Cathy Cassidy

Belfast Waterstones 2011

After all kinds of disasters (including a missed ferry, seasickness, torrential rain and gale force winds…) I finally made it to Belfast only half an hour late… and had such a warm welcome I cheered up instantly! Thanks to fab snowflake fairies Dearbhile, Emma, Leila and Drithle who handed out marshmallows and chocolate and did fab snowflake face painting; to the family who came all the way from Tipperary; and to everyone who came and made the day so lovely. Belfast girls rock, end of story!

NCBF Gala Day 2011

I had a fab time at Newcastle for the always=awesome NCBF Gala Day celebration… many thanks to all who cam along and made it so special!

St Julie's visit...

Thanks to all who made my first visit of the September tour such a cool one!

Southport Waterstones

Thanks to my fab chocolate fairies for the day, sisters Shannon and Lauren, and also to the many cool readers who came along to Southport Waterstones and made this event such a special one!

xxx

Wigtown Book Fest 2011

Thanks to Dream Teamer Zoe for her ever-brilliant help, to super-cool introducer-gal Connie Milligan and to the winner of the fashion show who made a very convincing Skye Tanberry indeed! Thanks too to the girls who brought me a box of amazing marshmallow cupcakes… WOW!!! They really were gorgeous!

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Reading Waterstones

Thanks to amazing chocolate fairies Louise and her fab cousin who made my signing at Reading Waterstones run so smoothly – keeping the queues supplied with friendship bracelets and marshmallows! Yum! Thanks so much girls for all your hard work!

Thanks too to all who came along, making my Reading Oracle signing one to remember! It was fab to meet you all!

xxx

Liverpool One Waterstones

Thanks again to Liverpool One Waterstones for a fab signing, and thanks to all who came along to make it such a success… especially my fantrabulous chocolate fairies Alice and Megan who were so perfect in the role you’d almost believe they stepped straight from the pages of the Chocolate Box Girls series! Awesome costumes girls! A special mention to the fab reader who came vintage style, too… it was like seeing Skye come to life!

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Southampton Waterstones

Thanks to everyone who came to a very busy signing at Southampton Waterstones… you made it such a cool day! Special thanks to Katya who won the chic box design comp Waterstones were running, and to the fab readers who bought me marshmallows, chocolate and other yummy treats! I was treated VERY well in sunny Southampton!

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Dumfries Waterstones

Thanks to all who braved the rain to come along to Dumfries Waterstones… and special thanks to those who came bearing gifts! (Marshmallow rocky-road, chocolates, jelly-bean sweets, cake… you know me well!) Many thanks!

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Sheffield High School

Thanks to all who made my visit to Sheffield High School such fun… especially those who dressed up as a CC character to take part in the fashion show! You were all BRILLIANT!

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Fashion Show...

Pics from one of the school events on my Marshmallow Skye Tour in September 2011… thanks to all who dressed up as a CC character and took part in the fashion show, you were brilliant!

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Exmouth Event...

Thanks to the awesome librarians and kids who made my Exmouth event so brilliant… I have nothing but great memories of the day and loved meeting you all. A big thank you to all who dressed up and took part in the fashion show, and to the winners of course! Thanks to all who helped make the wonderful displays… awesome!

As for the cakes… I’m still dreaming of those!

Happy reading!

xxx

Stirling Event

I had a brilliant time at Bannockburn Library as part of the Off The Page festival in Stirling… and there were cupcakes! Yum! Thanks to all the fab readers who came along and made it such a fab evening!

xxx

Worthing Waterstones

It was brilliant to revisit Worthing Waterstones for a mini-talk and reading and book signing. Better still to meet loyal readers like this girl, who had met me at a previous signing and had a gorgeous photo to prove it! Thanks to all who came!

Bluewater 2011

Thanks to all who came along to the Marshmallow Skye signing at Bluewater Waterstones… especially Dream Teamer Alice, Blog-gal Amber, super fan Ellie and many more fantastic readers… I had a rotten cold and you cheered me up lots! Thanks too to the Waterstones staff who set up craft activities to liven up the signing! Special thanks to my two fab emergency chocolate fairies, who stepped in at such short notice to distribute marshmallows to the queue!

Bromley Waterstones 2011

Thanks to all who came to Waterstones in Bromley to celebrate the launch of Marshmallow Skye… it was a truly epic event, and even after such long waits you were all still smiling! Thanks to everyone who came, including my chocolate fairy Zemira who also brought me such yummy chocolates, super fan Wemi, Mia, Millie & Gracie, Molly & friends, Sev and many, many more who made it such a special day. Thanks to Waterstones staff for organising it so well also!

Mountains To Sea Dublin 2011

I had a brilliant time at the 2011 Mountains To Sea festival…

Thanks to my chocolate fairies Alice, Kate, Leila and Drithle, to my Irish Dream Teamers Nora, Leila, Nada and Jane and to all who came along to make it such a fab event!

Thanks also to Aoife for the chocolate box and Leila & Drithle for the treasure box!

Girls R Wowed, Irvine, 2011

As usual, my event at HAC in Irvine was soooo cool – thanks to Mel and the team at N Ayrshire libraries! Thanks also to Helen, Robyn, Nina, Heather, Emma and to all who came along to make it so special! It was marshmallow-tastic!

Camp Bestival 2011!

I’ve never done an event in a big top tent to an audience dressed in medieval fancy dress before… until Camp Bestival! I had a brilliant time and loved every bit of the festival… sooo cool! Thanks to everyone who came along, and also to my lovely face-paint & paper crane helpers, Sophie, Mel, Hazel, Megan, Cait, Zak, Libby and Millie!

Edinburgh Festival 2011

I had a brilliant time at the Edinburgh Festival this year and met some very cool readers… thanks for coming along to help me launch Marshmallow Skye!
xxx

Coventry Events, Sept 2010...

