Press Here…

The latest Trapped By Monsters press release…

For Immediate Release

Children’s Authors Taken Hostage By Monsters!

Writers team up to promote great kids’ books

Eight UK children’s authors have teamed up to create a new website that promotes exciting books and encourages reading.  The site – Trapped By Monsters (which can be found at www.trappedbymonsters.com) – is written as though the authors have been captured by the very monsters they write about.

The authors – David Melling (Goblins, Hodder), Mark Robson (Dragon Orb, Simon & Schuster), Ali Sparkes (Shapeshifter, OUP & Monster Makers, Scholastic), Joe Craig (Jimmy Coates, Harper Collins), Andy Briggs (Hero.com, OUP), Tommy Donbavand (Scream Street, Walker Books), Barry Hutchison (Invisible Fiends, Harper Collins), and Sam Enthoven (The Black Tattoo, Random House) – claim they were en route to write the ultimate anthology of monster tales when they were ambushed and dragged off to a dark, damp cave.

Now the monsters – tired of being ridiculed, abused and slaughtered for the entertainment of children – are forcing the authors to blog about brilliant books, post exclusive stories and give away secret writing tips in return for food, toilet roll and the freedom to visit the occasional school, library or bookshop.

“We want to make a lot of noise about great kids’ books,” explained Scream Street author, Tommy Donbavand.  “We all get emails asking when our next book is out and, sometimes, there are several months to wait for the next release.  Through Trapped By Monsters we can now recommend another author or series knowing our fans won’t be disappointed.  Effectively, we’re sharing readers.”

Despite only being a few weeks old, the website is already proving to be popular with almost 300 visitors a day.  Organisations such as The Scottish Book Trust and Write Away have linked to the site – and three of the authors were recently interviewed live from the cave by Bernie Keith on BBC Radio Northampton.

Several other big names in children’s literature have also agreed to write guest posts for the site in the near future, including Artemis Fowl creator, Eoin Colfer, Campaign for the Book champion, Alan Gibbons, and author of The Divide, Elizabeth Kay.

The authors are currently planning future Trapped By Monsters projects such as battle cards, story books, Valentine’s Day messages and even children’s literary events.

“Sometimes, I wonder exactly what we’ve started here!” said David Melling, author of the Goblins series and The Kiss That Missed.

###

For more information about Trapped By Monsters, please contact Tommy Donbavand on tommy@trappedbymonsters.com

*****

You can also listen to two utterly brilliant radio recordings about Trapped By Monsters, the first from Radio Cambyshire:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

…and the second an interview with Mark Robson, Ali Sparkes and Tommy Donbavand on BBC Radio Northampton…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.