I hope all you moms out there had a lovely Mother’s day yesterday!

We’d also like to celebrate the moms-to-be - so we’ve partnered with our friends at Canadian Family magazine to bring you a special contest. Two contests, actually…

Contest #1:
Read and Roll!

Enter online for a chance to win a stroller full of books!

One grand-prize winner receives:

• Zooper “Everyday Jazz” stroller
• 30 books and board books for new parents and newborns

The “Read and Roll!” contest will run until June 30th on www.raincoast.com/baby/

Contest #2:
Read and Relax!

Visit a participating store to enter to win a “Parent’s Care Kit” prize-pack (1 winner per store). We know parents need pampering, too, so this is a collection of items for you to enjoy in your spare moments, however brief they may be!

Each “Parent’s Care Kit” contains:

• The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
• Merle’s Door by Ted Kerasote
• Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin
• The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax
• Canadian Family magazine
• Body Shop gift pack
• Purdy’s chocolate bar
• Starbucks card

For a list of participating stores, visit www.raincoast.com/baby/.

Bonus Prize!
Keep an eye out for books stickered with a special offer from Raincoast and Canadian Family magazine: free with purchase of a specially stickered book, you will receive a complimentary copy of the magazine!

Find out more...
To find out more about some great books for newborns and new parents, plus info on the contests and a list of participating stores, please visit:
www.raincoast.com/baby/

Thank you so much to Karen Rivers the author of the XYZ Trilogy for the terrific blog entry below. It’s great to read all of the behind the scenes information about this amazing series!

If you haven’t picked up X in Flight yet I would highly encourage it. Anyone who is a fan of the TV shows Heroes and Supernatural will not be disappointed. For those of you who have read X in Flight only a couple more months until Y in the Shadows is available. Look for it in bookstores everywhere in February.

In the meantime for more fabulous additional content on the series and Karen Rivers herself visit XYZ Website where you will find a What is Your Super Power Quiz, A Poll of what the most popular super powers are, a Q&A with Karen Rivers and a whole lot more.

CONTEST: Visit the XYZ Trilogy and take the What is Your Super Power Quiz. Post what your super power would be under comments and you could win a free copy of X in Flight. Contest closes January 21st.

Good Luck!

If your credit card is maxed out after all that holiday shopping, why not try to win some free stuff?

Here are a few contests for our books that you might like to enter…

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Music Books Giveway on Exclaim.ca

Fill out Exclaim! magazine’s annual Reader’s Poll for a chance to win some rockin music books: Van Halen, Runnin’ Down a Dream: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Jim Morrison Scrapbook, Elliott Smith, Tupac Remembered: Bearing Witness to a Life and Legacy, Art of Modern Rock Mini #1: A-Z, and The Art of Modern Rock 2008 Wall Calendar—all in an orange Chronicle Books messenger bag.

Click here for details and to enter.

For more info on the best music books—and some sneak peeks inside—visit raincoast.com/music/.

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Maple Leafs A-Z Contest on InsideToronto.com

Calling all Maple Leafs fans! Enter for a chance to win Maple Leafs A-Z, a picture book that chronicles some of the top players in the team’s history.

Click here for details and to enter.

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Playboy Prize Pack from Raincoast Books on Showcase.ca

Enter for a chance to win Playboy Blondes, Playboy Brunettes, Playboy Redheads and Playboy Helmut Newton.

Click here for details and to enter.

Also watch for another contest in the next couple of months on Showcase.ca, to win the GIGANTIC Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds. This thing weighs 32 lbs, and you need a suitcase to carry it in. That’s a LOT of girls.

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Good luck!

Thanks to everyone who entered our Adrian Tomine contest and left comments about his work. Adrian definitely has a lot of fans out there. (I knew I wasn’t alone!)

The winner of the contest, selected at random, is..... Bill Hine!

Congrats, Bill! Your poster will be in the mail shortly.

For everyone else, be sure to check back here for more contests and news and other goodness.... And I hope to see some of you tonight at the Adrian Tomine event at Sophia Books!

Graphica artist Adrian Tomine has been all over the place recently. And fortunately (at least for me!), soon he’ll be in Vancouver.

