Monday, 4 September 2023

Tyger is Book of the Month in Waterstones & Foyles!

Some amazing news!  The Tyger paperback has just been published – and it's been picked as Children's Book of the Month in both Waterstones and Foyles!





I love bookshops, they've always been my favourite places, so this means more than I can say.  It's been absolutely amazing to see some brilliant Tyger bookshop displays on Twitter and Instagram, and I'd love to see more – please send me pictures if you see any!


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Wednesday, 9 August 2023

TYGER PAPERBACK!

I'm so excited to be able to share the TYGER paperback with you – and it's just as beautiful as the hardback!  I think Dave McKean's cover is one of the most amazing covers I've ever seen – just look at the way it comes to life when you open it out!



It's published on August 31st by David Fickling Books, but is available for pre-order now – here are some links:







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Wednesday, 28 June 2023

Competition!

I'm running a competition with BookTrust!  We want young people to create pieces of writing and artwork inspired by animals - just as I was inspired to write Varjak Paw and Tyger.  There are lots of prizes to be won, including sets of books and signed artwork, and the first 1,000 entries will all receive a free poster!  There are lots of free resources to help you, too - all the information is on this page on the BookTrust website!  And here's a video to get you started:

















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Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Tyger wins Children's Book Of The Year at the British Book Awards!

Incredible news - my new book Tyger has just won the Children's Fiction Book Of The Year at the British Book Awards!  


You can read all about it in this wonderful piece on The Bookseller site.

And here's a video of the whole evening - you can see me receiving the award from Davina McCall from around 1:33!



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Thursday, 2 March 2023

World Book Day 2023

Happy World Book Day 2023!  This year, I made a World Book Day video of me reading aloud from Tyger, and it's been amazing to see people watching it in classrooms, libraries and homes around the world. And I absolutely love seeing all the different ways people celebrate their favourite books, so here are some of the incredible pictures I've seen this year - including the very first ever World Book Day TYGER costumes!  Huge and heartfelt thanks to everyone!


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Monday, 27 February 2023

World Book Day 2023 - SF Said Reads Tyger!

For World Book Day this year, I've made a video of me reading from my new book TYGER!  Here it is – I hope you enjoy it!  And if you do, please pass it on to anyone else you know who might enjoy it too!




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Tuesday, 20 December 2022

Happy Midwinter!

I just want to wish all my readers Happy Midwinter! My new book Tyger is set at Midwinter, around about now, but in a strange alternate world where there is no Christmas, but there is Midwinter...  and this year, Midwinter Night falls on the night of December 21st.  

So here's a short video all about it:



Happy Midwinter – and Happy Reading!


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Monday, 19 December 2022

Author Visits: Welton St Mary's

 I'd like to say a very big THANK YOU to Paul Gibson-Barton and all the amazing students and staff at Welton St Mary's Academy for the wonderful welcome they gave me when I visited them last week!










It was a total pleasure to talk to Years 4, 5 and 6 about reading and books.  This is a school where they've been reading my books for a long time now, so it was wonderful to see that a lot of them had already read Varjak Paw, or Phoenix, or even Tyger!














There were lots of fantastic questions, although we didn't quite have enough time to answer all of them!  So if anyone from WSM would like to ask me another question, or to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!



It was also wonderful to do a workshop with Year 4, who'd just been reading Varjak Paw, and to see some of the work they'd been doing with it.  They had created these amazing story maps, and were able to tell the story themselves by using them!

















And finally, it was a total pleasure to sign books for everyone who'd ordered a book.  HAPPY READING to everyone at WSM – and thank you again for a fantastic visit!


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Monday, 5 December 2022

Tyger is Foyles Children's Book of the Year!

 Amazing news – Tyger is the Foyles Children's Book of the Year!!!












This is an absolutely incredible thing for me.  When I was a child, my grandfather would sometimes take me to Foyles on Charing Cross Road as a treat.  It was his favourite bookshop, and it became mine, too.  It's still where I go when I want to remember why I love books and bookshops, so this award means the world to me!  
















Dave McKean and I spent an amazing evening in Foyles Charing Cross Road.  We talked to lots of customers and staff, and signed lots of books.  