I had the best ever day in my old home town of Coventry, so a big thank you to all who came along and helped to make it so special! Special shout-outs to Helen, Dave, Kirsty, Ewan & Ben; to Joy Court for arranging the awesome Frederick Bird Primary event, and to the children and teachers from all of the schools who came along to it. Also to the schools who came to Coundon primary and to everyone who came along to the Waterstones signing in Smithford Way, especially Jeanette, my chocolate fairies Jessica and Holly, the fab girl who made my Waterstones window display, and Ruha. Inspiring and awesome, all of you!
xxx

West Cork Lit Festival - Bantry

I loved every minute of my events in Bantry, West Cork… such talented, smart young writers at the morning workshop session, and a fantastic crew of readers at the afternoon Cherry Crush event. You were all brilliant! Special hellos to Ellen & friends who came to my event dressed as Jude, Scarlett & Dizzy… to Emma who lent me a watch… to the two girls who came in such cool trilby hats… and the very lovely budding writers who shared their stories. It was brilliant to meet you all!

xxx

Morley Town Hall Event...

thanks to all the fab kids who came along to Morley Town Hall on Thursday 26th May… you made it a really cool and memorable event! Thanks to Debbie, Alison and all the librarians, teachers and helpers who made the event possible! A very special thanks to All Hallows High who made me the most amazing cake… and to Heather D for sending in the pics of it whn mine didn’t work out!

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Redbridge Children's Book Award 2011

I had a brilliant time in Redbridge at the 2011 Book Awards, where my book Cherry Crush won the Children’s Award. Congrats to Malorie Blackman too whose Boys Don’t Cry won the Teenage Award, too! Thanks to all the brilliant kids, teachers & librarians I met, as well as the other shortlisted authors!

xxx

Lancaster Girls Grammar

Thanks to all at the fab Lancaster Girls Grammar School event which ended my lovely May Cherry Crush tour… an awesome fashion show, too!

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Laisterdyke Business & Enterprise College

I had a great time at Laisterdyke College in Bradford and LOVED all the effort so many of the girls had made to dress up as their fave CC character! It was seriously hard to choose just two winners. Thanks to Dawn and Adrian for helping to set up such a fab event! Thanks too to the lovely pupil who made me a paper crane!

Springfield Primary

Thanks to the brilliant kids I met at Springfield Primary School in Nottingham… it was great to meet you all! Thanks to Elaine, Sandra and Linda for making the event such a success… and to all the cool girls who dressed up for the fashion show!

Littleover Community School

Thanks to all the fab kids I met at Littleover Community School for a brilliant event! Thanks to Hilary, Rachel and Richard for helping to make it such a success!

Lewisham & Rickmansworth

A HUGE thanks to all the amazing readers I met at St Matthew Academy Lewisham & The Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth. Many thanks to Jenny & Joanna for all your hard work in the morning; and Shirley and Sheryl for making the afternoon event so fab.

A special thank-you to everyone who dressed up as a fave CC character at St Matthew to take part in the first fashion show of the tour – awesome! Thanks, too, to the girl at Royal Masonic School who made me my first paper crane of the tour!

West Bromwich & Dudley Library events...

I had a brilliant time at the book festival in Sandwell and Dudley, first at West Bromwich library and then at Dudley! I met some great readers, including Jess, Tia & Lucy who had travelled from Bedfordshire; and the superfan-clan, Michaela, Amishka, Bre & Grace who gave me a fab fan-book… plus very many more! Uploading the pics I have been sent so far… but a big thanks to all who helped to make it such a special day!

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Dumfries Arts Fest event

A fab end to my May tour… thanks to everyone who came along! Thanks to Karen (& Freya!) for setting it up and arranging cake and juice, to D&G Arts Festival for hosting the event and to my fab friend Jessie for bringing along emergency books when disaster struck, so everyone could get a book after all! Thanks to Caitlin for running the paper crane workshop, too, and thanks to all who made a beautiful paper crane!

xxx

Wallace Hall Academy

I had a fab time for World Book Day 2011 at Wallace Hall Academy in Thornhill – children from Moniave Primary, Penpont Primary, Wallace hall primary as well as the secondary school came along for a talk and Friendship Festival activities afterwards…

Thanks to Caroline for organizing it; to Jozien for helping with the art/ craft activites; to Sara for the photos and newspaper coverage; and to the school for providing yummy Fairtrade refreshments!

xxx

Belfast Waterstones...

A few inches of snow and sub-zero temperatures wasn’t going to stop me – or my readers from northern Ireland – from getting to this signing!

There was SUCH an amazing turnout and girls who had travelled from Donegal, Fermanagh, and just about every other corner of Northern Ireland just to be there… wow!

A special thank you to Emma and Deirbhile who campaigned so hard to get me to visit and made the best ever ‘snowflake’ fairies, to Sophie too for her hard work, to Leila, Dearbhaile, Drithle & co (the Belfast-Dublin crew!) for all the fab facepainting, and to Niamh, Emma, Lucy and SO many other awesome readers who made it such a memorable day. Sorry I can’t namecheck everyone, but hope you all had fun!

Also a big thank you to Belfast Waterstones for making it all possible, and to lovely Patricia from Penguin Ireland for setting the event up.

Thanks all of you!

Cheltenham Literature Festival 2010

I had an fab time at the Playhouse in Cheltenham for my event at the Literature Festival… and met some amazing readers! A special shout out to Sophie and her little sister who made such cool chocolate fairies and who made an extra special effort to get to the event as they were actually en route from Chester to Heathrow ready to fly out to be bridesmaids at a wedding in the USA! I was impressed with your dedication, girls… and THANK YOU for the yummy chocolates!
Thanks to all the awesome readers who came along and made this such a special event for me.
xxx

Queen of Teen!

