Hello!  Welcome to my site. 

If you’re trying to catch a glimpse of a Dream Fetcher then you’re in luck.  Midge, Vert, Harley and Snaffle are waiting for you over on the Dream Team page.  If you’re into dragons, adventure and mystery, fly across to the Glint page and read all about my latest book for older readers.  

Those of you with the acting bug can flounce across to the Plays page where you’ll find a whole cast of characters.  There’s a computer-game Warrior with a thing about Kara-Oke, a couple of evil, shape-shifting Skarg, some Nineteenth Century fisher lassies and a murderous family of Reivers (but not all in the same play!).  

If you're interested in booking talks or workshops click here for more details.

What else? Catch up on the latest news below. There’s some stuff about me (including how to get in touch), a look at my other books and a sample of wonderful writing from some of the young authors in my creative writing workshops.   So why not have a look around?  Or, as my Dream Fetchers would say…

Lift off!  Wings out!  Away you go!

NEWS...............NEWS...............NEWS...............NEWS...............NEWS

DREAM TEAM BOOKS TO GET THE BIG SCREEN TREATMENT!

Yes, Midge, Vert, Harley and Snaffle are heading for a cinema near you. I've known about this for months but I had to keep quiet until the press release was out. UK based Material Entertainment went public on 19th April with the announcement that they have secured the screen rights to the 'thrilling, fantasy-adventure children’s book series Dream Team by award-winning author Ann Coburn'. Material Entertainment will produce a live action/effects driven movie with the screenplay penned by Kirk De Micco, writer of Racing Stripes and the upcoming Space Chimps.

I’m thrilled that Material Entertainment has optioned the books – add to that the backing of both New Line Cinema and Entertainment Film Distributors and I am sure this will be a wonderful experience with a great final product.

You can read the press release here.

THE DREAM TEAM ARE BACK IN THE SADDLE!

You can catch up on their adventures when Books 3 and 4 in the Dream Team series hit the shops on 3rd May 2007. 

Dream Team 3: Speed Challenge

‘Snaffle slammed down his visor, took a firm grip on his handlebars and opened up the throttle.
“Eat my dust, Harley!” he yelled.’
The rivalry is hotting up as the trainee Dream Fetchers set off on their next mission. Snaffle is desperate to move up the scoreboard, speed-demon Harley loves a race and little Midge is always ready for a challenge. But Vert has other things on his mind. If Team Leader Flint discovers that he’s scared of flying, the Dream Team could be waving their fourth member goodbye…

Dream Team 4: Daydream Shift

‘Midge looked across at Harley. “Take care out there!”
Harley grinned. “Hey!” she yelled back. “How hard can it be?”’
For their final test, the Dream Team must deliver dreams by daylight. Team Leader Flint has chosen simple dream-drops, so it should be easy-peasy! But something is not right, and daydreams turn into nightmares. Will the Dream Team ever earn their stripes and graduate?

POETRY IN TYNEDALE

A big ‘Hello’ to all the young writers from Corbridge, Hexham, Highfield, Ovingham, St Joseph’s and South Tynedale Middle Schools! 

This month I’m in the beautiful Tynedale Valley, running poetry workshops for the Hexham Book Festival.  I’m having a great time.  The schools have all made me feel very welcome and the writers are creating some fantastic poems about animals or birds native to Northumberland. 

All the poems will be entered into a competition and the winners will be announced during The Hexham Book Festival weekend, which runs from 23rd-25th March at the Queens Hall, Hexham.  If you come along at 10.00 on Saturday 24th March, you’ll be able to meet some of the young writers and hear their poems.  I’ll be there too, introducing the readers and spilling the beans about our writing workshops. 

There are loads of other events throughout the Hexham Book Festival Weekend.  If you want to meet an author, the Queen’s Hall is the place to be.  Check out the festival website www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk.

19TH MARCH 2007
‘PIE-CATS AND PIZZAS’ ON THE MENU AT SEVEN STORIES.

Seven Stories, the Centre for Children’s Books in Newcastle, have invited me to come along to their beautiful building in the Ouseburn Valley to talk to schools groups.  I’ll be explaining how to use pie-cats and pizzas as ways of kick-starting creativity. Intrigued?  If you want to discover some of my story-making secrets and try out a few ‘flash’ writing exercises, you can book places for your school by contacting Bookings Assistant Alison Neill.  Her phone number is 0845 271 0777 and her email address is alison.neill@sevenstories.org.uk.  More details of this event can be found on the Seven Stories website, www.sevenstories.org.uk.

1st JANUARY 2007 - GLINT IN AMERICA 

What a lovely way to start the New Year!  On 1st January 2007, Glint is published in America by HarperCollins in their Eos imprint.  To see what readers think of the book over there, go to www.harpercollinschildrens.com and have a look at the reader reviews.

"Masterfully executed." Kirkus Review

"A multilayered, satisfying tale, suspenseful and fluidly written." ALA Booklist

‘MONKEY BUSINESS’ – THE ORANGE YOUNG WRITERS ANTHOLOGY

Hello to all the young writers who came along to the workshops at Alnwick Gardens as part of the Orange Young Writers’ Festival.  For two weeks they worked on short story-writing with me, poetry with Linda France and screen-printing with artist Emma Holliday.  We also had the help of two workshop assistants and all the friendly staff at Alnwick Gardens – what an inspirational setting for two weeks of creative writing! There were also groups of young writers working with poets, novelists, playwrights and screen writers in Darlington, Durham, Hexham, Stockton and Sunderland.  Now a selection of pieces from all these young writers has been published in an anthology entitled ‘Monkey Business’.  To get hold of a copy, contact New Writing North at www.newwritingnorth.com.