Blue Moon Publishing
& Blouse & Skirt Books
Imagination Done Write! CATALOGUE: 2014 - 2015
What Is Blue Moon Publishing? CONTENTS
ABOUT US ... PAGE 2 CHILDREN’S BOOKS ... PAGE 3 - 5 YA & ADULT BOOKS ... PAGE 6-7 AUTHORS ... PAGE 8 - 9 ILLUSTRATORS ... PAGE 10 PRICE LIST ... PAGE 11 FORTHCOMING TITLES...PAGE 12 - 16 CONTACTS ... PAGE 17
Blue Moon Publishing is an award winning independent publishing house dedicated to producing intriguing and lasting stories, that are destined to become classics. Blue Moon publishes diverse intriguing stories about Caribbean children for children all over the world. Our stories are fun, dynamic and engaging with characters that live on in a child’s memory. Blue Moon Publishing also publishes under the imprint Blouse & Skirt Books. Our Blouse and Skirt Books imprint produces riveting poetry and prose fiction for adults and young adults. We focus on works by writers with something to say and who say it differently. We have small yet impressive and growing catalogue of high quality books that includes award winning works by new, emerging and celebrated writers. Our works are grounded in the Caribbean but fit for bookshelves around the world.
Our Books: Children
Bolo the Monkey “This story is moving and timeless and will appeal to all ages.” Diane Browne - Author, Winner Commonwealth Children’s Prize Bolo the Monkey, winner of the 2013 Reader’s Choice for Best Children’s Picture Book, and Jamaica National Book Award for Best Children’s Cover, is written in a captivating rhythm with vivid, vibrant images. It is the story of a young, daring little monkey who dreams of being able to make a difference in his society. Bolo leaves the forest and goes out into the world to learn new things and new ways of doing things. He returns to the jungle with a daring idea to be a sweet potato farmer instead of foraging the forest for fruits, which is the way monkeys have always lived.
Writer: Illustrator: Ages: ISBN:
Jonathan Burke Nicholas Martin 6 - 8 years old
Despite his best efforts he first meets with failure and ridicule but Bolo refuses to give up. He continues to believe in his dream and learns to overcome. He is 978-978-95436-3-8 showered with praise and reaps great fame for his efforts.
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Our Books: Children
Irie Morning Waking up can be hard to do! Despite the alluring sounds of birds, cows and dogs that try to draw him out from beneath the covers, Kingston just wants to stay in bed. He must decide whether he will give in to sleep or be true to his adventurous and fun-loving nature. Irie Morning is a children’s picture book featuring a delightful poem and engaging watercolour illustrations. It is the first book in a series about an irie 8 year-old boy named Kingston, living on the cliffs of Negril with his family.
Writer:
Alison Moss-Solomon Illustrator: Adom Burke Ages: 0 - 4 years old ISBN:
The book captures the sensibility of a Jamaican childhood, the sights, the sounds the smells: from the crow of a rooster in the morning to the mouthwatering smells of sweet sugar dumplings rising up from the kitchen.
978-976-95436-0-7
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Our Books: Children
Pumpkin Belly & Other Stories Pumpkin Belly and Other Stories is a collection of five tales written in the rich Jamaican folklore tradition and are inspired by proverbs and mythical creatures while presenting admirable heroes to boys and girls today:
Writer:
Tanya Batson-Savage Illustrator: Randall Burbick Ages: 8 - 12 years ISBN:
The Thing With the Tale (retold) – a boy who learns that greed can lead to grave danger. Pumpkin Belly - a boy’s journey to finding out how “water walk go a pumpkin belly” Primrose and the River Mumma - a girl is captured and enslaved by the mythical water creature and has to stage an industrial strike to escape A Glass House For Bredda Dog, - Bredda Dog learns the folly of a glass house and being foolish with his money. The Guava Tree - a girl survives her abusive stepfather with the help of a magical guava tree where her ‘navel string’ is planted.