Eek! Pink limo… glittery crown… and a clutch of very cool teen authors, too! Thanks to all who helped to make the Queen of Teen ceremony so special and so memorable, especially my fab superfan Ellie-Mae who travelled with me in the pink limo and gave me my sash and crown! Me… queen… really? Thanks to all who voted!
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Accrington Event...

Thanks to the lovely ladies at Silverdell Books and all the kids who helped to make my visit to Accrington Academy such a brilliant one!
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Bath Children's Literature Festival

Thanks to all the kids who came along to my event at the Guildhall in Bath… it was great to meet you all and made it a very cool day! Special thanks to my two very keen chocolate fairies for the evening, too…
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Girls Allowed Too! (HAC, Irvine...)

For the second year running I was HAC in Irvine for a totally awesome event and friendship festival… this year there was cupcake decorating, an accessory swap, henna hand painting, card making, and a wishing tree with hopes, dreams and wishes hung onto it… fab! Thanks to Mel and the libraries team for making it happen, and the team at HAC… and to all the AMAZING kids who came along and made it extra special.

A big thank you to my two ‘chocolate fairies’ for the day, and also to Robyn, Laurel & friends, and to the girl who made me a gorgeous iced cupcake and the two friends who made the amazing Cathy Cassidy t-shirts! Fantastic!!!

Reading WHSmith signing

Thanks to all who came along, especially Emily who gave me the beautiful cookie jar made and decorated just for me, filled with gorgeous chocolate cookies! Thanks to Smiths for the fab flowers, too!

Simply Books Event, Bramhall

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Cherry Crush party, talk & signing at the fab Simply Books Bookshop in Bramhall… a brilliant evening had by all!
xxx

Bluewater Waterstones 2010

The Cherry Crush signing at Bluewater was just brilliant… a special thank you to Alice B & Hollie for being such amazing and hard working chocolate fairies, and to all of the readers who came along to make it so special! A big thank you to Robyn who made me some amazing fairy cakes and brought them along in a gorgeous home-made box… and Alannah & her fab family from Mallow in Cork who came along, too!
All of you helped to make Bluewater a very, very special day!

Moira House visit...

I had a brilliant time meeting the fab girls at Moira House school… keep practising your daydreaming, OK?
xxx

Bromley Waterstones Sept 2010

It was fab to come back to the brilliant Bromley Waterstones and see some familiar faces… as well as some new ones! A special thanks to Eleanor and Amber, my chocolate fairies, and also to Eleanor’s brilliant pals who raced to the event after taking their 11+ exams to help out with chocolate fairy duty… yay! A big thanks to Amber’s family who had driven for four hours and just missed the Bluewater signing… so drove right on and made it to Bromley… and to the girl who brought her whole collection of books, and bumped into me later at the railway station! It was a fab, fab day!

Boston Waterstones signing...

A big thank you to my special chocolate fairies at the Boston Waterstones signing, who arrived with a huuuge banner to welcome me to the store… wow! Also to all the amazing readers I met there, including all who had travelled such long distances to make it along. You made it a very special day!

Norfolk FCGB Event

Thanks to all the fab people who came along to the FCGB Event in Norfolk, especially my wonderful chocolate fairies for the evening! It was great to meet so many readers, and to know some had travelled a LONG way to get to the event! Woo-hoo!

CARDIFF Waterstones Sept 2010

Thanks to everyone who came along to Cardiff and made the Watersones public signing so brilliant… a special thank you to Ana for taking the pics, and to fab chocolate fairies Lucy & Charlotte, and Maggie the best ever friendship-fairy!
xxx

Mountains To Sea, Dublin

I had an amazing time at the brilliant Mountains To Sea book festival in Dun Laughaire in Dublin recently… how cool? Thanks to everyone who came along, including the cool & crazy girls who travelled down from Belfast, and Gemma who cam from Cork… whoa! Thanks also to my fab chocolate fairies for the day, you were AMAZING!!!

Manchester Children's Book Festival

Thanks to everyone who made it along to the first ever Manchester Children’s Book Festival… I had a great day and met some very cool kids and made some new author friends as well! Thanks to everyone who came along!
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Edinburgh Book Fest 2010

Thanks to all the amazing kids who came along to my Edinburgh Book Festival event this year… you made it really special! An extra special shout-out to Shannon, Ross & Lynsey, Natalia and her friend, the finalists of the fabby MBFR comp 2010 and everyone else who came along. I had a fab time!

Bath Festival of Children's Literature, Sept 09

Oops… a bit late uploading this, but here’s one of the pics from Bath Festival 2009… with Charlea and Jolli! Yay!
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Newcastle/ Seven Stories Event

I had lots of fun at my event in Newcastle at the fab Seven Stories venue… and met some brilliant readers, too! Thanks to all who came along!
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Cuirt Festival, Galway

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Cuirt Festival in Galway, Ireland in April… it was brilliant. It’d take more than an ash cloud to stop me from coming over to Ireland!
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Nunnery Wood School, Worcs.

A big thank you to EVERYONE who helped to arrange the fab event at Nunnery Wood School in Worcestershire in April… it was totally brilliant! Great to meet everyone, and hope to be back in Worcestershire again…
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Waterstones, Bromley...

Hey to everyone I met at Waterstones in Bromley as part of the Angel Cake paperback tour… it was great to see you all!

Sweyne Park School

On June 14th I did two fab events at Sweyne Park School in Rayleigh, Essex… a big thank you to the lovely staff and to the very cool & inspiring kids I met there!

Hay Book Festival

I had a really brilliant time at the Hay Festival this year… the sun shone, I met some fantastic readers and signed a LOT of books! A big thank you to everyone who came along… you made it special!
xxx

Salisbury Book Festival

I had a great time at the fab Salisbury Book Festival… and met some very cool readers! Thanks to everybody who came along…

Waterstones, Epsom...

