Lunch with all the Agents (and OUP's superhuman crew).

To Oxford last week, where those nice people at Oxford University Press treated me and that Sarah McIntyre to a slap-up lunch to celebrate the signing of the contracts for our forthcoming book Seawigs.  It turned into a bit of a Works Outing, since our agents were also invited and we all travelled up from London together on the 10.50 from Paddington.  This is me with my agent Philippa Milnes-Smith...

...and here's Sarah with hers, Jodie Marsh.

Once we reached OUP's impressive HQ we had no sooner clocked in...

...than we were whisked off out again for lunch and contract signing.  Here we are putting our names on the dotted line, in the august presence of our editor Liz Cross, who is wearing AN ACTUAL SEAWIG.  

Look! The dangly glass orbs hanging from Liz's wig contain a tiny Fimo McIntyre & Reeve...

It's great to be working with Liz at last, because way back when I was still a jobbing illustrator it was she who encouraged me to keep submitting re-writes of Mortal Engines to Scholastic, where she was then working. She'd left before the book was formally accepted for publication, but I still think of her as my first editor. (She didn't wear the wig in those days, mind...)  We'll also be working with another OUP editor, Clare Whitston, and Head of Design Jo Cameron.

And huzzah, Elaine McQuade, another familiar face from Scholastic, is now Head of Marketing and Publicity at OUP.  On Scholastic's super-efficient publicity itineraries Elaine was always referred to as EMQ, so we like to think of her as 'Er Majesty the Queen.

I can't wait to see Sarah's illustrations start to take shape, and we're both looking forward to getting to work with the OUP team on the book, which will be published next year.

Oh look, here's Sarah's account of the same day, with even more photos and much more detail.