New Book by ‘Hippo’ Author Helps You Become an "Authorpreneurs"

A new book by renowned children’s author Hazel Edwards (and supporter of all things comics on the Australian scene!), has just been published to help writers, illustrators and comics creators build sustainable careers in a rapidly changing industry. Best known for her book There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake, Edwards’ latest title Authorpreneurship: The business of creativity shows authors how they can invest in their creativity to increase their professional opportunities.

Today’s creator needs to be an ‘authorpreneur’—an originator and an entrepreneur. Apart from crafting words or images for specific audiences, this means learning the marketing, publicity, technological, legal and entrepreneurial skills to establish and maintain. Authors have become small businesses, so they need new tools to maximise their business opportunities. They also need support to adapt to a fast-changing, digital, global industry.  

This practical book offers strategies for beginner, mid-list and highly experienced creators to help sell work for longer, in varied new formats and to larger audiences by: 

• Building an author brand
• Networking in person and online
• Becoming a strategic thinker
• Writing effective proposals
• Costing your time
• Delegating or collaborating
• Developing effective business systems.

It includes checklists, hints, case studies and hypothetical scenarios to help authors explore the situations they might encounter as an authorpreneur.

Published by Keesing Press, the print book is available for $24.95 through the Australian Society of Authors’ website.

The e-book will be available from Hazel Edwards' website in a month. 

Mermaid Products That Take Our Fancy 2 – Mermaids Dreaming

We're quite active on Facebook where we've connected with the enthusiastic and energetic "mer" community. We should probably add "creative" to our list of adjectives. 


Anyway, a few months ago we stumbled on Mermaids Dreaming, which is run by Aussie artist Vanessa Wischi. We were so completely captivated by her mermaid vision that we've been wanting to feature her handmade one-of-a-kind sleeping mermaid figurines on this blog for a long time. Finally, they're here.


Vanessa has several ranges, and she has kindly shared her photos with us so we in turn can share them with you. These pieces are truly gorgeous—delicate, dainty and absolutely enchanting. When we gaze at them, we just go silent with wonder and contemplation. It's as if they are endowed with a peaceful tranquil energy. We find them very moving. We truly believe Vanessa crafts them with great love and sensitivity, and this is an expression of her heart. Sigh.


So...


This is Amaya from the Merfae (mermaids with wings) range.

This is Caragh from the General Mermaid Collection.

This is Dawn from the Vintage Mermaid Collection.

This is L'oceane from the General Mermaid Collection.

This is Melendrea from the Mermaid Family Collection.

This is Mira from the Sea Cave Mermaid Collection (which comes with crystals).

This is Trisha from the Mermaid Family Collection.

This is Tangerine from the Sea Cave Mermaid Collection.

This is Beatrice from the John William Waterhouse Mermaid Collection (which are inspired by the famous English painter of the Pre-Raphaelite period. Each of these pieces are names after one of Waterhouse's models).

This is Zaryah from the Mermaid Family Collection.

And finally, this is Ash from the General Mermaid Collection.

Each one-of-a-kind sculpture is allocated a unique ID number that is printed on the back of her head. Each mermaid is also beautifully presented in a gift box with a Certificate of Authenticity.

There are several other collection not represented in this blog post so be sure to explore the Mermaids Dreaming website, or "Like" the Mermaids Dreaming Facebook page. 

Our prediction... as word gets out, these mermaid figurines will be coveted the world over. If you like one, you'll have to be quick to claim her.  If you hesitate, she may very well be gone.

International Mermaid Awards – Place Your Vote! [UPDATED 06/07/12]

We recently covered the exciting new mermaid event – Mer-Palooza – which is being held in Orlando, Florida USA. Well Mer-Palooza has just announced the INTERNATIONAL MERMAID AWARDS and INTERNATIONAL PIRATE AWARDS, which will be presented Saturday 11 August 2012 at the MerPalooza Pool Party!

Nominations for the Awards are now open via the online form. Nominations will be accepted from 20 June to 15 July 2012. If you know someone who deserves an Award that is not listed, you can submit special nominations and suggestions for Awards not currently listed!

Most Awards will be voted by you, the "Mer" public and fans. Some, however, will be decided by a panel of esteemed judges.

Here are the Award categories:



MERMAIDS


Please note that the following categories have changed on the voting page since the original media release from Mer-Palooza.