Had a great time meeting readers at Waterstones, Epsom…

Lancaster Schools...

Hi to all the schools who came along to Ripley St Thomas – you were fab! Also to the cool readers I met at Our Lady’s…

Craigholme School, Glasgow...

Thanks to everyone at the fabby Craigholme School in Glasgow, for a lovely event… and especially to birthday girl Maryam who greeted me with a yummy cupcake, and to the girl who gave me the beautiful picture! Keep reading… and keep dreaming!
xxx

NCBF Gala Day Stockton Nov 2009

I had a great time at the NCBF Gala Day in Stockton… even though it was a bit of a challenge to get there through all the floods! I made it in the end (no canoes involved) and met some fab readers… thanks to everyone who made it such a special day!

Inverkeithing High

I had a great time on my mini Scottish tour recently, and meeting the cool kids at Inverkeithing High was one of the highlights… thanks to Angela Macari for arranging the event.

A special thanks also to Hannah for the gorgeous homemade cupcakes… yum!

xxx

Dumfries Lochthorn Library

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Lochthorn Library in Dumfries for a fab event with cake, angel wings… and some cool friendship festival activities, too!

It was brilliant to see Dream Teamer Zoe B with her family, who travelled from Wigtown… and also an old pupil, Piper, from Gelston Primary, and her sister Ella, who came along dressed up as Daizy Star and Becca! Very cool!

There were other familiar faces, too, from both school visits and bookstore signings, and even readers from as far away as Yorkshire! It was brilliant to put faces to the names of several readers who have been emailing regularly…

A special thanks to Christine and all of the brilliant library staff, for making everything run so smoothly. From the pink iced cupcakes and juice to the cake-painted backdrop and the beautiful bouquet of flowers, everything was fab.

All in all, a brilliant event… thanks everyone for making it so special!

Irvine 'Girls Allowed'

A big hello to everyone who braved the lashing rain to come along to this fab event at the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine! This was a packed event with all kinds of cool extra stalls, workshops and activities.

The day got off to a great start when I met some friends for lunch at HAC. They then volunteered to help out at the event, so a very big thank you to Mary and Helen for their help with the face-paints and friendship fest activities, and to Nina, Robyn & Hope who were brilliant helpers!

A special thank you to Nathalie, who gave me a parcel of yummy cookies (they were soooo good!), and also Lauren who gave me the cute mini-charm. It was great to meet Amy, a past winner of the writing comp, and thanks to Jay & Debra for the character ideas and Jessica for the lovely letter. Thanks to the girl who gave me the choccy and also the girl who gave me a story idea… you were all fab!

I loved looking at the Dream Flags you all made… they were amazing!

I’m very grateful to Mel West and all the librarians and staff at HAC who made the event so fab, as well as Alison who ran the amazing junk jewellery workshop, the makeover and nail-art team, the Y-Dance team and all the other stalls and helpers.

It was brilliant to put faces to so many regular emailers, and to meet new fans and old. All in all, a truly cool event… hope you liked it, too!

xxx

Edinburgh Book Festival 2009

I had a fab time at the 2009 Edinburgh Book Festival! In spite of the bad weather, the event was great and readers had travelled from all over Scotland and beyond – yay!!!

A special hello to Gill, an old family friend who came to see me (and also to eat cake with me the day before!!!). Thanks for the beautiful flowers!

Also to Dream Teamer Alessandra, who travelled a long way to meet me… and got to do an exclusive Dream team interview in the authors yurt!

Special hiya’s also to Evie, who came along dressed as Daizy Star… and Alix, a longtime fan who brought a whole bunch of friends along with her this time! It was brilliant to meet so many old fans again and also to meet new readers, too… thanks to everyone who came along and waited so patiently in the queue. It was great to see you all… if you took a pic at the event and would like to see it online, just email it to me and I’ll see what I can do!

Waterstones, Liverpool1...

This event was a great finish to my UK Angel Cake tour… a great event in one of my fave cities. I met lots of fantastic readers, some familiar faces, some kids who have regularly emailed, even a couple of cool cousins (hi Joanne & Hollie!!!) and one of my bezzie mates from art college days (hey, Rachael).

That would have been enough to make the Liverpool1 signing pretty awesome, but that wasn’t all… towards the end of the signing, a tall, fair-haired teenager approached me shyly. ‘Do you remember me?’ she asked.
I remembered. It was Ania, the Polish girl who inspired me to write the book Angel Cake!

Angel Cake is not Ania’s story, but you can read about how meeting her a few years ago inspired the story, in the ‘thank you’ section at the front of the book. It was amazing to meet the real Ania again… and the perfect end to an action packed tour!

Thanks to everyone who came along to the event… you all helped to make it really special.

xxx

Preston Borders...

I had a great time at Borders Bookshop at the Deepdale Retail Park in Preston… it was a great morning, where I got to meet old fans and new!

The Borders staff made the day special, too… by providing lots of beautifully iced mini cupcakes for the queuing readers! Yum…

Thanks to everyone who made the effort to come along, and who waited patiently to get books signed! I had a lovely day… hope you did, too!

Lindley Children's Bookshop, Huddersfield

I spent a fab day in Huddersfield doing school events with the lovely people from Lindley Children’s Bookshop, and an after-school public signing was one of the highlights…

Hello to all the cool kids I met there… and many thanks to Sonia and the team at the bookshop, as well as to the fab FCGB people and Lindley Library for the evening event, too!

Waterstones, Bristol Event...

I had a great time meeting readers and signing books at Waterstone’s in The Galleries, Bristol, on my Angel Cake tour… a big thanks to everyone who came along!

Winchester Guildhall Event...