Since Adrian Tomine’s new graphic novel, SHORTCOMINGS, came out, it seems that he’s been on the road—and all over the media, from the cover of Giant Robot to the National Post.

• Read the interview with Adrian Tomine in the National Post

  “In a way, I wanted this book to be a summation of all the things I’ve learned in comics leading up to it,” he says.

• Read the review in the Georgia Straight
  

  “Adrian Tomine is the reigning king of comic ennui, and with Shortcomings, which collects issues 9 to 11 of his Optic Nerve, he continues his wonderfully misanthropic rule."

• Read the review in Now magazine
• Listen to the podcast interview on Inkstuds.com

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ADRIAN TOMINE TOUR
After a successful event at Toronto’s International Festival of Authors last month, Tomine is heading west. He’ll be in Vancouver next week:

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007
Sophia Books
450 West Hastings St., Vancouver, BC
7-10 pm: Q+A and signing

For a full list of Tomine’s tour stops, click here.

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ADRIAN TOMINE CONTEST
Win a SHORTCOMINGS poster signed by Adrian Tomine. To enter, just leave a comment below to let us know what you think of Tomine’s work. The only catch is that you must be a resident of Canada. The contest closes November 12.

I was a huge Ramona fan growing up. I was obsessed with Beverly Cleary and read ALL of her books cover to cover, over and over and over again. When I became obsessed with children’s books again as an adult they were some of the first books that I picked up to re-read. I still read my Ramona books and have often found myself wishing that they were still being written.

Imagine my delight when I picked up Ivy and Bean from my pile of books and was instantly transported back to my childhood. Ivy and Bean are as plucky and outspoken as Ramona and Nancy is just as bossy and big sisterish as Beezus. Charming and funny, retro yet modern these books are bound to captivate a whole new audience of girls just like the Ramona books did for my generation.

Unlike the Ramona books Ivy and Bean has two leading ladies so it’s double the fun, double the trouble and double the friendship. Who doesn’t love a story about BFFs? Here’s what Publishers Weekly said about the twosome recently:

In children’s books, as in life, the buddy system has a pretty good track record: most readers can name a favorite literary twosome, from Frog and Toad to Harry and Ron. The BFF factor is a big part of the appeal of the Ivy and Bean series by Annie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie Blackall (Chronicle), about two effervescent second-graders who become unlikely pals.

Marci Johnson, children’s book buyer and children’s event coordinator for the six Copperfield’s Books stores in California, believes that Ivy and Bean tickle kids right in the funny bone. “The books really appeal to their sense of humor,” she noted. “The author says that she loosely bases the stories on things that she did as a child, or things that her own children do now, so she’s got a lot of funny material to work with."

Across the US these books have taken off winning all kinds of honours and praise. Here are just a few:

* ALA Notable Children’s Book 2007

* Booklist, Editor’s Choice, Best Books of 2006

* Kirkus Reviews, Best Early Chapter Books 2006

* “Just right for kids moving on from beginning readers.”—Publishers Weekly

* “Will make readers giggle.”—Booklist

Now Canadian booksellers are starting to read the Ivy and Bean books too and recommending them to teachers, librarians and kids across the country. Lucky for Canadians they don’t have to read the first book and wait ages until they are able to continue with the Ivy and Bean adventures because books 1-3 are already here with book 4 coming this spring!

Make sure you check out:

Book #1: Ivy and Bean

Book #2: Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had To Go

Book #3: Ivy and Bean Break The Fossil Record

In addition to these books being fun and great for reluctant readers there are also classroom study guides available for them and a really fun Ivy and Bean Website where you can play fun games, read excerpts from the books and hear the author read from the books!

I have some free copies of this book to give away so if you would like a copy for your classroom please email me at or leave a message in the comment section.

Happy Reading! 

We’ve watched him grow up from a shy awkward school boy playing everyone’s favourite young wizard starting his first day at Hogwarts Academy to a confidant man starring on The London Stage in Equus. I have to admit that I was at a bookstore over the summer and while walking past the magazine rack did a double take when I saw this photo of Daniel Radcliffe on the cover of Details Magazine. Well now Daniel Radcliffe has another accomplishment to add to his resume… writer… well of an introduction that is!