978-976-95436-0-7
* Out of Stock
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Our Books: Young Adult Winner Burt Award for Caribbean Literature Long-listed: IMPAC Dublin Award 2015
All Over Again “Adziko Simba's All Over Again [is] a deftly written, beautifully and convincingly imagined novel that chronicles the adventures of a young boy as he experiences the often hilarious, sometimes moving and always engaging stages of his life...”
Kwame Dawes, author of Duppy Conqueror: New and Selected Poems
Writer: Ages: ISBN:
A-dZiko Simba Gegele 12 years and up
978-976-95436-1-4
All Over Again is the winner of the inaugural Burt Award for Caribbean Literature (2014) and is long-listed for the IMPAC Dublin Award 2015. It is an enchanting slice of boyhood captured in a charming story with a bold narrative style that pulls you in. This episodic novel, set in a fictional rural village in Jamaica, masterfully creates the wonderfully turbulent world of a young boy as he moves from childhood to puberty and battles the incessant needs of his shrimp of a little sister, the demands of his father, the high school bully and the local know-it-all Kenny. All Over Again is a story of growth, loss, love and triumph. Rooted in over 30 years of theatre, prose and poetry performance writing, All Over Again is A-dZiko Simba Gegele’s exuberantly humorous debut novel. This coming of age tale has received rave reviews and is as suitable for the young, as well as the young at heart.
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Our Books: Adult
11/9 11/9 lives on the sharp (and often bloody) intersection of Third World violence and First World politics. This insightful poetry collection gives extensive treatment to the issues coalescing around the fall of the Twin Towers. It explores the numerous tragedies that have occurred on other ’11/9s’ but have not been accorded the same historical significance. 11/9 is protest mixed with empathy, stridency balanced with humour, a poetic treatment of history fused with metaphors and, ultimately an exploration of the humanity behind the headlines from a distinctly Third World perspective.
Writer: Ages: ISBN:
Mel Cooke Adult 978-976-6108-17-5
The collection engages with race, capitalism, migration, terrorism, the media and politics giving primacy to the commonality among human beings on different sides of the 2001 tragedy, often thrown into opposition by circumstances.
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Authors
Alison Moss-Solomon A publicist and TV show producer, Alison decided to write a children’s book when she became a mother at 31. Constantly watching children’s TV with her son, she soon realised that many cultures were being represented by colourful, loveable characters such as Dora, Diego and Kai Lan. However, a Caribbean child her son could identify with was missing. So Kingston was born. Irie Morning is her first publication
Jonathan Burke Born in Nigeria to a Jamaican f a t h e r a n d E n g l i s h m o t h e r, Jonathan’s love of stories began with his mother. The stories she made up and told to him became his favorites, and in turn he told stories to his own boys as they grew. Jonathan has always had a love for nature. He has a farm in St. Mary that is a paradise of potential and provides fertile backdrops and inspiration for his stories. Bolo the Monkey is his first publication.
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Tanya Batson-Savage Fueled by a love of stories of all types, and awed by the magic within them, Tanya has written for the page, the stage and the screen. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including, BIM, the Caribbean Beat and the Jamaica Journal. She is the author of Pumpkin Belly and Other Stories which is her first collection of children’s stories.
Authors
A-dZiko Simba Gegele
Mel Cooke
A-dZiko Simba Gegele is a prize-winning writer whose work has been published in diverse international anthologies. Her work has spanned multiple genres including poetry, fiction, and playwriting. She recently completed a residency at the prestigious Yaddo Artists’ Retreat and participated in the Cropper Residency and Calabash Writers Workshops.
Mel Cooke is one of Jamaica’s most respected contemporary poets. A fellow of the Calabash Writers Workshop his work documents and analyses contemporary Jamaican history, roughly parallels Linton Kwesei Johnson’s treatment of the black immigrant experience. He has two collections of poetry 11/9 and Seh Supm:Mel Cooke Live From Kingston and has been anthologized in Jubilation! and So Much Things to Say: 100 Poets from the First 10 Years of Calabash and the Jamaica Journal. 11/9 was adapted into an award-winning production by Jamaica Youth Theatre. Mel is also a journalist. He and his wife Wendy are the delirious parents of Amani, AsmahaniAza and Ayele-Al.
