INFO ON WRITING BY KATY WATSON, PLUS A SMALL MUSIC FANZINE

Welcome to my website. As well as providing information about my writing, there are also some album reviews making up a rather neglected fanzine. Will I junk them altogether? Watch this space…

Out For Our Children launch and SpitLit children’s workshop
Out For Our Children are having a press launch for our website, for Spacegirl Pukes and for our work on curriculum materials for nurseries and schools. Tuesday 27th February 5.30-7.00pm at Housman’s Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 (near Kings Cross tube). All welcome, kids included.

Also, Vanda Carter (illustrator of Spacegirl Pukes) and I are doing a children’s workshop as part of the SpitLit festival in East London next month. We’ll both be reading from our new books and doing thrilling arty things for kids. Sunday 4th March 12.00-1.30pm at the Idea Store, 321 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BU. However, since I’m now quite definitely pregnant and the babe is due on that very day, there is a chance I may not get to either of these events, though they will struggle bravely on without me. (5/2/07)

Spacegirl Pukes review
Thanks for Diva magazine for a good review of Spacegirl Pukes. Go here to see it. (21/1/07)

Out For Our Children website
Out For Our Children, a London-based group which I’m involved with and which works on resources and policy for children of lesbian mums, has a brand new website.

Also, Spacegirl Pukes can now be bought from the publisher online: Onlywomen Press . (2/12/06)

New children’s book
I’ve got another children’s book on its way, called Dangerous Deborah Puts her Foot Down. Pictures are by Angela Brew and it will be published some time next year by Onlywomen Press.

I suppose the age range is something like three to six and it tells the story of a young girl who runs away from home because her mums are too bossy, a popular concept around these parts. If you’re feeling keen, it’s available for preorder on Amazon. (28/10/06)

Spacegirl reading
Oops, forgot to say beforehand, but Vanda and I did a reading from Spacegirl Pukes at the SpitLit festival in Bethnal Green, east London, on 5th March. We had a lovely audience. I read the story and Vanda did a wonderful children’s art workshop making masks of characters from the book.

The book will be officially launched in May but is available now on Amazon, in some bookshops and by mailorder for £5.99 plus p&p (£1.20 UK and Europe, £2.40 rest of world) from Onlywomen Press, Mailorder Department, 40D St Lawrence Terrace, London W10 5ST.

Also, I’ve started running a series of creative writing workshops for Out For Our Children on writing for young children, so please get in touch with me if you’d like to come along. (28/3/06)

New book
A children’s book, Spacegirl Pukes, written by me with pictures by Vanda Carter, is being published by Onlywomen Press early next year. It’s for roughly two- to five-year-olds and tells the story of a young space pilot who suffers a stomach upset just before takeoff on a new mission. It came about in conjunction with Out For Our Children, a group aiming to produce books and other materials for young children of lesbian mums – website due soon. (6/11/05)

Back at last
Wow, a year and a half since I last posted any news. Who’d have thought one small child could keep a person so busy? Ah, but I love it. In the meantime, I’ve decided to scale down the fanzine side of the site, since I haven’t written any new reviews for ages. And sadly I’ve now officially abandoned the novel I was working on, but I may have some other publishing news soon. (11/6/05)

Goodbye Elliott
Terrible news about Elliott Smith. What a waste, and it’s awful to think what he must have suffered to have reached such an end. Poor man. He was one of my favourite singers and I feel as if I’ve lost someone I knew. Maybe the best I can say is, his torments are over. Fan site: Sweet Adeline (1/11/03)

Our friends in Slovenia
Have a look at the reviews page for a particularly sympathetic review of High on Life in Slovenia. (29/9/03)

See you in Ljubljana
The translation of High on Life comes out in Slovenia this month and I’ll be reading from it in Ljubljana on Saturday 7th June. Email me for details if you’d like to be there.

And again I look with shame at my list of music reviews. My daughter Orla was born on 16th October last year and this is the first time since then that I’ve managed to even look at this website. Motherhood, eh? Still, the babe is thriving even if everything else is in chaos. (18/5/03)

Big in Slovenia
Good news: I’ve now achieved my first foreign sale: High on Life is going to be translated into Slovenian, surely one of the smallest and most obscure book markets in Europe. It’s a proud achievement. It will be published by Drustvo Skuc.

Second piece of good news: I’ve been given a grant by the K Blundell Trust to help me towards my next book. (Anyone interested in the trust should contact the Society of Authors.)

And while I’m at it, apologies for the lack of new music reviews. I’m pregnant and tired and have been trying to finish the next novel, so they’ve been a bit neglected. (13/9/02)

High on Life has now had a couple of reviews, including a very positive one in The Times. Read them on the reviews page.

There will be a launch for High on Life on Thursday 25th April, 6.30-8.00pm at Index Bookcentre, 16 Electric Avenue, Brixton SW9 8JX. (Turn left out of Brixton tube, then first left and it’s about 50 yards down on the left.) All welcome!

My first novel, High on Life, is being published by The Women’s Press on April 11th. This is what it says on the back:

“There were three elements in Esther’s relationship – herself, Irfan and heroin – and it didn’t feel crowded at all. Instead, Esther had entered a state of bliss. She loved Irfan, their sex life was unbelievable and the fact that they were taking heroin only proved that they knew something which the rest of the world didn’t.

“That was at the beginning. Later on, the heroin claimed everything – the sex, the energy and the rebellion. When there was nothing left at all, Esther decided she had only one choice – to kick her habit.

“High on Life is a revelation of a novel. Not only does it tell a harrowing story of overcoming dependency, but it attempts to explain why drugs seem so alluring in the first place. Esther’s story, both desperate and wildly funny, offers insight into some of the causes of addiction. Katy Watson’s cool, clean prose delivers a compelling narrative about damage and the effort to heal. Non-judgemental yet truthful to the core, this novel offers a devastating insight into an everyday nightmare."

Updated 5/2/07