I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone at Foyles for an evening I will never forget, and for making Tyger their children's book of the year!  And if you would like to order one those signed copies – with a free exclusive art print – just click on this link or the pictures below!



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Sunday, 4 December 2022

Author Visits: Parklands Primary

I want to say a massive THANK YOU to legendary Headteacher Chris Dyson, inspirational librarian Aimee Allpress, and all the amazing children and staff I met when I visited Parklands Primary School!















I had seen pictures of Mr Dyson's incredible assemblies on Twitter, but I was absolutely blown by the joyful atmosphere in the assembly, where I handed out certificates to some brilliant young readers, writers & mathematicians!















It was then a total pleasure to talk to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about reading, writing and books.  Mr Dyson had with incredible generosity bought a copy of my new book TYGER for every single child, and at the end of these sessions, it was an extraordinary and wonderful thing to hand them out as gifts to everyone.
















At the end of the day, the brilliant school librarian Aimee Allpress showed me the display they'd made about my books in the library, and inducted me as an honorary member into the school's Parklands Perusers reading club, and gave me a badge that I will wear with pride!

Thank you so much again for a truly memorable school visit!  Happy Christmas – and Happy Reading Every Day – to everyone at Parklands!



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Monday, 14 November 2022

Author Visits: East Hunsbury Primary

I'd like to say a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to Kathryn Pennington, Ruth DeChastelain, and all the amazing students and staff I met when I had the pleasure of visiting East Hunsbury Primary School last week!


I had a sense that this might be a brilliant visit when the school posted a picture of their librarian dressed as a tiger, with a copy of my new book TYGER!  

This is definitely a school that works tirelessly to inspire the love of reading, and it was wonderful to talk to Years 6, 5, 4 and 3 about reading and writing and books, and to hear all about their favourites.  

What I was not prepared for was the fact that they had decorated their doors with book covers – and put some of my books among them, alongside some of my own favourites!

It was a total pleasure to sign books at the end of the day for everyone who wanted a book.  But if anyone missed out and would like a signed book, you can order one from Pea Green Boat Books, who did the bookselling on the day.  And if anyone from East Hunsbury would like to ask me another question, or to say anything about the visit, just leave me a comment below!



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Wednesday, 2 November 2022

TYGER interviews & conversations!

If you'd like to know more about my new book TYGER – I've done quite a few interviews about it lately that you might enjoy.

Here's a video of an online event I did with The Blake Society, where I talked about TYGER with the brilliant bookseller and artist Tamsin Rosewell.  We covered lots of topics in our conversation, especially how it was inspired by the work of William Blake, and his great poem The Tyger:


If you'd rather read something than watch a video, here's a written Q&A interview I did with the Tyger Tale blog.  I think this is one of the best-named and most brilliant of all children's books blogs, and they asked me lots of great questions about TYGER, including its connections to my earlier books, like Varjak Paw.  They also featured lots of Dave McKean's beautiful artwork from TYGER, such as this incredible image:



If you're looking for a longer interview, here's a really thoughtful conversation I had with the critic Imogen Russell Williams for Books For Keeps – the UK's leading children's books magazine.  We talked a lot about TYGER's roots in my own life and experiences, and went into a lot of detail about the inspirations for both the story and the artwork.



And finally, if you want to read something a little different, here's an interview that takes the form of a walk through the world of TYGER, in the company of the terrific children's literature blogger Nick Campbell.  This is one of the most original and interesting pieces I've seen about the book, and I hope you enjoy it too!




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Monday, 24 October 2022

TYGER - more reviews!

I've been absolutely blown away to see the responses to TYGER!  Nine years is a very long time to spend writing a book, but all the hard work feels more than worthwhile when I see responses like this...

TYGER was picked as The Times Children's Book Of The Week by Alex O'Connell.  The review is behind a paywall, but she described it as "spectacular" and "another roaring success".



TYGER was also children's book of the week in The Sun, whose reviewer Zak Hope apparently couldn't put it down!


Meanwhile, Louisa Farrow's wonderful review on Reading Zone described TYGER as "absorbing, uplifting and joyous - my book of the year so far. Buy it, read it, share it!"  

It was a children's book of the month on LoveReading4Kids, where Tricia Adams described it as "much anticipated and destined to be a classic that will be taught everywhere."

