Talk:Malorie Blackman

Books

Shouldn't the entensive book descriptions should be split off into their own articles? Jessicapierce 04:36, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes. They should. Go ahead. Be bold. Random Passer-by 19:56, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

I'll split the article when the copy edit/expansion/etc is done. Random Passer-by 03:31, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

I did it last night. Look for article under book title "Noughts & Crosses". It's going to need intro material, references and etc. I'm not sure what the WikiCustom is regarding articles devoted to telling an author's idea blow by blow without benefit of the author's own words or skill. Wiki Project "Novel"? Deeply ambivalent about this...

~ Otterpops 19:52, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Picked up from Copyedit Backlog

It looks like this will take a couple of days to work, anyone have input to offer before I get to it?
~ Otterpops 14:38, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

I suggest I check naming conventions with WikiProject Novels before the page is split to see if "Nought and Crosses (series)" is the preferred nomenclature or not but that's my only input. You're a brave editor to tackle this. Good luck! Random Passer-by 15:45, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

It appears the preferred naming convention is "Noughts and Crosses series" with no parentheses. Random Passer-by 15:58, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Lastly (I hope), I don't think this article has persondata metadata yet? If you neither know nor care about such things then let me know when you're done here and I'll add it. :-) Random Passer-by 17:02, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Thank you! I'm on it then. ~ Otterpops 03:24, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

When the copy edit/expansion/etc is done and I split the article, I'll add the book cover images to Malorie Blackman (currently the first half of the article) as well as Noughts and Crosses series. Random Passer-by 03:29, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Publisher Weirdness

Looks like Doubleday, Corgi and Transworld are all part of Random House. The Random House site brings up nothing for MB at all until you go to their cute "Random House Kids" site. There's a grid that shows the different titles with "imprint" listings, that's why the trilogy publisher says "Doubleday, Doubleday, Random House".
~ Otterpops 19:42, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes. Doubleday publish the hardcovers and Corgi then publish the paperbacks. Random Passer-by 20:20, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

My obsession with ISBNs is that they're non-promotional. By using the number we get the potential reader right to a book without favoring Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Waldenbooks. In truth, the ISBN specifies a particular publisher, and as you say, a particular binding, so it's not perfectly neutral. Given a choice of ISBNs I pick the single one published the earliest, which is usually the hardcover. If a buyer goes "Ohhh...don't they have that in paperback?" they have the info they need for their bookseller to find them a less expensive copy, or a large-print version, or audio CD, etc. There's actually a wiki article about "why ISBNs" somewhere around here...
~ Otterpops 14:58, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Collaboration

I've just copied over the (non-personal) discussion of MB article from my UserTalk to here so others can see what we've been up to and jump in if they like. Any chops, misattributions, etc. are my fault. ~ Otterpops 15:22, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Author Weirdness

"Anansi and the Rubber Man" published by Longman Project is listed on Malorie Blackman's website as one of her books, however Amazon.com UK lists it under two other author's names. Longman/Pearson Educational was previously one of Blackman's publishers. I'm leaving it off the list of Works, there may be legal issues. ~ Otterpops 17:38, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

It's not listed as Blackman's on the British Library catalogue either. It's probably either a short story collection of Anansi stories or Blackman wrote an introduction for another author's Anansi story. I agree with you about leaving it off the bibliography. Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

This unattributed listing: "Out of This World (contributor; includes 'Contact' short story) Dolphin, 1997" has the same title as a slightly racy horror/fantasy collection by Laurell K. Hamilton published by Jove in 2001 but I don't find anything for MB on it. Anyone have further info?
Until then I'm leaving it off the list.
~ Otterpops 17:47, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I've got it on the British Library catalogue. I'll add the details and you can look them over at your leisure. Googling them for age appropriateness is probably a good idea because I'm only guessing "children's". Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Anyone have publication info for "Don't Be Afraid" or "Aesop's Fables Retold"?
~ Otterpops 17:51, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, full details from the British Library catalogue below. Length only included as a potential clue. Someone needs to google for age appropriateness before they're added because I can't guess which section they belong in.

• Don't Be Afraid (illustrated by Bob Harvey), Ginn, 1999, ISBN-10 0602275490 (64 pages, originally published 1997)
• Aesop's Fables (retold by Malorie Blackman, illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Scholastic, 1998, ISBN-10 0590543822 (64 pages)

Random Passer-by (talk) 02:06, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I added them but I was guessing which of the age appropriate sections they might fit into. Random Passer-by (talk) 17:19, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

1999, Peacemaker and Other Stories (illustrated by Peter Richardson and David Hine), Heinemann Educational" is Antonia Blackman, not Malorie Blackman. ~ Otterpops 18:00, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

The British Library catalogue claims it's Malorie Blackman. I'll add it provisionally but they're not always right. Why did you think it's Antonia Blackman? Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

"Literacy World Fiction: Stage 4: Peacemaker and Other Stories - 6 Pack (Literacy World) (Paperback) by Antonia Blackman (Author), David Botham (Author) ...

Product Details:
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books - Primary Division (February 18, 1999)
ISBN-10: 0435116010
ISBN-13: 978-0435116019
Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
Amazon.com Sales Rank: None"

That's why. Amazon isn't always right either, but I figured the people making the list for the source website accidentally slipped it in. ISBN tells how to read a number to find out which is which, but I'm not up to learning at the moment.~ Otterpops 05:22, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure what your comment means. I'm assuming it means the information was from one of the amazon websites? In which case it's probably sensible to favour the British Library. Random Passer-by (talk) 16:22, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Nice!

Good job linking "noughts and crosses" game. It's clear who's trying to edit at 2:00 AM and who's editing with good sense and full control of faculties. Thank you, RPB (again!) ~ Otterpops 19:50, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Your replacement of "terrorism" with violence was perfect because the violence in the story comes from both sides (which is the whole point). We're supposed to keep personal comments to our talk pages though so let's try to follow the guidelines and not spam potential future editors on this page. Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Templates

I'm thinking citation templates would do good for the list of Works, leave off the author name and the rest would fall in line? At least the punctuation would be correct and consistent. If anybody really really loves filling out templates... ~ Otterpops 20:51, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you mean. Could you expand on this idea please? If you need lots of references from the same source then you only need to fill out the template once with a special name and then cut'n'paste the special name wherever you want the reference (see the awards section for two examples). Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

No, each book would have to be done separately. That's why I didn't do it. I thought of doing it but then I started to cry.
Quack's the Name. Doldrum House. 1932. ISBN 1-213-14151-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
The ISBN doesn't show but it would be in the source. I'm sure we've got a convention about that somewhere but I don't know what it is yet. All those ISBNs look funny.
~ Otterpops 05:36, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I think I understand. You want to hide the ISBNs as metadata? Erm, the thing you did previously with greaterthan and lessthan arrows works for that but I'm not sure why you want to hide all your hard work. I don't mind either way. Random Passer-by (talk) 16:22, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

The Crew and Other Teen Fiction

This needs the name of the story and a publication date. Google beckons whoever has time first. Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

References

The reference from The Times needs an accessdate and a title. Where did this reference come from? The newspaper itself? A book? A website? Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

The Stephen Lawrence claim about Malorie Blackman had a reference which has now disappeared. It's a potentially controversial claim about a living person so if it can't be fully referenced then it has to be edited out. Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

The Stephen Lawrence thing (controversial?) came from the Amanda Craig interview which is a link on her website. The link you remember seeing was to info about Stephen Lawrence, not a citation. The whole second half of the paragraph (beyond the first footnoted quote) is the one citation. The thing that isn't attributed is that bandaid deal, no idea where that came from. Clip that out and the two sentences from the Craig could be combined with a semicolon. ~ Otterpops 05:57, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Ok. Thank you. I'll try googling for it an see if I can add proper citations. The plaster story is on her website and it's probably Blackman's most famous anecdote but, yes, I'll try to cite that too. Random Passer-by (talk) 16:22, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I've found the Amanda Craig interview and there's no mention of Stephen Lawrence that I can see so I'll edit that out until someone can find a citation. The plaster story is in the interview though so I'll cite it from there. Random Passer-by (talk) 16:43, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

"For strong readers"

I can guess what this means from the context but it should be more specific so readers understand why it's a separate category to "children's" and "new readers". Any suggestions? Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

"Children's" wasn't one of the categories when I categorized them. ~ Otterpops 05:59, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

No, you put "kids" so I altered it to the more usual "children". That doesn't explain "strong readers" though. Random Passer-by (talk) 16:22, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

How about "strong new readers"? Random Passer-by (talk) 17:06, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Awards and nominations

I reverted this section to the version most like the WikiProject Biography guidelines. There's some room for fiddling but it must be referenced and formatted to at least basic Wikipedia manual of style standards. Random Passer-by (talk) 01:44, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

The Longman Book Project

Is this publisher link educational or commercial? It smells like spam to me. Unless I'm missing something (which is entirely possible). Random Passer-by (talk) 01:58, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I took the link to the publishers website out but it's still in the history if anyone needs it in future. Random Passer-by (talk) 23:30, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm heading out

Looks like you're doing great with the copyedit you requested - when you get done just call for the proofreader.
Wish me luck on the Mighty Move to Indy!
~ Otterpops 06:11, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

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Is Malorie Blackman a pen name?

I heard on the BBC Radio Four series "Profile" in October 2018 that Malorie Blackman is not her real name. The programme said it was a long time before her editor realized that Malorie Blackman is a pen name. If any one knows her real name, it could go in the article, unless Malorie Blackman would prefer not to reveal her real name (I am aware this article must conform to "Biography of Living People" criteria). Vorbee (talk) 16:46, 7 October 2018 (UTC)

FWIW, the publishing information on the title-page versos of her books attribute their copyright to "Oneta Malorie Blackman", suggesting she may simply omit her first name for publishing purposes. It's also possible that "Oneta Malorie Blackman" is a pseudonym, as copyrighting published works to an author's pseudonym is a common practice, but I can't find any indication of this being so.

She is married to Neil Morrison, but amongst writers retaining one's unmarried surname for professional purposes is (in my experience) more common than not. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.185} 90.209.233.48 (talk) 09:14, 26 March 2022 (UTC)