matt finch / mechanical dolphin

Write and Draw Your Own Comics Available for Pre-Order

August 12, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

Blimey, between this and the pre-orders for the 2015 Library Innovation Toolkit, it’s getting to be like the Home Shopping Channel over here.

Earlier this year, I was a consultant on the new Write and Draw Your Own Comics, created by the talented Louie Stowell and a range of brilliant artists for the children’s publisher Usborne.

Some of the activities in the book got field-tested by the kids and teens of Auckland, New Zealand, during my stint there last year and I can vouch for the finished work as being pretty freakin’ awesome.

Write and Draw Your Own Comics is out this October, but you can pre-order the book via the Forbidden Planet website now – looks like they’ve dropped the price by a couple of quid for early birds too.

The Library Innovation Toolkit Available for Pre-Order

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

The Library Innovation Toolkit from ALA Editions, the publishing arm of the American Library Association, is now available for pre-order online. I co-wrote the chapter on youth outreach, “Monsters, Rockets, and Baby Racers”, with my colleague Tracie Mauro from Parkes Shire, New South Wales.

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From zombie sieges to boxcar races, gaming, art, and immersive storytelling, we offer practical tips on how libraries and other organisations can deliver inspirational, unconventional, and locally relevant cultural programming for kids and teens.

The book is out in Spring 2015, but you can pre-order your copy online today!

When You Look You May Not See: Archives and Public Space

July 29, 2014July 29, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

Just a quick post from London, where I saw this poster at Turnham Green tube station:

Richard Wentworth’s When You Look You May Not See takes a postcard written by First World War soldier Herbert Wilson and simply reverses the original lettering.

The postcard comes from the University of Oxford Poetry Archive and is presented as part of Art on the Underground’s contribution to London’s commemoration of the 1914-18 war.

Richard Wentworth - When You Look You May Not See — When You Look You May Not See being read with a mirror. Photo from Art on the Underground

To me it’s a perfect piece of public art. It uses genuine everyday communication from the archives; presents it in a simple, yet challenging, way; and it’s not bound within the walls of a museum or a prestigious city-centre location – it’s flung out to the platforms of public transport in the commuter suburbs.

It’s really important to think about where we physically place arts and culture programming – you can read more on that, in an Australasian context, in my VALA keynote from earlier this year. And in their own small way, my friends in the Australian town of Parkes have also been exploring the pleasures of ‘locative literature’ in 2014.

Huge congratulations to all involved in the London project and you can read more about When You Look You May Not See at the Art on the Underground website.

Library Journal on Play For Grown-Ups: Dark Night Burlesque at Auckland Libraries

July 25, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

Dark Night at Auckland Libraries — Image by Dylan Horrocks

Over in the US, Library Journal has just published my piece on last year’s Dark Night burlesque season at Auckland Libraries in New Zealand.

The festival for over-18s aimed to “question, celebrate, and challenge sex and sexuality on page, stage, and screen” – and it led to exciting new projects such as this year’s award-winning XXUnmasked media literacy event.

Ephemeral words can mean so much: Alison Miles on coffee cup literature

July 18, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

As part of my Researcher in Residence project, coffee cups in the cafes of Parkes, New South Wales have been printed with stories and poems written by local writers.

Queensland librarian Alison Miles wrote about our cup project, and the wider trend of “locative literature”, for her website reading360. Go read her blog post on the power of ephemeral words!

Guest post: XXUnmasked at Auckland Libraries

June 6, 2014June 6, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

I’m pleased to announce that Auckland Libraries’ XXUnmasked media literacy project for teenage girls has just won an award for community outreach. This week on the blog, Tracy Dawson of Parkes High School Library in Australia reports on the project led by Ali Coomber of Auckland Libraries and Dr Pani Farvid of Auckland University of Technology.

Poster from XXUnmasked pilot — Poster display from XXUnmasked

Prepping goody bags for XXUnmasked — Goody bags for XXUnmasked participants!

XXUnmasked – double the power, not the standards!

Something that always amazes me is when young girls say “I’m not a feminist.” When any woman says it, actually. I remember several years ago, in my previous guise as an English teacher, talking to a group of top senior English students studying what was then called 3 Unit English in New South Wales. We were discussing the brilliant Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and despite that horrific and unsettling story of the loss of female identity, voice, independence, none could see the value of feminism.

Now when feminism is often seen as a dirty word at the same time that all-pervading media images of women are more blatantly misogynistic than ever, how do we help our young women avoid being active participants, let alone passive observers, in their own diminution? Read more →

Huffington Post, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Coverage

May 1, 2014May 1, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

I’m over my jet lag, back in Europe, and easing into my holidays after fourteen months jetting around Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

I’ve just surfaced this week to announce that Parkes Library’s monsters-versus-robots Big Box Battle roleplay received coverage in The Huffington Post. Also, you can now listen to my recent interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation right here!

More soon, but for now…happy holidays!

Big Box Battle monsters in their cardboard city, 2013 — Big Box Battle monsters in their cardboard city, Parkes Library, 2013

Easter holidays!

April 7, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

It’s holiday time for me…As I pack up my bags in Parkes, New South Wales, I’m almost at the end of my stint in the southern hemisphere. Last week, Robert Virtue of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation profiled me and my work in a short report on radio and online.

I’ve got a couple of new projects in the pipeline, but for now I wish you all a happy Easter.

I’m back on the road. See you after the break!

Parkes Radio Telescope - "The Dish" — Parkes Radio Telescope – “The Dish”

Book publishing workshops for your library

March 3, 2014March 1, 2014Mechanical Dolphin

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Last year, Parkes Shire ran a series of one-day publishing workshops for local teens. Our local libraries, high school, and TAFE joined forces to offer teens a game-based look at the business of selling books. This write-up lets you see what we did and run your own version.

Why publishing workshops?

Publishing is changing fast in the 21st century and people aren’t always clued in on how writers get their words out to readers. We wanted local teens to think about the business side of publication. What are the challenges of acquiring books for sale? How do publishers market their choices to the public in an age of social media? We wanted our event to be locally devised but relevant to the global publishing industry.

What did we do?