Thanks to the fab Anne Marley & the Hampshire Library Services, who organized a brilliant event at the Guildhall in Winchester. Thanks, too, to everyone who came along… it was fantastic meeting you all! Special thanks to Caitlin, too, for being my very own angel…

Borders, Cambridge...

I had a great time at Borders in sunny Cambridge on my Angel Cake tour… and met some brilliant readers, too! Thanks to everyone who came along to the bookshop event… it was fab to meet you!

Waterstones Bluewater Event

I had a FAB time at Waterstones in the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent on Sat 27th June… and met lots of very cool readers!

Thanks to everyone who queued so patiently and to the lovely Waterstones staff for all their help and support!

CC xxx

Private Event, Melbourne Zoo...

OK, OK, it wasn’t ACTUALLY an event… but I DID actually get to meet a kangaroo on my Aussie trip, and it was sooooooo fab!!!! I didn’t get an autograph, but… well, maybe next time!

xxx

Imagine Festival, Southbank

I had a fantastic time at the end of Feb half term meeting readers at the Imagine Festival at London’s Southbank Centre… thnaks for everyone who came along and made it such a brilliant event!

Here’s what reader Stevie, pictured, had to say about it!

“I went with my cousin Oona to see Cathy Cassidy at the South Bank in London. She talked about her books and what it’s like to be an author. She described her work as a writer, and her other jobs too. She has a really interesting life! It was lovely to meet her, and to have her sign my copy of Ginger Snaps. I got some great advice from Cathy about writing, and she was very encouraging. I had a lovely day!”

Thanks also to Katie, Rosa & Matilda for sending in pics…

MBFR Australia...

I had a brilliant time in Brisbane recently, meeting the winners of the Aussie MBFR comp (and their lovely mum!) for a swish lunch in the sunshine. Tess and Gemma are not just best friends, they are sisters… and always there for each other, no matter what! It was great to chat with Tess and Gemma and find out what life in Aussie schools is really like… loved the kangaroo story, too! Well done girls and hope you enjoyed your day in Brisbane!

xxx

Bath Festival of Children's Literature, Sept 08

I was delighted to take part in the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature recently. I got a chance to tell the fabby Bath audience about my latest novel, Gingersnaps, answer lots of questions and sign lots of books. Thanks to all the staff and to everyone who came along.

While I was in Bath, I did a podcast interview with readers Livi, Abby and Ellie… click here to listen!

Auckland Interview...

When I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, the first thing I did was an interview for kiwi mag Kidz-Mag. Young reporter Yasmin asked the questions and made the whole interview fun… thanks Yasmin! I have a feeling you’ll be a brilliant writer one day!

xxx

Takapuna Library, Auckland, New Zealand

My event at Takapuna Library in Auckland was FAB… and there was LOTS of cake! This was the vent where I discovered the delights of Lolly Cake… thanks Belinda! I met some amazing readers, and have fantastic memories of it all. Mikayla, Isabella and Denny Lawrence (pictured) had travelled for three and a half hours to get to the event… that’s dedication!!!

Sydney Writers Festival

I had a great time at the Sydney Writers Festival, in Sydney itself, and Penrith and Paramatta… I was speaking to BIG audiences in very cool theatres. Woo!!! Thanks to everyone I met at the events and signings… you were all cool!

MBFR New Zealand Winners...

I was really happy to meet up with MBFR New Zealand winners Elin and Laura on my recent visit to Auckland… here’s how Elin describes the day!!!

Today I met Cathy Cassidy and it was so great. A couple of weeks ago I entered a competition on Cathy Cassidy’s website describing why my best friend Laura and I won. It was so great I can’t even remember what I wrote. When I found out I had won I was jumping up and down I was screaming I was so happy and pleased. It felt so cool. I had a tough day at school and coming back and hearing that I had won was awesome!! I t felt like the day would never come two weeks passed until the day actually came. Laura and I headed off to school, at 11:30 mum came to pick us up. Laura and I got changed and then headed off. to Parnell .When we finally got there we couldn’t find the restaurant we searched around and when we thought we ground it we drove into the parking lot and we went to ask a lady who was there if she knew where it was. It turned out that she was Lyn from puffin and with her was Cathy Cassidy. She looked so pretty she had loads of bracelets on and she looked a lot different than I thought she would. My tummy was tossing around and my heart was thumping. What would I ask her?? What should we talk about?? We walked to the restaurant and couldn’t find it but when we did it was so fancy there were glasses and posh forks and knives and fancy waiters it was great we were sent to our table and we all sat down Laura and I felt like royalty. We asked Cathy about her books, where she was from, how different the UK was to New Zealand she showed us her planning notebook where she keeps all her ideas for stories and told us about how she names her books. Did you know she was going to call sundae girl “hey Jude” after a Beatle song. She gets a lot of her names and characters from songs. She was so cool. Our meals soon came and it was really nice the adult’s meals looked fancy but Laura and I had steak, chips and onion rings. Soon the eastern courier came to interview Laura and I. It was really cool. We both got books from Cathy Cassidy and one of them wasn’t available in NZ. Meeting Cathy Cassidy was great and so was Lyn they were both so nice Laura and I will never forget this day. Cathy Cassidy is my hero and will always be. She’s fab.
Elin M.

Dymocks, Camberwell, Melbourne...

Thanks to everyone who came to the FAB event at Dymocks in Camberwell, Melbourne, as part of my Aussie tour… I met some terrific readers and also some very cool parents, some of whom had driven their kids for hours to get to the event! It was great to meet you all, and thanks for making the event so memorable!!!

xxx

Signing at The Children's Bookshop, Beecroft, Sydney...

