The Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) Launch Party

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows, Patron of Reading Official Business, Roosting With Dave

Hurray hurray! The very brilliant Zac and my Patron of Reading school, Halswell School, hosted the Kiwi launch of Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) on Tuesday evening. Thank you very much to everyone who came along to celebrate and for those who didn’t manage to make it, here are some pictures from a most pigeontastic evening:

There were royal crowns for everyone.
Dave and Skipper were on hand to greet the guests.
My gorgeous fluffer didn’t want to miss out on the action.
There was a most magnificent royal cake.
There were royal activity sheets…
…And royal Cheerio bird feeders.
We even had our very own Zac the librarian as MC!
Of course, there were many many selfies.
Before I got to my reading there was an extra-special message, from Sheena Dempsey, all the way from the UK.
Here I am, reading from Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!).
Thank you so much to everyone who came along and made it such a special event.

Dave Pigeon visits Ouruhia School

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

Yesterday, I was invited to speak to the pupils at Ouruhia School. This was the very first time I was taking Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) into a school and I was excited to meet the pupils and see what that thought of the new book.

I was greeted by a brilliant ‘Swapna Haddow’ display in their warm, cosy library.

Years 0 to 4 joined me for a Royal Pigeon character creation workshop and we designed character crowns together. There was a Prince Hamburger, a pigeon in a flying squirrel suit, a royal rabbit and a royal cat amongst many more pigeontastic characters.

Next, I met with the older pupils and we talked about creativity before writing our own Mean Cat stories together. There was lots of poo and deadly endings and I met many budding authors that morning.

Thank you so much to the staff and pupils at Ouruhia School, especially Maree, who made me feel so welcome in their wonderful school.

Dave Pigeon at Auckland Writers Festival

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows, Roosting With Dave

Kia ora, Readers! I’m back in Christchurch after an epic weekend away in Auckland at the Auckland Writers Festival.

I was so chuffed to be invited to this brilliant festival to take part in Family Day and introduce the Kiwi kids to Dave Pigeon.

Of course, I went along to as many events at the festival. The line up was impressive to say the least – I even got to see the prime minister Jacinda Ardern and the legendary Joy Cowley who was this year’s honoured writer.

On Sunday, I ran a session where I confessed to where my love for telling tales came from. The kids were so fantastic and had so many questions about writing a publishing we lost track of time!

Photo by Josie Shapiro

I had such a fantastic first trip to Auckland and have to say a huge thank you to Nicola Strawbridge and the team of volunteers who looked after me at the weekend.

Dave Pigeon (Racer!) is shortlisted for The Alligator’s Mouth Award

Swapna HaddowRoosting With Dave

Team Dave Pigeon is celebrating the AWESOME news that Dave Pigeon (Racer!) joins four incredible books on the shortlist for the Alligator’s Mouth Award! The shortlist is packed full with all my favourite books so I’m incredibly proud to see Dave Pigeon (Racer!) flying with these other beauties!

Here’s Charlotte Eyre’s article from The Bookseller:

Fingers, toes, feathers and claws crossed for Dave Pigeon (Racer!)!

Save the date: It’s the Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) launch party!

Swapna HaddowHalfway Round the World with the Haddows, Patron of Reading Official Business, Roosting With Dave

I’m so proud that Dave Pigeon (Royal Coo!) is flying free and will soon be arriving on the shores of Aotearoa in May.

To celebrate, you are invited to a right royal shindig here in Christchurch, New Zealand. There will be crafts, drinks, nibbles and a book signing.

Please do bring your family and friends along for lots of Dave Pigeon fun!