Bloomsbury has just released a new book written by Paul Kieve with an introduction by Daniel Radcliffe called Hocus Pocus. Paul met Daniel while working as Producer of Physical Magic on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. For more information on how the two became fast friends click HERE for a blog that I posted a few months back about how it was magic at first meeting for Daniel and Paul.

The newest rage in book marketing is “Book Trailers” so of course for a book as highly anticipated as Hocus Pocus there has to be a trailer.

Looks exciting doesn’t it! Full of the wonder of magic and the amazing personalities of the greatest magicians of all time, Hocus Pocus is packaged with a magic envelope full of magical curiosities that can be used to baffle and impress.

Now is your chance to win your very own copy! All you have to do is post a comment in our comment section with a link to your favourite Daniel Radcliffe photo. We’ll pick one luck winner and send them their very own copy of Hocus Pocus.

Happy Reading and Good Luck!

Do you know someone between the ages of 13 and 19 who lives in BC and loves to read? If so have them sign up to be a reader for The Stellar Awards. The Stellar Awards are the BC Teen Choice Awards for Canadian Teen Literature and they are looking for your opinion!

Raincoast has two books nominated for the 2007/2008 Season.

The Cure For Crushes (And Other Deadly Plagues) by Karen Rivers the fabulous follow-up to bestseller The Healing Time of Hickeys. Haley Andromeda Harmony is now in her final months of high school and must face the inevitable question: What happens next? Finding the answer isn’t easy. For one thing, having a real boyfriend is causing a strange reaction: Haley has crushes on nearly every other boy she meets. As well, her dad gets a job and starts dating, and Haley misses the life they had before he moved his Much Younger Girlfriend (MYG) into their ramshackle house. From bungee-jumping in winter to supporting best friend Jules at auditions for the TV show “Who’s the Prettiest of Them All?,” Haley’s TGYML 2 ("the greatest year of my life, part two") has more than its fair share of mishap-filled adventures.

Also nominated is The Freedom of Jenny by Julie Burtinshaw a gripping historical fiction that revolves around Jenny Estes, who is born into slavery in the 1840s in Missouri. Through Jenny and her family, Burtinshaw tells the true story of the immigration of a small group of African Americans from the banks of the Mississippi to Saltspring Island, British Columbia, in the 1860s. This first fictional treatment of a fascinating and important piece of North American history follows in the tradition of Barbara Smucker’s classic Underground to Canada.

Today seems to be a perfect type of day to curl up on the couch with a good book.... so here’s another contest!

Who is your favourite author?

Leave an answer in the comment field and we will send one lucky randomly chosen winner a copy of both of our Raincoast Published titles on the Stellar Awards nomination list.

For more information on how to sign up to be a reader for The Stellar Awards visit their website HERE.

From award winning author K.L. Going comes a haunting, spine-tingling new novel just in time for Halloween.

In The Garden of Eve a girl named Evie reluctantly moves with her widowed father to Beaumont, New York, where he has bought an apple orchard. He dismisses rumours that the town is cursed and that the trees haven’t borne fruit in decades. Evie doesn’t believe in things like curses and fairy tales any more: if fairy tales were real, her mom would still be alive.

But odd things happen in Beaumont: Evie meets a boy who claims to be dead and receives a mysterious seed as an 11th birthday gift. Once planted, the seed grows into a tree overnight, but only Evie and the dead boy can see it—or go where it leads.

The latest and greatest trend in books is creating trailers for your favourite novels. Publishers and fans alike are creating them and putting them up on You Tube. To see what I mean here is one for The Garden of Eve:

Click HERE for a link to a independent short made by a fan of K.L. Going’s previous book Saint Iggy. (Warning the film contains adult language.)

Now a question to throw out to all of you. If you were to create a trailer for your favourite book what book would it be? Leave your answer in the comment field. We will pick a winner at random and send them a free copy of The Garden of Eve and Saint Iggy.

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

It’s time to announce the winner of the Banned Books Week contest! Drumroll please as I conduct a random draw…

Congratulations to Chelsea!

Chelsea will receive a set of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Annals of the Western Shore trilogy: GIFTS, VOICES, and POWERS.

Thanks to everyone who left comments about Banned Books Week—you made some good points about freedom of speech, the freedom to choose, the role of books and reading in our society, as well as the love of reading. Even Dumbledore got brought into the discussion! Click here to read all the comments (and even add your own!).

