It’s been a busy year of events and I’ve been lucky enough to visit lots of new places to talk about Isadora Moon. I thought I would share some of my favourites.

Edinburgh, August 2018

I was invited to take part in the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.  It was really exciting to revisit Edinburgh, as I’ve only been there once before as part of my honeymoon. Here’s a montage I made of the visit:

 

In the top-left and middle you can see part of the authors’ yurt. There was plenty of food and drinks and there and it was absolutely chucking it down with rain outside, so we spent quite a while chilling in there. Lots of children turned up to watch me prance about on stage with an umbrella and to get their books signed afterwards. So far it’s the only event I’ve done in Scotland, so it got quite a good turnout. 

Henry and I explored the city for a bit in the afternoon after my event. The rain had stopped, but there was still a thick and atmospheric mist over all the old buildings (middle-right). In the evening we met for dinner with my editor at OUP, Clare. I don’t get to speak to her face-to-face much, so it was lovely to have a good bit of time to chat. I talked her ear off about various plans and ideas I have for different stories!

Dublin, October 2018

From one capital city to another. This was the first time I’ve travelled abroad for an Isadora Moon event, and the first time I’ve been to Ireland. Business trips aren’t the best way to take in all the sights, but it was lovely to visit somewhere new. 

I visited various bookshops to sign their stock, got to meet some lovely booksellers, and even had the chance to talk to a local primary school class. It was interesting learning about Eason’s bookshops, as I wasn’t aware of them before visiting Ireland. They’re sort of the Irish Waterstones combined with W H Smiths. Just like I didn’t know about Eason’s before, lots of the Irish people I spoke to had never heard of Waterstones. And that’s not all that was different in Ireland…

I met some lovely fans as well. There was the little girl in the montage above who brought a very recently-created Pink Rabbit with her (pattern here to make your own!). There was a family who had contacted me previously on Twitter and travelled from 2 hours away for my event. And there was this girl here who brought this whole folder of wonderful pink-and-black pictures and drawings she done to show me:

I’d love to go back to properly see Ireland sometime. I’d especially like to see all the beautiful beaches and natural places.

Manchester, November 2018

The month after Dublin I was off to the ‘capital of the North’. This was my second trip to Manchester after a lovely visit to Deansgate Waterstones last year.  Our first stop was the brilliant independent bookshop, Simply Books. I started by drawing all over their window:

A little later, a lot of children turned up. We packed them all into the events room and did some drawing and other activities:

The next day,  Henry and I had a wander round Manchester. The huge Christmas market there was filled with interesting stalls. We sat on a wall to eat some hot goulash, then it was time for another Isadora Moon party. This one got quite busy, as I think a few extra children turned up. The more the merrier though! 

It was also really nice to see a few return visitors again, including the wonderfully supportive Kate, Poppy and family from the Along Came Poppy blog. You can read their delightful write-up of the event and review of Isadora Moon Makes Winter Magic here.

After the party it was time for some more graffiti. This time I had a live audience and was using a permanent pen, so no pressure then! 

Other events in Autumn 2018

I’d be here all day if I did a detailed write-up of everything I’ve been up to over the last few months. I’m so grateful though to all the people and businesses that have supported me and invited me to do events with them recently, as well as to all the people who came along to those events. A few of my other highlights have been:

Window displays and Isadora Moon parties with Mostly Books in Abingdon (top) and Tales on Moon Lane in London (below):

A second jam-packed Isadora Moon day at Waddesdon Manor (read about last year’s event here):

And a super-cool gelato collaboration with Fabio’s Gelato:

Pink Rabbit especially enjoyed that last one (even if he just pretends to eat):

Happy December 2018!

If anything, this autumn has been even busier than the last. One final highlight of the autumn was seeing an advert featuring Isadora Moon that OUP had placed in the Guardian’s Saturday supplement:

On which note, there is still time to order your copy of Isadora Moon Makes Winter Magic or even a Pink Rabbit enamel pin before Christmas.  Otherwise, I hope you have a wonderful December and a great time celebrating your festive holiday of choice!

Love, magic and sparkle,

Harriet x

P.S. Here’s a quick video I made of me reading from Isadora Moon Makes Winter Magic: