I was so excited for January to be over. All that darkness and gloom and right now in London, it's snowing. Yes full on snow at the end of February. What kind of foolishness? Then it had the cheek to be really sunny AND STILL SNOW! I really can't with this country. I started my World Book Day school tour today and was legit caught in a blizzard. Was so happy when my afternoon class was cancelled, was way too cold.
The Originals launches tomorrow!! I am always amazed when I am able to get a book done but to get a book done with 27 stories written by kids—the Lord gave me strength. The books arrived and look sick! All the kids and parents are excited, I'm excited, I'm sure you're excited or if you're not get excited cause The Originals is coming!!!
I got an email from The London Book Fair about the Trailblazer Awards 2018. Never heard of it but was open to anyone under 30. I started to write the submission but I can't boast about myself so I asked Helen to enter me. It was for anyone under 30 who felt they were making some difference in the publishing industry. When I got shortlisted from the hundreds that submitted, not going to lie I totally spaced on it. I didn't really know what a big deal it was until Helen asked me if I had seen the shortlist.
Me: No. I haven't even seen the website
Helen: You really need to see this
So I find the link and whoa! First I'm right at the top—the benefits of having initials AB and then as I look down there's Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, Amazon and now I'm like huh?! Then I look back at my pic with The Author School and Hashtag Press under it and I just start laughing. I mean, our little year old company is up against the beasts.
Me: I wish I didn't see that shortlist
Helen: I know right
Don't get me wrong, I wanted to win but did I think I could win? Honestly I wasn't convinced. So on Monday we went to The Groucho Club and my family, my mates, Helen kept talking to me like I've won. I was just going with the flow cause I didn't want to seem negative but come on! I was 1 out of 2 black people on the shortlist that had 30 Trailblazers who worked for big companies. We got there early so we had a drink at the bar and one of the organisers told us we could come upstairs but we wanted to finish our drinks, then a few minutes later another organiser came.
Helen: You've totally won. They want to make sure you're upstairs.
Me: Yeah because we're meant to be upstairs!
Helen: Two people came down
Me: Because we're still not upstairs!!
I don't get intimated but I was seriously like wtf. The networking room was rammed, I just started drinking and then was led to another room. I sat down at a table and watched this video come on with all the shortlists. On the table was a magazine and when I opened it, it had of our faces and a paragraph. I can't lie mine looked good! I didn't read Helen's submission. No one was more shocked than me when I bloody won!!!!! I could hear the speaker describing me and I was like shit! Do I smile? Look surprised? Then all I can hear is Helen saying YES! YES! I was one out of five winners and that night and the next two days my social media went nuts! It's so crazy because if you go back to the beginning of this blog, you can see how I was trying for ages to get into publishing and now I'm being rewarded for helping to make a difference within publishing. Mad.
Black Panther is sooooo good! I was meant to go see it the week it came out but my brother was being long, then my friends were being long and I thought screw it I'm just going to take myself. There's a cinema near where I was working, so straight after I went and I got my popcorn, drink, my VIP seat (the guy even gave me a discount). I so wanted it to be amazing. I mean a Marvel movie with pretty much all black characters and it was amazing. Michael B Jordan is literally goals, even with that stupid hairstyle he had. I keep praying Lord just give him to me. Please! Or Chadwick Boseman. They are so beautiful. The only thing I didn't really like was Lupita as the girlfriend. I don't know why but I just didn't buy it. I wanted her to be the queen warrior or something. There's a bit when Black Panther and Killmonger are fighting and falling and there is no sound. SO DOPE!!!!
Then I get this gorgeous pic by Hamdiexille!!!! LOVE!!
Kendrick Lamar DAMN Tour. First of all I'm a G for the seats I got cause they were so close to the stage. It was such a sick concert. I just wish I start to learn the words to songs when I buy the tickets. Please tell me why the day off I'm playing his songs on repeat, in the hopes I will know the lyrics. I do this all the time!
Did a double take when I saw a man at the gym with some alcoholic drink in the water cup holder as he was on the spin bicycle. I swear I don't make this stuff up.
Safaree pictures. If you don't know...
Don't you just hate bitchy boys? How exactly are you meant to address them? Do you call them Sis?
Got Valentines Day cards from these kids I teach and one of them had basically scribbled over her paper and handed it to me.
Me: What is this?
Girl: A Valentines card
Me (squinting): Where's the hearts?
Girl (pointing at a scribble): Right there
Guys it was just scribbles. So I said thank you, went to talk to another kid and the girl followed me, came right to my face so that I went cross eyed and screamed, “YOU ARE SO CUTE!”
At one of the schools I visited for World Book Day, I met a kid who had self taught himself to play the piano. He is 10. He learnt from YouTube. WTF!
The Florida shooting really shook me up. You would think after Columbine and all the other shootings they would revise the gun law. How many people need to keep dying in schools?! See this doesn't happen in the hood cause they search everyone so why don't they search everyone in these middle class schools? Don't even get me started on Trump. What idiot writes a note to remind himself to show empathy?
The Author School Day is almost here, we are almost sold out!!!!!!!! Grab the last ticket at www.theauthorschool.com
Make sure to follow this blog and me on Instagram @abiolabello and Twitter @EmilyKnightIAM
The Originals launches tomorrow!! I am always amazed when I am able to get a book done but to get a book done with 27 stories written by kids—the Lord gave me strength. The books arrived and look sick! All the kids and parents are excited, I'm excited, I'm sure you're excited or if you're not get excited cause The Originals is coming!!!
I got an email from The London Book Fair about the Trailblazer Awards 2018. Never heard of it but was open to anyone under 30. I started to write the submission but I can't boast about myself so I asked Helen to enter me. It was for anyone under 30 who felt they were making some difference in the publishing industry. When I got shortlisted from the hundreds that submitted, not going to lie I totally spaced on it. I didn't really know what a big deal it was until Helen asked me if I had seen the shortlist.
Me: No. I haven't even seen the website
Helen: You really need to see this
So I find the link and whoa! First I'm right at the top—the benefits of having initials AB and then as I look down there's Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, Amazon and now I'm like huh?! Then I look back at my pic with The Author School and Hashtag Press under it and I just start laughing. I mean, our little year old company is up against the beasts.
Me: I wish I didn't see that shortlist
Helen: I know right
Don't get me wrong, I wanted to win but did I think I could win? Honestly I wasn't convinced. So on Monday we went to The Groucho Club and my family, my mates, Helen kept talking to me like I've won. I was just going with the flow cause I didn't want to seem negative but come on! I was 1 out of 2 black people on the shortlist that had 30 Trailblazers who worked for big companies. We got there early so we had a drink at the bar and one of the organisers told us we could come upstairs but we wanted to finish our drinks, then a few minutes later another organiser came.
Helen: You've totally won. They want to make sure you're upstairs.
Me: Yeah because we're meant to be upstairs!
Helen: Two people came down
Me: Because we're still not upstairs!!
I don't get intimated but I was seriously like wtf. The networking room was rammed, I just started drinking and then was led to another room. I sat down at a table and watched this video come on with all the shortlists. On the table was a magazine and when I opened it, it had of our faces and a paragraph. I can't lie mine looked good! I didn't read Helen's submission. No one was more shocked than me when I bloody won!!!!! I could hear the speaker describing me and I was like shit! Do I smile? Look surprised? Then all I can hear is Helen saying YES! YES! I was one out of five winners and that night and the next two days my social media went nuts! It's so crazy because if you go back to the beginning of this blog, you can see how I was trying for ages to get into publishing and now I'm being rewarded for helping to make a difference within publishing. Mad.
Black Panther is sooooo good! I was meant to go see it the week it came out but my brother was being long, then my friends were being long and I thought screw it I'm just going to take myself. There's a cinema near where I was working, so straight after I went and I got my popcorn, drink, my VIP seat (the guy even gave me a discount). I so wanted it to be amazing. I mean a Marvel movie with pretty much all black characters and it was amazing. Michael B Jordan is literally goals, even with that stupid hairstyle he had. I keep praying Lord just give him to me. Please! Or Chadwick Boseman. They are so beautiful. The only thing I didn't really like was Lupita as the girlfriend. I don't know why but I just didn't buy it. I wanted her to be the queen warrior or something. There's a bit when Black Panther and Killmonger are fighting and falling and there is no sound. SO DOPE!!!!
Then I get this gorgeous pic by Hamdiexille!!!! LOVE!!
Kendrick Lamar DAMN Tour. First of all I'm a G for the seats I got cause they were so close to the stage. It was such a sick concert. I just wish I start to learn the words to songs when I buy the tickets. Please tell me why the day off I'm playing his songs on repeat, in the hopes I will know the lyrics. I do this all the time!Did a double take when I saw a man at the gym with some alcoholic drink in the water cup holder as he was on the spin bicycle. I swear I don't make this stuff up.
Safaree pictures. If you don't know...
Don't you just hate bitchy boys? How exactly are you meant to address them? Do you call them Sis?
Got Valentines Day cards from these kids I teach and one of them had basically scribbled over her paper and handed it to me.
Me: What is this?
Girl: A Valentines card
Me (squinting): Where's the hearts?
Girl (pointing at a scribble): Right there
Guys it was just scribbles. So I said thank you, went to talk to another kid and the girl followed me, came right to my face so that I went cross eyed and screamed, “YOU ARE SO CUTE!”
At one of the schools I visited for World Book Day, I met a kid who had self taught himself to play the piano. He is 10. He learnt from YouTube. WTF!
The Florida shooting really shook me up. You would think after Columbine and all the other shootings they would revise the gun law. How many people need to keep dying in schools?! See this doesn't happen in the hood cause they search everyone so why don't they search everyone in these middle class schools? Don't even get me started on Trump. What idiot writes a note to remind himself to show empathy?
There's a little baby I'm obsessed with called Shiloh. It was her first birthday and we went to Northampton for the day to celebrate. Really nice fun day. So we're tidying up and there's a knife on the table, as we go to ask her dad if this is his knife, her older sister, who is about 5, picks up the knife and literally hacks these balloons to pop them. I swear I just froze. It was so surreal and none of us could move because we were so shocked that she was stabbing the balloons! Finally we snap out of it and tell her to put it down and she does. Then her brother on the other side of the room is trying to step on the balloons to pop them so she picks up the knife and runs towards him and all I could see in my head was the Chucky doll. She then pops more balloons until the knife is taken from her. You had to see it to believe it.
Started watching Narcos and decided to watch an episode at 2am. Had a nightmare that I was in Colombia and Escobar had stabbed Melissa in her side and my sister 'disappeared.' Woke up in a sweat. Rule to self: No Narcos at 2am!
The Author School Day is almost here, we are almost sold out!!!!!!!! Grab the last ticket at www.theauthorschool.com
Make sure to follow this blog and me on Instagram @abiolabello and Twitter @EmilyKnightIAM
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