I’ve got three events coming up this April school holidays.
Details below!
Come and help celebrate the release of Right Way Down, a brand new children’s poetry collection from WA authors.
WHEN: Saturday April 6th, 10:30am
WHERE: Rankin Gardens, car Hamersley Rd and Rokeyby Rd, Subiaco, WA
BOOKINGS: FREE but required, via eventbrite.
You’re invited to …
… a DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH + cartooning workshop!
Help me celebrate the release of two new books:
Earlier in Feb I got to chat with Gregory Dobbs from the Good Reading podcast, all about my picture book Stellarphant and the upcoming colour rereleases of Brobot and Gastonauts.
As Greg puts it, we chat about “the great characters [James] has created – Sally Tinker (the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve), Joe Tinker (full-time baby) and Charli Stevenson (foremost biologist under the age of eleven). We explore the hilarious and often quite smelly adventures they get up to, along with Sally’s amazing range of inventions. There’s also a few Dad jokes along the way.”
INTERVIEW
Stellarphant, Brobot and Gastronauts
Good Reading Podcast
with Gregory Dobbs
To get email notifications of future events, you can either:
– head to my blog and subscribe to new posts via the little box on the right.
– sign up for my newsletter, The James Foley-o, and get all my news and events in a quarterly email.
Join us to celebrate the launch Right Way Down, a collection of children’s poetry from 38 brilliant WA writers!
Following the launch: books will be available for purchase, enjoy light refreshments, browse the artwork of Briony Stewart, meet the book’s editors and illustrator, and grab a signature from one of the many contributors (including me!).
This event is a collaboration between Alphabet Soup Books and Fremantle Press. The book is sponsored by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries.
Tickets to this event are free but essential (numbers are limited).
DATE: Saturday 16 March, 2024
WHEN: 3-5pm
WHERE: State Library of WA, Perth CBD
AGES: all ages
TICKETS: FREE, bookings essential
Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve, is back!
She first appeared in my debut graphic novel – Brobot – released in 2016. The book was printed in black and white and just 112 pages long. Three sequels followed: Dungzilla, Gastronauts and Chickensaurus – each longer and more ambitious than the last – plus some full-colour short stories in The School Magazine. And that was it … or so I thought.
Then the wonderful team at Fremantle Press said, “Hey James … how about we rerelease the Sally Tinker comics in full colour?”
My instant and highly professional reply was, “heck yes!”
Then I looked at my diary and saw how busy I was already. I wouldn’t have time to colour them in. “Oh bottom,” I exclaimed in measured tones.
So Fremantle said, “what if we get some artists to help?”
And I remarked, “that’s a flippin’ excellent idea!”
So Freo asked an up-and-coming artist called Paulina Gamez to do the colouring, and the ever brilliant Rebecca Mills to redesign the covers. I reformatted the School Magazine stories to fit inside the new editions. And before we knew it, we had four revamped and beefed up graphic novels to release!
First up is Brobot on April 3rd, followed by Gastronauts on June 1st. Both feature new covers and extra stories. (No official release dates on the colour editions of Dungzilla or Chickensaurus, but rest assured they’re in the works). If you enjoyed Secret Agent Mole then you should love these comics too!
Pre-order your copies at the links below.
Published by Fremantle Press, 3rd April 2024.
ISBN: 9781760993115 (paperback)
Buy online:
Published by Fremantle Press, 1st June 2024.
ISBN: 9781760993122 (paperback)
Buy online:
It’s not an April Fools’ prank … Secret Agent Mole book 3: Dr Nude is coming on April 1st.
Here’s the official blurb:
Dr Nude’s anti-gravity Doomsday Device is ready to blow. Max and the team have to stop it or the entire Earth could be split in two … and then they’ll never get their secret agent licences!
But first, our heroes need to sneak into a fancy-dress party. Will they have good disguises? You bet. Will the disguises work? Probably not, no. Is Max prepared for what he’ll find in Dr Nude’s lair? Goodness no. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure you’ll be prepared either, dear reader. You have been warned.
Time to rock and mole!
Hats off to the brilliant Hannah Janzen for the epic cover design, to my wonderful editor Laura Sieveking, and to the whole Scholastic Australia team. I’m so proud of how this series has turned out!
That’s right! Max Mole and the team are reporting for duty in the home of James Bond – the United Kingdom.
It’s the very first time I’ve had one of my books picked up by a UK publisher and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Big thanks to Scholastic UK.
Please share the news with your friends and family abroad!
You can find Secret Agent Mole: Goldfish-Finger at the following UK stores:
It’s never not a thrill to see one of my books travelling overseas! I love seeing how the translators and graphic designers adapt the titles and covers.
Here’s some of the international covers Stellarphant has collected so far.
Continue reading “Stellarphant around the world”Need another sneak peek into Secret Agent Mole book 2: The Boar Identity?
Introducing Special Agent Dana Skunky (a.k.a. our favourite Helena Hippo, undercover in the FBI).
Unfortunately, her trenchcoat comes with a super accurate skunk-like smell: enough to make a gorilla faint! Luckily Max and Bug don’t seem too affected by the unpleasant odour (perhaps they’re used to bad smells?)
See below for a teeny tiny excerpt from The Boar Identity, when Max and Bug first get a whiff of Helena’s stinky trenchcoat, leading them to give it a more appropriate nickname.
In the latest instalment of Secret Agent Mole, Star Division has discovered a magical meteorite with anti-gravity powers – and Dr Nude will stop at nothing to get his naked little hands on it, including brainwashing a Star employee!
Can Max Mole, Helena Hippo and June Bug stop Dr Nude’s evil plans? Make sure you pick up a copy of Secret Agent Mole 2: The Boar Identity to find out.
Between Book Week, the release of Secret Agent Mole Book 2: The Boar Identity, and a Sydney tour, Term 3 has been absolutely packed. Here’s everything I’ve been up to!
I visited a bunch of schools and libraries across WA for Book Week this year. It was great to meet so many readers and teachers! Thanks to everyone for having me.
It’s not every day you get to cuddle a Kindy class’ two pet mice, AND draw them as astronauts! Thanks to the Kindy students at Landsdale Christian for introducing me to Marlee and Lavender. (P.S. Those are little cashews floating inside their helmets).
Continue reading “Term 3 all wrapped up!”
James Foley 