Horror writer and all round good-guy David Gatward released the first issue of his new venture at Halloween, a horror magazine called TheKillRoom. It’s a fantastic magazine, full of short horror stories written by well-known horror writers (such as Scream Street author Tommy Donbavand and author of the Furnace series, Alexander Gordon Smith), and stories from up-and-coming horror authors. Here’s why David decided to start up TheKillRoom,
‘So, the reason behind TheKillRoom… The whole idea came about because during most school visits I do I meet with students who’d love to get published but see it as either impossible, or something you only do when you’re an adult. There was no avenue for this. No real way for them to experience getting in print, or perhaps just going through the process of submitting not just to any magazine, but to one they’d like to read. I began wondering about it being a horror fiction mag. Then I had the idea of producing something that allows kids to get published alongside top-selling horror authors.’
It’s a great read for teen or adult horror fans and I’m looking forward to the next issue. You can download it for free from David’s website (www.davidgatward.com/david-gatward-merchandise/things-to-buy) and I have 4 bound copies to give away. To get in the draw just enter your name and email address in the form below (NZ and Australia only).













The Looky Book is a cool new puzzle book by New Zealand author/illustrator Donovan Bixley, with 11 different puzzles, all with colourful New Zealand landscapes, birds and animals. There are heaps of things to find in each picture, like find the numbers with the crazy All Black lambs, spot the difference with the mischievous keas, find the animals hidden deep in the bush, and match the farmers to their animals. You can read
Every Day by David Levithan is one of my absolute favourite books of 2012. If I could give a copy to every person I saw I would do, but sadly I can’t afford to do so. Instead I’m giving two lucky people the chance to win a copy.