Stories from Worlds Next Door have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards and the Washington Science Fiction Association’s Small Press Award, and the book has received consistently excellent reviews across Australia. With teaching materials, free story downloads and audio versions available, Worlds Next Door is a valuable addition to any school resources.

If you would like to take the opportunity to purchase a class set of Worlds Next Door, simply email fablecroft@gmail.com with purchase order details (orders received this way will be invoiced, 30 day terms), or, if you have access to Paypal, there’s a button here!

“The Best Dog in the World”, Dirk Flinthart
“A Wizard in Trouble”, Paul Collins
“Graffiti”, Joanne Anderton
“Enid and the Prince”, RJ Astruc
“Disobedience”, Dave Luckett
“The Guardians”, Geoffrey Hugh Miller
“Horror Movie”, Michael Pryor
“The House on Juniper Road”, Felicity Dowker
“Rocket and Sparky”, Edwina Harvey
“Inksucker”, Aidan Doyle
“Mega Wombats and Demon Ducks”, Sue Bursztynski
“Philomena Plaitbinder”, Angela Rega
“Moonchild”, Bren MacDibble
“The New Rat in Town”, Kaaron Warren
“Through the Break”, Jen Banyard
“Nine Times”, Kaia Landelius and Tansy Rayner Roberts
“Sir Pesky Poos-a-lot and the Pony” Thoraiya Dyer
“Old Saint Nick”, Leith Daniel
“Slugs and Snails”, Jenny Blackford
“The Trouble with Fifi”, Launz Burch
“Tabitha”, Rowena Cory Daniells
“Genevieve and the Dragon”, Angela Slatter
“The Nullarbor Wave”, Matthew Chrulew
“Ghost Town”, Pamela Freeman
“Little Arkham”, Martin Livings

I’m also offering for a limited time an exclusive offer to schools – get a class set of 30 copies of Worlds Next Door for just $300 (plus $20 postage), invoiced for payment in January 2012. You’ll never get a better class set of great short stories at such a great price! If you are interested in this great deal (expires December 14, 2011), simply email fablecroft (@) gmail (.) com to order. Don’t miss out!

The complete list of finalists:

• “After the Dragon”, by Sarah Monette, published in the January 2010 issue of Fantasy Magazine, edited by Cat Rambo & Sean Wallace
• “Amaryllis”, by Carrie Vaughn, published in the June 2010 issue of Lightspeed Magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams
• “The Cassandra Project”, by Jack McDevitt, published in the June 2010 issue of Lightspeed Magazine, edited by John Joseph Adams
• “The Days of Flaming Motorcycles”, by Catherynne M. Valente, published in Dark Faith anthology, edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon, Apex Book Co. (May 2010)
• “Enid and the Prince”, by RJ Astruc, published in Worlds Next Door, edited by Tehani Wessely, FableCroft Publishing (June 2010)
• “Lord Bai’s Discovery” by Jean Marie Ward, published in Dragon’s Lure, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jennifer Ross, and Jeffrey Lyman, Dark Quest Books (June 2010)

The competition “Enid and the Prince” is up against is top notch and I’m so proud to have published a story strong enough to compete at this level! Well done RJ!

Entries are now open to win a class set (30 copies) of Worlds Next Door! Ideal for classrooms from Years 6 to 9 (depending on ability), this collection of short stories offers something for everyone. The Worlds Next Door website provides Creative Commons licensed teaching materials for stories, including lesson plans, free story downloads, audio and more. The book and its stories have been shortlisted for the Aurealis, Ditmar and Tin Duck Awards, and have received positive reviews from all over the country, including in Magpies, Fiction Focus and Reading Time. A fantastic resource for any classroom!

So how can you win? Part of the impetus behind the Worlds Next Door project was the hope that any person who used the book as a classroom resource might like to share their unit of work/lesson plans with others. To enter this competition to win 30 copies of the book for use in YOUR school or library, we’re asking you to do just that – create lesson plan (or unit of work) for one of the short stories available on the website (either the print downloads or one of the audio downloads) for sharing under the Creative Commons license on the website.

It can be as simple as a single lesson based on a story, or a complete unit on Narrative, or Short Story, or one that uses content from a story (see examples of work already available elsewhere on this website!). The competition is open to all primary and secondary schools in Australia. Be creative, use technology if you can, think big! What would you LOVE to teach, given no restrictions!

To enter, send your lesson plan/unit of work to fablecroft@gmail.com by June 30, 2011.

Please include your name, school/library name, school/library address, telephone number and email address with your entry.

Main prize is one class set (30 copies) of Worlds Next Door. The publisher reserves the right not to award a prize if insufficient entries of quality are received. Single copies of the book may be awarded for honorable mentions.

Competition only open to staff of schools/libraries in Australia. By entering the competition you give permission for the lesson plan/unit you submit to be shared under Creative Commons licensing on the Worlds Next Door website (all contributions will be acknowledged to the contributor). 

The full list is here, and well done to everyone on it!

Ellen is Guest of Honour at Swancon in Perth over Easter this year, and produces some very fine anthologies – especially relevant here are her anthologies that compile fairy tale retellings. Troll’s Eye View was a recent one (with Terri Windling) that I loved – retelling fairytales from the villain’s perspective!

• Nominations: Close Friday 3 December!
• Voting: Ends Tuesday 14 December!
• Award Ceremony: Wednesday 15 December!

For the latest up-to-date news on the Edublog Awards:

1. Follow edublogs on Twitter
2. Subscribe to the Edublog Award blog via our RSS Feed or email (add your email address to top right sidebar)
3.  Like Edublogs on Facebook

My nominations

Best individual blog: The Principal of Change

Best individual tweeter: @CL_Journal (Curriculum Leadership journal) – I know, it’s not an individual, but there’s nowhere else to put it!

Best group blog: CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus blog

Best resource sharing blog: “Bright Ideas” by SLAV

Best librarian / library blog: Ruth Buchanan (Skerricks)

Best elearning / corporate education blog: Free Technology for Teachers

Best educational use of a social network: CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus

Lifetime achievement: Judi J, for CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus blog

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The Edublog Awards Homepage

I wish I could nominate more!

http://content.boomerangbooks.com.au/kids-book-capers-blog/win-a-copy-of-worlds-next-door/2010/10