Of Jamaican and Nigerian parentage, A-dZiko is recognized as a dynamic force on the Jamaican spoken word stage. Her musicality, rhythms, tones and vocal range make her a riveting reader, conjuring the people and places of her imaginary world.
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Illustrators
Randall Berbick Randall, illustrator of Pumpkin Belly and Other Stories, hails from Rural Retreat, St. Ann, Jamaica, a district a few stone throws away from Nine Miles. His engagement in art has been diverse as he has designed logos, brochures, and business cards and air brushed t-shirts and cars. He began working in commercial art while still at Kingston College selling air-brushed t-shirt designs to companies like Yabba. Now resident in the UK, Randall now spends his time on more legal pursuits.
Adom Burke A graduate of Edna Manley College, Adom spends his days painting murals in hotels, restaurants, office buildings and nurseries. When first asked to illustrate Alison’s books, he thought of it as just a favour for a good friend but ended up adding another notch to his artistic belt. Through his colourful paintings, he brings visual life to Kingston, his family and his Caribbean world. Irie Morning is his first published story
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Nicholas Martin Nicholas Martin, born in St. Ann, received exposure to art at an early age and even then he was applauded for his artistic eye. A trained illustrator and graduate of the Edna Manley College, Nicholas believes art is undefinable. Driven by the desire to do his best rather than be the best, He believes art must present and promote or identify and inform. Bolo The Monkey is his first published story.
Forthcoming Titles: Adult riddim & riddles
Miss Are You Wearing Panties
Riddim & Riddles Owen Blakka Ellis
Keisha Brissette
Publication: December 2015
Publication: November 2014 Riddim & Riddles throbs with the heart beat and drum beat of Jamaica. Moving from the cool majestic blue mountains to the hot, bloodied streets of Kingston it paints vivid and vibrant images. The poems move from urgent social insights to the intensely personal and erotic. Here in breathe the rhythms and the riddles of life, and maybe even some revelations. Owen Blakka Ellis is a writer, actor and educator who lives and works between Canada and Jamaica. Known mostly for three decades of work as a comedian, he has written for stage, screen and television. His first published work was the chapbook Gateman (2005).
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Deborah Smith has wanted to teach all her life. Yet her dewy-eyed ideals are about to be tested as she comes face-to-face with a room full of rowdy boys and hypocritical members of staff. In this funny, irreverent story, Deborah arrives in Kingston looking to recover from a broken heart and redefine herself, but as she tries to experiment with new ways to reach the boys in her class, she soon finds that they have a lot more to teach her about defying expectations and learning to let go. Keisha Brissette is a teacher and an award winning writer for the stage. Miss Are You Wearing Panties is her first foray into prose.
Forthcoming Titles: Young Adult
Scions of Xaymaca Book 1: Discovery
Endeavour Ann Paige
Bianca Welds
Publication: March 2016 Age: 13 - 18 yrs
Publication Date: March 2016 Age: 13 - 18 yrs
It’s 1738, or a time quite like it, a time of myth, a time of magic, a time of mystery. Eight year-old Annya and 14 year old Araya have lost all they know. They run through the hills of Clarendon, desperate, alone, pursued. Their village of Endeavour has been destroyed and for all they know, everyone, their parents, friends, family have been killed.
A group of Jamaican teenage misfits start developing magical powers. Their search for an explanation takes them on a crazy journey into their past and their roots in an ancient Taino civilization. They must learn to use and control their powers while protecting their families and themselves from a society scared of what they are. The biggest danger, however, comes from a centuriesold underground sect determined to eliminate them after tracking them to the source of their power. Discovery is the first book in the Scions of Xaymaca trilogy.
Endeavour is a story of loss and desperation, a story of going beyond the point of what you know to be possible. Based on the award winning short film script, It’s built on the magic and resilience of the maroons with cultural infusions from Jamaica, Africa and South America.
