlisted for:
The Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award
The North-East of England Book Award
The Michael L. Printz Award (US)
The Georgia Peach Book Award (US)
The American Library Association recommended it as one of last year's best books for 12-18 year olds 

Nudie Dudie won:
The Solihull Children's Book Award
The Doncaster Book Award
and was 'highly commended' at the Sheffield Children's Book Awards

The Poltergoose was shortlisted in the first Blue Peter Book Awards
 
The Killer Underpants won the Stockton-on-Tees Children's Book Award

SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES

I no longer do school or library events. Why not? Because nothing gets written when I'm away from my desk, and writing time is increasingly precious. I still show my face at the occasional festival, though.

OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK

I'm often asked to comment on pieces of fiction other than my own, and suggest where and to whom they might best be sent. This puts me in a position I would rather avoid. I'm not an editor, I'm no judge of literary merit, and I'm not privy to which publisher is doing what at any given time. I should add that even if I felt qualified to comment on other people's work there aren't enough hours in the day to do that as well as write my own stuff.