I loved meeting readers at The Children’s Bookshop in Beecroft… it was a fab event and lots of fun! Special thanks to Jessica, pictured, who gave me the loveliest flowers… thank you, Jessica!!!

xxx

The Avenue Primary, Norwich

I had a great time meeting all the Year 5 & 6 kids from The Avenue Primary in Norwich… especially Mahalia & Katie, the fab girls who gave me home-made Gingersnaps!!! Yum!!! Hope you’re all practising your daydreaming, guys…

Beal High School, Ilford

I had a great time visiting Beal High School recently… it was fab to meet everyone there!

George White Primary, Norwich

I had a brilliant time with all the cool kids at George White Primary in Norwich during my Gingersnaps tour… they asked fab questions and made some beautiful Dream Flags after the event….

Copleston High School

I had a fab time on my Gingersnaps tour at Copleston High School in Ipswich… hiya to all the Year 7 & 8 girls who made it so special!

Waterstones, Carlisle, 31st Jan 09....

I had a FAB time at the book signing at Waterstones in Carlisle recently… I met some amazing readers, some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Newcastle and the Yorkshire Dales!!!! Thanks to all of you for being so patient… that signing queue was LONG!!!! Special thanks to Helen from puffin & the brilliant Waterstones people who looked after me so well… and to everyone who came along, including Harriet & Helen, and Freya… all pictured!

Borders Kingston Signing....

I met lots of fab fans at the book signing at Borders in Kingston on Thames… alas, some of the photos didn’t come out, but here are a few!

Earls High School, Halesowen, W. Midlands

On a day when many Birmingham schools were closed because of snow, kids from almost 20 local high schools and primaries came along to Earls High School for a fab event… thanks for making the effort, it was brilliant to meet you all! Thanks too to the organizers, who even had the Cure (one of my fave bands) playing as I walked into the hall….

Waterstones, High Street, Birmingham...

In spite of the snow, two brilliant schools struggled into the city centre for this event – well done everyone! It was great to meet you all….

Off the Page - Stirling Book Festival, Sept 2008

I had a fab time at the Off the Page Book Festival in Stirling recently and met some great readers including Sara, Amy , Kirsty, Kathryn, Ashleigh and Emily (all pictured). Thanks to everyone that turned up – it was a really lovely evening!!

IMPRINT FESTIVAL AT KILMARNOCK

I had a great time in Kilmarnock recently, doing an event as part of the Imprint Festival… I met some great readers and really enjoyed myself, in spite of a yukky cough! Thanks to everyone who came along, especially Monica, who sent in the picture!

The Ultimate Friendship Festival!

What an amazing day! 400 people were treated to an amazing day of makeovers, chocolate tasting from Rococo, craft activities with Art Angels, Artful Splodgers and Fizzpotzz, knitting workshops, journalism workshops with Mizz, friendship quizzes with ChildLine, music from amazing band Ivyrise and lots more.

Cheltenham Literature Festival

I had a brilliant time at the lovely Cheltenham Literature Festival, and met lots of fans both old and new. Many regular emailers came along, and it was great to put a face to the names! A special hi to Cesca, pictured!

Glanmire Library, Ireland

I really enjoyed my visit to Glanmire in co. Cork… hiya to all the kids who came along, especially Theo, Julianna & Allison who came all the way down from co. Clare!!! Thanks for the yummy chocolates, Theo… I LOVED them!

Carrick on Suir, Tipperary

I had a great time at Carrick on Suir Library, one of the places I visited as part of Childrens Book Festival Ireland…. I met some great kids! Thanksto everyone who came along…

Queen of Teen Awards....

A big thanks to Rhiannon who nominated me for the award and was lucky enough to win a ride in a snazzy pink limo to the awards ceremony along with me & her fab friend Connie… Both of you made the whole day LOTS of fun!!! Louise Rennison was a very deserving winner, and I had a lovely time meeting everyone… thanks to all at the Book People, too!

Islay Book Festival

I went to the beautiful Isle of Islay off the west coast of Scotland, for their fabby Book Festival… I met some brilliant kids, had a great time and even managed to write a chunk of Angel cake while I was there… sigh!

CATSTRAND FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL!!!

A fab Friendship Festival in my own home village… the Catstrand event was lots of fun! I met lots of cool readers… and everyone joined in with the badge and bookmark making, quizzes, friendship bracelets and much, much more. We even had gingersnap cookies and cupcakes! Thanks to all the lovely staff at GCAT, to Caitlin, Anisia & Lindsay for helping, and a special thanks to Tess Syed-Tollan and Emma Hay (pictured) for their brilliant write-up on the event which appeared in several of the local papers!

EDINBURGH BOOK FEST 08

I had a great time at the 2008 Edinburgh Book Festival… I talked to a sell-out venue with the rain pouring down outside, and I loved every minute! I met some amazing readers, old and new, signed lots of books and answered lots of questions. It was great to meet you all… and a special happy birthday wish to Beth and her friends from North Berwick!!!

WELL-WISHER FRIENDSHIP FEST, DEVIZES

I had a great time at the Well-Wisher bookshop in Devizes… we did a cool mini friendship fest and signed lots of books! Thanks to the fab staff and to everyone who came along… a special thank-you for the COOLEST EVER window display, including trilby hat and saxophone!!!!

GLASGOW BORDERS FRIENDSHIP FEST....

I had a BRILLIANT time at Glasgow Borders on Sat 28th June 08… my first ever event for Gingersnaps!!! The staff were cool and everyone really loved the Friendship Festival activities… hiya to everyone I met there, and many thanks to the staff for the help (& the Chai lattes!!!). A special mention to the winner of the fabulous sock-monkey prize… hope he’s settling in!!!!

DUMFRIES WATERSTONES SIGNING....

The last event in my Gingersnaps tour… and the rain just about held off! There were booksmarks to make, bracelets to plait, gingersnap cookies to ice and eat… yum! Hiya to old friends and new, and a special thanks to Caitlin & Rachel for helping out…

GINGERSNAPS TOUR....