Bianca Welds is a mind wrapped in imagination always creating - poet, blogger, photographer, programmer, pannist, technologist, super-powered idea creator. Scions of Xaymaca is her first foray into creative fiction.
Ann Paige is a journalist and writer based in Kingston.
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Forthcoming Titles: Children
Avi, Tosh and the Moo Cow
Timothy and His Flying Boot
Paula-Ann Porter
Writer: Maurice Stoppi Illust: Fiona Godfrey
Publication: December 2014 Age: 0 - 2yrs old
Publication: December 2014 Age: 6 - 8yrs old
Timothy and His Flying Boot is the story of two very ordinary children who discover the extraordinary when they find a mouse named Timothy who travels in a battered-up but reliable old boot. Together they go on a humourous adventure that teaches about bravery. With a quirky sense of humour akin to Doctor Suess, Maurice Stoppi weaves a story about the most loveable and brave little mouse the world has ever seen.
When Tosh is awakened by the lowing of a cow he and his older sister Tosh go in search for more than a quick look. So up and down the neighbourhood they go until they discover the elusive moo cow. Avi, Tosh and the Moo Cow is a board book that captures the magic of discovery ... and cows. Paula Ann Porter has spent a life in media and is one of Jamaica’s most celebrated personalities. A mother of for, she has long found joy in telling stories to children. Avi, Tosh and the Moo Cow is her first publication.
Maurice Stoppi has spent a life as a Quantity Surveyor with stories buried inside him. He is a respected author of works on Caribbean mediation. Timothy is his first children’s book. Fiona Godrey is an Irish artist living and working in Jamaica.
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Forthcoming Titles: Children
Charlie the Crocodile & Other Ridiculous Rhymes
The Adventures of Glumpuddle Jonathan Burke
Theresa C. Givens
Publication Date: November 2015
Publication: November 2015
Meet Charlie the Crocodile who lives in Black River, Jeremy Dixon who swallowed a bug, and Little Shelly Ann with the great big grin in this fun book of rhymes for children.
“Glumpuddle left with Nick Galazi-the-Wolf, to begin an adventure of adventures that touched the lives of old and new friends alike in such a powerful way, that no one ever remained the same.”
Charlie the Crocodile and Other Ridiculous Rhymes brings out a world of sweetsops, mango trees, big fat green lizards, yellow snakes and mongoose immortalized in silly, amusing rhyme. Easy to remember, fun to recite each verse is an adventure rooted in the Jamaican experience, yet accessible to children everywhere.
The Adventures of Glumpuddle is a rollicking good ride about a man, a wolf and a robin named Canter and the journey they go through to not just save the day but make sure that the Carnival must go on. Jonathan Burke was born in Nigeria to a Jamaican father and English mother, Jonathan’s love of stories began with his mother. The stories she made up and told to him became his favorites, and in turn he told stories to his own boys as they grew. He is the author of Bolo the Monkey.
Theresa C. Givens is a publicist by trade who discovered the wonder of rhyme with her own children. Charlie the Crocodile and Other Ridiculous Rhymes is her first collection of poems for children.
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Current List
Title
Description
ISBN
Irie Morning
Picture Book -‐ so2 cover
987-‐976-‐95436-‐0-‐7
US$8.00
Bolo the Monkey Picture Book -‐ so2 cover
978-‐976-‐95436-‐3-‐8
US$10.00
Pumpkin Belly Picture Book -‐ so2 cover and Other Stories
978-‐976-‐61069-‐9-‐7
All Over Again
Novel -‐ so2 cover
978-‐976-‐95436-‐1-‐4
US$12.00
Eleven Nine
Poetry collecMon -‐ so2 cover
978-‐976-‐61081-‐7-‐5
US$12.00
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Price
US$12.00
Contacts
www.twitter.com/Blumoonbooks
www.facebook.com/BlueMoonPublishing
www.blumoonbooks.com editior@blumoonbooks.com P.O. Box 5464, Liguanea P.O. Kingston, Jamaica, WI