One of my favourite reviews was this long one on the children's literature blog Achuka, which gives lots of detail and context, and concludes: "it is important to recognise when some books, and some authors, reach extraordinary heights of excellence. SF Said has done so with this novel."


Another review that meant a lot to me came on the Library Lady blog, where Anne Thompson wrote: "Tyger is a wonderful example of why children’s books matter and will, I think, be a book that today’s generation of young readers will remember and refer back to as adults."

I loved Laura Ovendon's review for Just Imagine, which said: "For me, this novel deserves to become a children’s classic. It belongs in every school library and will inspire many, many children, teachers and librarians."

The literacy charity BookTrust described TYGER as "a thought-provoking, profound, political and spiritual book... a book to cherish and read again", while Alison Leach picked TYGER as a book of the month for BooksForTopics, and said: "SF Said's fanbase will be thrilled to read this new adventure - laced with danger, edged with fantasy and packed to the core with thinking and discussion points that link to very real issues in society."



And here's one last TYGER review for now, from the Inkdrinker blog, who totally made my day by concluding: "Said says he thinks this is his best book yet. It’s actually one of the best you will ever read: a true classic has been born."

A huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to all these writers and publications for covering TYGER and writing such amazing things about it - it means more than I can say!


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Thursday, 6 October 2022

TYGER is published today!

My new book TYGER is finally published today! I think it's my best book yet, and I hope you love it as much as I do. I hope you love Dave McKean's incredible artwork too – I think it's some of the best he's ever done!

Here are some places where you can buy TYGER:

Waterstones 

Amazon

Foyles

Blackwell's

Find your local independent bookshop




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Wednesday, 7 September 2022

Incredible TYGER artwork!

I've just made a short video of Dave McKean's incredible art on the front, back and spine of TYGER!  Please do watch, it's a thing of beauty.  

And if you'd like to pre-order a copy, you can find all the information on this link to my publishers' page for the book.




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Tuesday, 2 August 2022

TYGER early reviews!

There have been some amazing early reviews for my new book TYGER!

It was Editor's Choice for October children's books in The Bookseller magazine, where Charlotte Eyre gave it this wonderful review:


TYGER has also had amazing reviews on various blogs!  Here's the verdict from Through The Bookshelf:

It was everything I had hoped for - and more. The word ‘masterpiece’ is often bandied around, but in this case, I feel it is truly justified. I loved 'Tyger' and, for me, it is easily SF Said’s best book so far.



Here's Kate Heap's review on Scope For Imagination:

Where do I even begin with this incredible book? An adventure woven with mythology, magic and the power of the human spirit, Tyger by SF Said is a story to be internalised and drawn upon again and again. This book is destined to last – it already has a classic feel.

And here's Dawn Finch on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: 

Varjak Paw is an absolute classic and with books like Phoenix adding to the Said shelf it is clear that there was a lot of weight and expectation on Tyger. Breathe easy, it delivers. In spades. There is no doubt that this book earns one of those rare spots on the shelf marked "Future Classics".


A huge thank you to all these writers for their amazing reviews – after the nine years it took me write Tyger, these words mean more than I can say! 




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Monday, 25 July 2022

TYGER video!

I'm very excited to share a short video about new book TYGER!  Watch this if you want to know more about the story and its inspirations:


Please do share this video with anyone who wants to know more about TYGER – and if you want to pre-order a copy, here are some helpful links from my publishers:







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Tuesday, 12 July 2022

TYGER is available to order now!

I have some incredible news.  After 9 and a half years of work, we finally sent my new book TYGER to the printers yesterday!  This is the final version, fully illustrated by the brilliant Dave McKean, who illustrated my other books.  

And TYGER is now available to pre-order!  You can reserve your copy, so it will be delivered to you first, as soon as it's published on October 6th.  Here's a helpful list of links my publishers have put together, of various places where you can buy it:








And just to give you a taste of it – here's a sample of Dave's incredible artwork from the book, with Adam and the tyger...



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Monday, 27 June 2022

TYGER - first reactions!

My publishers have been sending proof copies of my new book TYGER out to various readers in the past few weeks – authors, booksellers, teachers, librarians – and it is amazing to see people's reactions coming in.  I worked on this book for 9 years, so it means more than I can say to read responses like these:


  

 

 

 

 

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