PERSONALITY AWARDS:

MERMAID OF tHE YEAR AWARD 
MERMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
CHILD MERMAID OF THE YEAR 
BABY MERMAID OF THE YEAR

MEDIA AND CREATIVE AWARDS:

BEST MERMAID THEMED YOU TUBE VIDEO
BEST MERMAID WEB SITE (INDIVIDUAL OR MERMAID RELATED COMPANY)
BEST MERMAID ARTICLE (BLOG, JOURNALISTIC, COLUMN)
BEST MERMAID MAGAZINE
BEST MERMAID AUTHOR
BEST MERMAID MOVIE
BEST MERMAID TELEVISION SERIES
BEST MERMAID PHOTOGRAPHER
BEST MERMAID ARTIST
BEST MERMAID SINGER OR BAND

TAIL MAKING AWARDS:

BEST TAIL MAKER
BEST MERMAID TAIL DESIGN

MISCELLANEOUS MERMAID AWARDS:

MERMAID ENVIRONMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
BEST MERMAID THEMED PARK/ATTRACTION
BEST MERMAID THEMED EVENT



UPDATE: Looks like the Pirate Awards have disappeared from the voting page since the original media release from Mer-Palooza.


PIRATES

PERSONALITY AWARDS:

LADY PIRATE OF tHE YEAR AWARD PIRATE OF THE YEAR AWARD
CHILD PIRATE OF THE YEAR BABY PIRATE OF THE YEAR

MEDIA AND CREATIVE AWARDS:

BEST PIRATE THEMED YOU TUBE VIDEO
BEST PIRATE WEB SITE (INDIVIDUAL OR MERMAID RELATED COMPANY)
BEST PIRATE ARTICLE (BLOG, JOURNALISTIC, COLUMN)
BEST PIRATE MAGAZINE
BEST PIRATE AUTHOR
BEST PIRATE MOVIE
BEST PIRATE TELEVISION SERIES
BEST PIRATE PHOTOGRAPHER
BEST PIRATE ARTIST
BEST PIRATE SINGER OR BAND

COSTUMING AWARDS:

BEST COSTUME MAKER
BEST COSTUME DESIGN

MISCELLANEOUS PIRATE AWARDS:

PIRATE PHILANTHROPIST OF THE YEAR
BEST PIRATE THEMED PARK/ATTRACTION
BEST PIRATE THEMED EVENT


CLICK HERE to go to the online voting form.

Mermaid in Comics 1 – Milly the Merry Mermaid

This is the first part in a series where we'll be looking at what's out there in the comics world – outside of our own Elf~Fin comic book series – that features mermaids. This selection is probably little known but it is a point of nostalgia for me. 


"Milly the Merry Mermaid" were delightful short stories published in the the Princess Gift Book for Girls (1973) and the Princess Tina Annual (1971) by IPC Magazines, London, and distributed in Australia by Gordon & Gotch. There are many other books in the series but I only have those two. I found second hand copies of them while I was growing up and read them over and over again. I loved the gentle humour, some of the environmental themes, and Milly's undersea animal pals who could all talk. 


These stories really influenced me. I've chosen a one page story to showcase here, and a two pager where we see a large full body panel of Milly where her tail takes prevalence. It looks like there were two artists working on them, as the style is different for both. I have no idea who wrote or drew them, as there are no creator credits in the book—a real shame. Many writers and artists were anonymous in those days. I believe if they were published now, the creators would have had a great fan base. Anyway, we hope you like them. You can still find some of the Annuals on eBay or online. Here's one of the books from whence these stories are sourced. It says 1972 but my book says 1971. I wonder who'll be the first to grab it for their mermaid collection...

Call for Entries – Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore

We thought we might bring you another angle on black mermaids...


The City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, South Caroline is seeking art quilts and art dolls inspired by the folklore and visual history of the black mermaid archetype. Some of the first tales of mermaids and merwomen were brought to the USA by slaves. Apparently black mermaids travelled with enslaved Africans to distant lands, comforting them in the holds of the slave ships that took them far away from their homeland. 


Artists are invited to share your visual interpretation of these myths by creating a Black Mermaid / Merwoman in an art doll or art quilt. The exhibition will be on view at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in historic Charleston from 28 August to 28 October 2012. For more information, check out the City Gallery Waterfront Park website.

Mermaid Statues from Around the World

Just found a couple of posts on two blogs that contain a whole bunch of photos of mermaid statues from around the world, starting with this one in Turkey. Turns out that the famous Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen isn't the only statue so check out the rest on Viola.bz and Kuriositas.com. 


(Please note that we don't know who the photographer is of this pic so we hope it's okay if we use it. Please alert us if it doesn't fall under a Creative Commons licence. )

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 25

Not long soon. Jozef's busy painting away!