I had a cool and crazy week on the Gingersnaps Tour… it was very, very wet but a LOT of fun! I went to all kinds of fab schools, bookshops and libraries, met some inspiring kids, held some excellent Friendship Festivals and had a LOT of fun. And yes, the camper van leaked and we had to put up an umbrella INSIDE it…. help!!!!
Thanks to all the amazing readers I met at venues along the way… and to the staff, teachers & Puffins who made it all possible!!!!

TALES ON MOON LANE...

I loved this cool, quirky bookshop and had a great time here… I also met some amazing readers, who really enjoyed the Friendship Festival activities!!! Good luck to the budding writers I met and a HUGE thank you to the two fab friends who appeared with me the next morning on BBC Breakfast news!!!! Eek!!!

Dundee/Borders Friendship Fest

I had a FAB time at the Borders Dundee Friendship Fest, and met some great readers… including Emily & Brooke!!!! Hiya to everyone who came along… and thanks to the brilliant Borders staff!!!

COVENTRY INSPIRATION BOOK AWARDS

I was thrilled to visit Coventry recently for the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards… Sundae Girl had been voted winner in its category, yay!!! Thank you to all the kids who voted for it! The ceremony was fab, I got to meet Michelle Paver, author of Wolf Brother, another winning title, and also the winners of short story comp for the people of Coventry… I had written an opening paragraph, and entrants had to complete the story! Well done to all the winners and runners up, and everyone who entered… the entries were amazing. A special shout out to the kids from Finham Park and Ernesford Grange secondary schools too, which I visited while I was there… and a big thank you to Joy Court, tireless organiser, & to all in my old home-city of Coventry!!!!

HOLYWOOD SCHOOL VISIT

I had a great afternoon recently visiting Holywood Primary near Dumfries… I met not just the kids from Holywood but from two neighbouring primaries who had come in specially! The kids were great… and lots of books were signed! A special thank-you to Chloe, who sent these pics…

CAMBRIDGE WORD FESTIVAL

I was at the fab Cambridge Word Festival recently and met some great readers, including Jade (pictured!). Thanks to everyone who came along!!!

Carnegie Children's Book Festival, Fife....

I had lots of fun at the recent Carnegie Children’s Book Festival in Fife… thanks to everyone who came along to the two sessions, especially to everyone who waited so patiently at Duloch Park. You were all fab!

Tea Party at Notre Dame, Glasgow!

I arrived at Notre Dame Girls School in a blizzard and saw a pupil dancing outside in the snow… that was a great start to a brilliant day!

Cool librarian Sarah had laid on cakes, tea, coffee, juice etc for a tea party in the library, which was all decked out in fairy-lights and paper chains!

I signed books, then tea was served and we picnicked as we talked… it was a fab event, so thanks to Sarah and to all the lovely pupils who helped to make it so special!

At the end, I was presented with a beautiful hand-drawn card and an amazing embroidered bookmark, both of which are now prized possessions… thanks everyone!!!

Guildford Waterstones Friendship Fest...

The last date of my Lucky Star paperback tour, the Guildford Friendship Festival was fab… it was great to meet you all and take some time to chat, in between the signing and the FF fun!

Friendship Fest & Signing, Yeovil Waterstones

Hi to everyone who came along to the Yeovil event… especially Sarah, who sent this fab pic! Thanks too to the shop for all their hard work, and for making it so much fun…

St Mary's High School, Newry

I had a fab time at St Mary’s High School in Newry recently… hi to everyone I met there and thanks for all your enthusiasm and support!

The Reading Festival!!!

I go to lots of book festivals, but this one was thought up and organised by Year 7 student Beth… and it was fab! Beth met me at a book signing a year ago and asked if I’d like to be part of her book festival… and I agreed! I came to Chorley to visit her high school, St Michael’s CE, and then did a book talk and opened the cool new library at Duke Street Primary, where Beth’s dad is Head. Then it was time for the Reading Festival… with refreshments inspired by Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine and all the usual Friendship festival fun, there was plenty to do… and prizes for the winners of a writing comp, too! Thanks to everyone who came along, and to Beth especially for all her hard work, imagination and enthusiasm!

St Laurence's Primary School Event

While I was in Chorley, I visited St Laurence’s Primary and met the fab Year 6 class who had been reading my books and had lots of great questions to ask! After signing a mountain of books, we headed outside to take some pictures by the camper van… cool!

Friendship fest at Simply Books, Bramhall

I had a brilliant time at Simply Books in Bramhall on the Lucky Star paperback tour. Readers came along to take part in the friendship Festival – they made friendship bracelets, painted their hands with images from the books, did quizzes, made badges and booksmarks and of course had their books signed, too! We all signed a fab handpainted poster, too, and had some pics taken by the van… Simply Books are simply brilliant!!!!

Marston Meadows Mini-Event!!!

Sometimes the unplanned events are the best… I met up with some old family friends in Warwickshire during my tour, and had the chance to chat and hand out friendship bracelet threads, MBFR comp entry forms and newsletters to old readers as well as new! Thanks Elysha, Ellen, Leah, Hayden, Sian, Zoe & Digsy!!!

SIGNING AT EASONS, CRAIGAVON

Cathy met children from a whole bunch of Craigavon primaries when she went to talk about her books and sign copies at Easons Bookshop, Craigavon, Co Armagh, recently…. everyone had fab questions, and lots of kids came to look at the camper van and be photographed with it afterwards! Keep reading, keep smiling… and follow your dreams!!!!

KidsLit Quiz, Kilsyth Academy

I had fun at the annual KidsLit Quiz at Kilsyth Academy on 27th Nov 2007… congrats to all the teams, who did amazingly well! A highlight foir me was meeting reader Fiona, whose lovely mum whisked her out of school and brought her along to meet me… very cool!

