8 May 2013
Imagine the surprise when Anthony Horowitz was commissioned by the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to resurrect the bones of the legendary Sherlock Holmes.
Continue reading “For The Sunday Times: From boy wonder to Holmes revival”
Category: Essays
Getting YA right
3 June 2013
Writing young adult (YA) fiction is a complicated business. Not only do I need to worry about getting the tone and dialogue right, but the story needs to be topical and entertaining enough to hold a young reader’s interest.
Why YA?
5 February 2013
Whenever I’m out and about, trying to sell books or talking to kids about pursuing a career in writing, the question inevitably arises about why I write YA.
I’ve made it pretty clear in the past that I didn’t specifically set out to write YA. My first novel had young people in it, and as a result, became branded as YA. To be honest I had never even heard the term before then, but rather assumed that books marketed towards the teen market were simply that – teen books. I grew up devouring L.J Smith and R.L Stine after all. I had no idea they were called YA.
Youth lit in South Africa
18 April 2011
It’s an interesting time to be a youth writer in South Africa.
International trends change almost daily. One day vampires are all the rage, the next its ghosts or angels or even steam punk. South African authors are far from asleep to what’s happening abroad. Lily Herne, for example, just published South Africa’s first zombie novel, Deadlands; the Trantraal brothers released their second graphic novel last year, and John van der Ruit’s Spud was adapted into a feature film starring John Cleese.
Why do teenagers love vampires?
1o November 2010
The global best seller lists are teeming with paranormal romance titles from Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods and PC Cast’s House of Night series to Maggie Stiefvater’s werewolf love-fest Shiver. Speculative teen fiction is big business. Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga has sold over 100 million copies globally and has been adapted into three equally record-breaking films, with two more on the way.
Continue reading “Why do teenagers love vampires?”
On Stephen King
26 July 2010
Writers write from experience. They also generally make up a whole bunch of stuff which is ironed into truth through extensive research. They are also inspired by other writers.
Zef so fresh
14 April 2010
A little article I wrote on Die Antwoord.
I remember when my friend Richard, my source of all things new and trendy happening in the city, invited me to go watch Jack Parow at the Assembly in Cape Town. I’ll admit I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Afrikaans rap? C’mon.
Not a week later Richard called me up and invited me to go see a band called Die Antwoord at Disko K in Loop Street. My first impression was that I had jumped headfirst into the rabbit hole, only to find myself in the deepest pit of the Cape Town underground.
Some thoughts on bullying
5 May 2009
Newspaper headlines are ghastly creatures, particularly when they gleam of sensationalism.
I am a journalist myself, so I know that after completing each article I need to come up with a witty one-liner to sum up what I’ve written. But I am also a reader, and I feel very strongly about certain subjects, as do many other people I know.
Sally Partridge 