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Behind-The-Books Blog

Farewell blog by Georgina Phipps

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Once upon a time, and presently, presently ago, there lived a big yellow-haired heffalump who ruled over a vast sprawling grey jungle of stone and fumes and expensive paninis and quite brilliant open-air Shakespeare. And deep in the heart of this jungle was burrowed a warren, and inside the warren was a cave hewn of white stone walls and paper stalagmites, and inside this cave there lived the book goblins.

There were also at this time (secretly sprinkled throughout the world) mighty sorcerers and faeries, who shook a wand to the sky (and a fist at the screen) and scattered words from their fingertips in wondrous prose. These words they bundled into parchments of silk, and sent flying to the white cave for the goblins to catch, and transform into books.

Now these particular book goblins, of the tribe A&B, were not a very big tribe, about half a dozen or so, but they were industrious and keen, and happily slaved from dawn till dusk, sewing words into books, and hobnobbing about books, and gobbling up books whole. And sometimes they would venture out of the cave to partake of a goblin feast, or to meet other goblins, and sometimes faeries would fly in for tea, or sorcerers spin by to sign their scrolls.

And once a week the Goblin Bride would send a message to the other goblins saying ‘Here ye! ’Tis time to dip into the Pot of Words once more. I’ll have my blog from thee!’ And the other goblins – the Mummy Goblin, the Aunty Goblin, and I the Newby Goblin – would quake and tremble and whisper among themselves ‘What will you scribble this week?’ and make an awful fuss. But they didn’t really mind, not really, because they loved hobnobbing about books and gobbling up books, and so rather loved scribble-blogging about books too.

But now one goblin, I the Newby, has to leave this happy cave and the jungle of the yellow heffalump, and seek my fortune in the promised western lands of green fields and ancient rocks. It has been a tremendous romp of a time, being a book goblin, and ’tis a much wiser and more knowledgeable goblin that leaves than the one that first ventured into the cave twelve months ago.

So thank you to Allison & Busby for a jolly fruitful year; to all the A&B authors for being such charming, imaginative people; and to my fellow book goblins for being such lovely pals. And thank you to anyone who’s read these blogs.

Toodle-pip old beans.

Georgina Phipps (Newby Goblin), Editorial Administrator (for one last day today)

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