NCBF Gala Day, Sunderland

I had a brilliant day in Sunderland at the fab Northern Children’s Book Festival Gala Day… I met some great people, including the ‘Borrowers’, pictured! Thanks to everyone who came to an event, bought a book or got one signed!

Royal mail Scottish Children's Book Awards

On Thursday 22nd November 2007, Scarlett was announced the winner of the Royal Mail Scottish Children’s Book Awards (older readers) in a fab ceremony in Glasgow. The award was voted for by Scottish teens, which makes it extra special! I had a great time meeting the reviewers/voters afterwards, including the fab kids from Oban High School, pictured!

TWINKLING FRIENDSHIP FESTIVAL!!!!!

On a hot & sunny day at Greenwich, we held the Twinkling Friendship Festival, right next to the super-cool Peter Harrison Planetarium! A good time was had by all… I met some fab people and had a great day!

Mini Irish Tour!!!!

I had a fab time in Meath, Louth and Monaghan, meeting kids at Ashbourne, Trim, Dunboyne, Oldcastle, Carrickmacross, Monaghan & Drogheda. Thanks to all the librarians who made it happen! I loved meeting you all, especially a select few extra-keen kids who made it along out of school time…. thanks to Sarah & Tara at Ashbourne, Babs, Sorcha & Rachael, the bright ‘n’ stripy girls at Trim, the two cool girls who came along with their mum at Drogheda, and goth-gals Jennifer & Matty who were also at Drogheda.

Johnston Primary School...

I recently did a school visit to Johnston Primary in SW Scotland… thanks to reader Michaela, who helped to organise it, and to all the great kids I met there!
CCx

Wigtown Book Fest 2007

I had a fab time at the Wigtown Book Fest 2007…. reader Zoe gave me a fabby introduction and I cahtted to old and new readers about Sundae Girl and Lucky Star. Then we went outside to the camper van and had some friendship festival fun in the sunshine! Thanks to Zoe, Heather, Fiona from Box of Frogs and all the cool kids who came along… you were brilliant!!!!

VIP London Competition Winners!!!!!

After a fab day at the Twinkling Friendship Festival in Greenwich on Sat 22 Sept, I met the starry winners of the VIP London Comp… after they’d completed their super-cool tour of London in two flash limos!!! We had dinner, signed books, chatted and then watched a brilliant star show at the planetarium… Cat & Mouse would have approved! It was fantastic to meet you all… real-life stars!
Cathy xxx

Bath Festival of Children's Literature

I had a fab time at Bath Festival of Children’s Literature…. thanks to all the amazing kids I met, and the teachers, librarians and helpers who made it all possible!

The Innocent Village Fete....

We launched Lucky Star with a fab Friendship Festival over two days at the Innocent Village Fete in Regents Park, London… thanks to all the cool kids who came along to join in and get their books signed!

My Best Friend Rocks Awards....

It was SOOOO hard choosing the winners at the recent My Best Friend Rocks Awards, but the finalists came down to London to meet Cathy and be presented with their fab prizes in a gorgeous awards ceremony… Well done to all the finalists, and to the fab and lovely winners!

Edinburgh Book Festival...

I had a fab time at the 2007 Edinburgh Book Festival. The event was sold out, and readers queued for two hours to get their books signed… thanks to everyone who came along. You’re the best!!!!

Hay Book Fest 2007....

I was at the Hay-on-Wye Book Festival recently and met lots of fabby readers…. this pic is of nine-year old Kiera, who brought all her books along to be signed….

Dumfries Sundae Girl Friendship Festival!!!

A great finish to my Sundae Girl tour – thanks to all the fab kids who came along to buy a book and get it signed, and to ice a cake, make a friendship bracelet and get arty with the facepaints in the sun! Thanks especially to those who travelled from as far afield as Biggar & Wigtown, and to my cool emo helpers for making sure it all ran smoothly, especially Cal, Cait, Marc, Lindsay, Anisia & Sam!

Horsenden, Middlesex and Ilford

I have been out and about in Horsenden, Middlesex and Ilford, Essex with my van and the Sundae Girl tour. It’s been great fun, with lots of friendship bracelets, hand painting, cake icing, friendship quizzes, word searches and lots and lots of book signing! Everyone was very excited to see the van appear in their playground and it got a lot of attention with all the children! Have a look at these photos of the tour so far.

Tarland School

I met the fab Tarland crew at their school and had a lovely time signing books! Check out these fab pics.

Borders, Glasgow Fort

I went to a fab event at Borders in Glasgow in March and met lots of readers and signed lots of books. Here’s me with Naomi.

Fife Visits

I was in Fife at the end of September, as part of the Children’s Book festival… I visited four fab schools, including Auchmuty High in Glenrothes, where these fab pics were taken. Thanks to Maggie Gray & all at Fife Libraries, and all the kids, teachers and librarians at the schools involved! Keep reading, keep smiling… and follow your dreams! CCx

Pamper Party - November 06

On November 4th, the winners of the Cathy Cassidy Pamper Party Comp came to Puffin HQ for an afternoon of fun! A glittering pink lift whooshed winners to the party venue.

While the mums chilled out, winners and their friends designed and made t-shirts, had a mini-massage, a cool makeover and made friendship bracelets, as well as getting to meet Cathy and have their books signed. Everyone got to have their pic taken with Cathy, and everyone got a goody-bag to take home. Well done Josie, Jessie, Mila, Dina, Hannah, Jenny, Tasha, Chloe, Georgie and Erin – and their best pals and mums, of course!

Edinburgh Book Festivals

I was at the 2006 Edinburgh Book Festival on Saturday 12th August. Thanks to all the fab readers who travelled to see me and queued patiently, some for two hours, to get books signed! You’re the best!