http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7624-4721-3#path/978-0-7624-4721-3

Elly MacKay. Running Press Kids,

On Friday we held our annual Bright Christmas Party expecting 170 attendees. We could not have expected what was to come… an extra 170-200 guests turned up at around 9:30pm, thinking it was some sort of fancy dress. It turns out they had hired lots of minibuses, so that they could all come together.

Here they are arriving…

When asked what sort of work they did, all of them admitted to not being able to draw.

They didn’t want a drink, preferring to stand together in their fancy dress outfits. Then one of them wanted to know if we had any drugs. Well, we informed them that this was a children’s publishing party in the hired rooms above the main venue. Full of some very eccentric ideas and characters, but none of them at the expense of mind alerting drugs.

Our guests, then turned their attention to the bar staff and owner to see if they had some drugs and they didn’t want to tell. Our bar staff were so uncomfortable with this that they decided it would be best to slip away. Apparently some of them needed to run home and pick up their visas or passports.

The party continued with the added security, our guests behaved themselves, and a great time was had by all.

Next year we’re planning to have the Cirque du Soleil turn up asking for fish and chips.

That’s not to be missed.

Take a look below at our photos! If you would like a copy of any please email Grace; grace@brightgroupinternational.com

Having attended 10 Frankfurt Book fairs, this years had an air of hard work to it.CEO’s, Publishers, Sales Directors and MD’s that I don’t normally get involved with on the front line- (acquiring texts and artists) wanted to meet with me, and were interested in telling me what they wanted and what they were looking for and how I could help.

Content has never been so powerful, publishers recognize if you have the best seller on your list you’re in business, publishers have in the past focused on the business of publishing, backlist, stock, production, but what we have seen in this revolution in our industry is the business of content – if you don’t have the best, fresh, newest, coolest, on trend – you’re not in business.

Consumers have less disposable income means they are more selective in what they buy – simple.

Publishers recognize the same. You have to get it right and bright really can help you.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Bot-Robot-Bottom-Sue-Hendra/dp/0857074458/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1351768141&sr=8-9

Imitation is the best form of flattery, and having been an agent for 10 years now and having built up the Bright group from my bedroom in the early days it was not unusual to be asked for a new Julia, or a new Oliver, but to be asked for a new Sue Hendra, without my meeting knowing I repped and re-launched her career was definitely a flattery moment and not an awkward one!

Sue’s 4^th coming title No Bott, the Robot with no Bottom is out in January, and its sales are flowing and its building into one of the most successful children’s series, from the stand alone, hilarious one of Barry character into now a whole array. What Sue Hendra has done, is the return of the funny, enjoyable, for the hell of it, picture book. It’s not a commercial hook; it’s none shoehorning a fact, novelty or reason to buy other than the hilariousness of it. Its great, and in a recession and where our industry is going through the biggest revolution its known from print to digital and the restructure of our High street- Its wonderful, and an utter joy to see an author illustrator Sue Hendra, deliver something new and fresh and exciting and for the consumer to get right behind it and to be part of a new wave generation and trend- of ‘can we have a Sue Hendra please’

Its not an accident either, there are reasons and methods behind the success of Sue’s work and I would be more than happy to talk to you about your needs and your list and how we can build commercial successes together.

Illustrated fiction Massive trend- due to the success of the wimpy kid – publishers are increasingly looking at black and white fiction, http://www.thebrightagency.com/collections/view/11 we have an extensive black and white characterful section on our site to browse through -http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/01/wimpy-kid-harry-potter-blue-peter-poll

Shocking books to get attention and sales and interest

We have seen YA getting more and more experimental and boundaries and taboo’s being tackeled- and it seems picture books are following suit. Is this booktaking things too far, or will it set a new trend- what I found in Frankfurt is Publishers were asking for texts in this direction but mindful of not a leap in this direction -

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dinosaur-That-Pooped-Christmas/dp/1849417792

We have some amazing texts in this direction- so please do get in touch.

Migy Blanco was recently invited to give a talk at the University of Buenos Aires, Design and Urbanism faculty.

The theme for Migy’s talk was his illustration process and style development, also covering his differing approaches to the four main areas of illustration he works in; editorial, branding, products and picture books. A good example of this is how Migy approaches editorial briefs as apposed to Children’s books briefs.

He also touched on the development of characters with more ‘character,’ and went onto discussing some of his recent projects. The main focus of the talk was about Migy’s self initiated book project “and away we go” that he has been working on with our US based agent Kirsten. Migy found the presentation ‘quite a cathartic experience,’ and had a great response from both students and staff!

Take a look at Migy’s and our other artists illustrations on the Bright Agency website:

http://www.thebrightagency.com/

The Bright team would like to say a huge thank you to our recent interns, Amanda and Nicola for all their hard work the last couple of months helping us in the office and preparing for the Frankfurt Book Fair. They assisted Vicki in creating some amazing portfolio sheets for our artists and supported all members of the team in a variety of tasks. We are now looking for a new intern to come and join the agency for 4-8 weeks. If you are interested please send your CV and covering letter to vicki@thebrightagency.com.

How to draw… aliens
We’ve sent a rover to look for life on Mars, but what if the Martians are closer than we thought? Author Sue Hendra thinks she might have spotted one…

Animation talk, secrets of animation

Secrets of Animation: The Bouncing Ball - click to see Keith’s Talk

How do animators create the illusion of life?

Keith Robinson, ex BBC animator and creator of the Lyme Regis Town Map, hosted a unique animation event for this year’s Artsfest, that you can click on below. Its an entertaining illustrated talk, uncovering the secrets of the animation Greats, from the early Disney pioneers to modern favourites like Wallace and Gromit.

Animators in the 1930s and 1940s gradually established the classic ‘Principles of Animation’. The secrets of these old masters have since become the foundations of the craft. Today’s hi-tec 3D animation studios, such as Pixar, still use techniques developed by these early pioneers to bring their memorable characters to life.

Robinson says, ‘I’ve had a passion for animation ever since I was a child. Making things come alive on screen is the closest thing I know to real magic. I’m fascinated by that illusion of life. How is it we can empathise so much with characters that are nothing more than drawings, or models, or bytes in a computer? Did you ever watch Wallace and Gromit and think, “Hang on, those are just lumps of plasticine!” – No! Because we care about them. They’re National Treasures!  It’s that special magic that I’ll be exploring in this talk: How do animators create the illusion of life?’

Taking ‘Brand Britain’ overseas: building an illustration agency Vicki Willden-Lebrecht , Managing Director, The Bright Group International.

Opportunism, cultural awareness and the utilization of the internet and ‘Brand Britain’ helped Vicki take her illustration agency multinational. She explains how despite the recession, The Bright Group now operates in 4 countries and doubled its US turnover.

Watch Vicki’s case study here

Taiwan award Child’s Play titles the 2011 Best Children’s English Language Books for Primary Schools

Child’s Play were extremely pleased to announce that the ‘Hello Book Club’, of New Taipei City in Taiwan, have named three of their books as ‘The Best Children’s English Language Books for Primary Schools 2011’.

One of these titles selected was Ten Little Ducks by Airlie Anderson – congratulations Airlie!

Visit Child’s Play website to see the Awards

Child’s Play have emphasized:
‘It is always an honor to have our books win awards, and in this instance it is particularly gratifying to be recognized for our presence as part of the global children’s literature landscape. Thank you ‘Hello Book Club’!’