Philippa Dowding's Blog - Posts Tagged "dystopia"

Hey Goodreads, SO HONOURED to introduce OCULUM, my new middle grade dystopia, coming from Dancing Cat Books this spring, 2018!

Here's the back cover copy:

“William, you cannot go out that door. You have no idea what’s out there. If there IS anything out there!”

So says Miranda1 to William1 in their perfect, domed world of Oculum. They are the oldest children of the one thousand chosen, raised by robot Mothers, taught to read, write and tend the fruit trees, but in a closed world without love or freedom.

Then one day, William1 finds a hidden door. What awaits Outside?

A destroyed ancient city of rubble, where orphaned children like Mann and Cranker live rough with only Grannie to feed and protect them. It’s a world without beauty or fruit trees, plagued with death and hunger.

But change is coming, if only Miranda1 and William1 can find the way out of Oculum …"

OCULUM is available April/18. For media contact and preview copies, contact:
http://cormorantbooks.com/dcb/oculum/

TO PRE-ORDER: https://www.amazon.ca/Oculum-Philippa...

Happy Book Birthday to my new middle-grade, environmental dystopia: OCULUM is now available everywhere and its birthday is today, which also happens to be Earth Day.

Which is interesting, because the story is about a near future Earth, where humanity has survived plague, collapse and environmental disaster. Specifically, pollinators have all died off and there are no fruit trees anymore -- and who wants to live in a world without peaches?

Why is the book called OCULUM? What's it mean anyway? Were there specific challenges writing a middle-grade dystopia vs. a dystopia for young adults? What's the difference? What other middle-grade dystopias are there to recommend?

All that and more on my tell-all blog post today. Happy Book Birthday! http://phdowding.blogspot.ca/2018/04/...

Well-written and an imaginative description of a future world struggling to survive, Oculum ends on a positive note, and the book should appeal to both boys and girls in search of adventure. -- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

What a great review for my new middle grade dystopia, thank you CM Magazine!

For more on OCULUM and a link to the entire CM review, visit my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/search/...

"OCULUM'S tone has a folksy and whimsical quality ... rich world-building and determined characters give it an originality that sets it apart"-- Quill & Quire, June/2018

What a wonderful review for OCULUM, my new middle grade dystopia. Thank you Quill & Quire!

I particularly love that they enjoyed the fragments of reality left over from our current world, like computer keyboard parts and William Shakespeare. But then, some literary "monuments" will last forever, won't they.

For a longer excerpt and a link to the full review and more: https://phdowding.blogspot.com/2018/0...

Every year at this time, Canadian kid lit authors wait for the Best Books for Kids and Teens 2018 (fall edition) catalogue from the Canadian Children's Book Centre ...

... and I'm so happy to say that my middle grade dystopia, OCULUM, made the list! There are some great titles in the catalogue, I'm in super company, and very honoured to be there.

Thanks Canadian Children's Book Centre!

Here's a longer blog post, and a link to the catalogue online: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2018/11...

Hey Librarian, Teacher and Author friends! I'll be signing OCULUM, my new middle-grade dystopia from DCB (formerly Dancing Cat Books), at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference this month.

When: Thursday, January 31/2019
Time: 2:40 pm
Where: OLASC, OBP Pavilion

Hope to see you there. Here's the full author signing list and more: https://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/0...

I COULD NOT be more honoured to announce that my new middle-grade dystopia, OCULUM, has been nominated for the SYRCA Diamond Willow Award 2019-2020!

Thank you so much to the SYRCA, keeping kids reading and engaged with books throughout Saskatchewan. I'm really honoured. Thanks also to my wonderful publisher, DCB Young Readers, for believing in this strange dystopian story for middle-graders.

Here's a longer blog post with the complete list of nominees and more: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/04...

"The Ontario Library Association is excited to announce the 2019 Kid Committee Summer Reading List in the Forest of Reading program! These are the books that you should be reading over the summer - as recommended by seventeen avid readers!"--Ontario Library Association

The Forest of Reading Kid Committee reading list is out! SO honoured (and excited) that OCULUM is selected by the kids as a great summer read in the Red Maple category (grades 7-8). That's really special, my first time on this list, thank you guys!

Here's the whole list of great books: https://bit.ly/2Z4sDiH

Here's a longer blog post with more resources about OCULUM: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/05...

Read Canadian this summer!

Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet is a 49th Shelf Most Anticipated 2019 Young Readers Fall review book! It's also a Dewey Divas and the Dudes fall selection AND a @49th Shelf Book of the Week.

Whew! Can't wait to get my author copies. A-n-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-o-n.

This book is an environmental resistance dystopia for middle-grade kids, and is the 6th and final book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series. Ending with a bang!

Here's more info and how to get a preview copy: https://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/0...

Happy publishing birthday to Quinn and the Quiet, Quiet, which releases into the world today, September 21, 2019!

Quinn is living in the strange Work Centre, where the children make the Blue Brick TM from the rich, blue mountain rocks.

But why are the children making the Blue Brick TM? What IS it, anyway? Why can they snap blue sparks with their fingers for courage, behind the Officer's backs?

AND why are some of the children turning BLUE?

Part dystopia/horror story, part environmental resistance thriller, I hope you'll check out this 6th and final book in the award-winning Weird Stories Gone Wrong series for kids 9-12!

More on my other blog: http://phdowding.blogspot.com/2019/09...