P.S. For the contest-hungry...

Be sure to check out our CLANCY WITH THE PUCK contest that is on right now. Click here for details and to enter.

The Maple Leafs might be having a tough time right now, but if you live in Toronto then you can win even if our team can’t! Five copies of MAPLE LEAFS TOP 100 by Mike Leonetti are up for grabs over at insidetoronto.com! You have until November 4th, 2007 to enter!

To find out more about the contest, click here.

And here it is… the final list for the JK Rowling Comes to the Winter Garden Theatre event!

Sarah Wen: Toronto, ON
Deborah Fisher: Toronto, ON
Amanda Gauvin: Brampton, ON
Mason Biswas: Toronto, ON
Zubair Islam: Toronto, ON
Scott Langill: Toronto, ON
Heather Bownes: Victoria, BC
Michael Reio: Toronto, ON
Jo-Ellen Beck: Toronto, ON
Cole Campbell: Manitowaning, ON

And there you have it. The JK Rowling Contest is officially over.

Thank-you to all of you who entered so persistently and especially to those of you who took the time to comment on the blog postings. I’m sorry I couldn’t cheat and have all of you win, but I just kept thinking: ‘What would Dumbledore do?’

Please continue to visit our blog! There are more fun topics to discuss, contests to enter, and great suggestions for books to read. We love hearing from you!

We’re almost at the end! The following people can now let go of that breath they’ve been holding:

Jennifer Raymond-Bhatt: Calgary, AB
Ffiona Barnett: Whitby, ON
Deanna Hemsley: Milton, ON
Krista Hewitt: Cavan, ON
Sara-Jane Whitaker: Toronto, ON
Victoria Wighton: Mississauga, ON
Calvin Gaspar: Parry Sound, ON
Kerianne Cass: Markham, ON
Alyse Murray: Toronto, ON
Jowella Mendoza: Edmonton, AB

ONE MORE CHANCE!!!

There are now, officially, only 10 more slots left for the Raincoast winners. Today is the very last day to enter. The draw for today happens on Monday and try not to waste your time: we’re only drawing names from today, NOT from Saturday and Sunday.

This is it.  Hold on tight to your luckiest charm and enter here: http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

It’s nearing the end of the contest and tension is high. I’m going to relieve 10 people from the stress today, but for the rest of you, there are still two days left. It’s not over!!!

Tyler Greig: Burlington, ON
Len Kay: Dundas, ON
Michael Milakovic: Toronto, ON
Allison Mcdonald: Ottawa, ON
Jessica Batenburg: Beamsville, ON
Amanda Charlesworth: Toronto, ON
Donna Yee: Toronto, ON
Cecilia Manuel: Markham, ON
Amanda Lee: Markham, ON
Valerie Honey: Elliot Lake, ON

So there you have them. The rest of you, make sure you enter today and tomorrow! http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/

And for those of you who are frustrated that only Ontario seems to be winning, let me shed some light on it for you. Out of 3499 entrants, only 293 were from outside of Ontario (AB 50; BC 58; MB 14; NB 10; NF 11; NS 19; PE 2; QC 121; SK 7; YT 1). But don’t lose hope, because five of our winners so far are from other provinces. There are two days left. There is still hope!

Hang in there everyone!!!

It’s great being the bearer of good news for 10 people each day, but it breaks my heart to see how many people I disappoint every time I post these names! Don’t lose hope everyone! You still have a chance! Remember, these names are drawn randomly, so it’s nothing personal!!!

Out of 3596 entrants, here are the lucky 10 for today:

Sam Coghlan: Embro, ON
Jessica Worobess: Toronto, ON
Shaidah Dehghan: Richmond Hill, ON
Shannon Taugher: Etobicoke, ON
Dania Najam: Mississauga, ON
Eric Wu: Thornhill, ON
Sue Pitts: Milton, ON
Laura Schlee: Toronto, ON
Aryan Ganji: Toronto, ON
Rosalina Lo: Scarborough, ON

Congratulations!

And PLEASE don’t despair if your name isn’t up! You still have THREE more chances!!!

http://www.raincoast.com/harrypotter/