Alan Durant writes stories for children of all ages – from toddlers to teenagers. He also writes poetry for children and adults. He is a National Reading Campaign Reading Champion and a frequent visitor to schools, libraries and festivals around the UK and abroad where he gives talks and readings and runs writing workshops. Alan…
Paul Dowswell specialises in historical fiction and information books for 10+ to teenage and adult readers and has written over 60 books for UK publishers. His book Auslander was shortlisted for 20 book awards. Cabinet of Curiosities, set in Renaissance Prague, features ‘large doses of alchemy, skulduggery and the Inquisition’. What attracted you to historical…
Jennifer Donnelly writes historical fiction for young adults and children. Her novel A Gethering Light won the 2003 Carnegie Medal. What comes first – plot, character or situation? For me, emotion. Big, strong, boiling emotion. In A Gathering Light, the emotion came from Grace Brown’s – the murder victim’s – letters to her murderer. In Revolution, it came from…
Berlie Doherty is an English novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. She is best known for her children’s books, for which she has twice won the Carnegie Medal. When you start to write a book, do you know how it will end? Sometimes. My first draft is in my head, and I spend weeks, months or…
Gabrielle Cliff-Hodges interviews Kevin Crossley-Holland What advice do you think it is helpful to give young writers? Firstly, write every day. Have a notebook and write in jokes, little bits and bobs, things you’ve overheard on the tops of buses, beginnings of stories, character sketches. Learn to use language. Don’t try and write a history…
Gillian Cross won the 1990 Carnegie Medal for her book Wolf and the 1992 Whitbread Children’s Book Award for her novel The Great Elephant Chase. She is also the author of The Demon Headmaster series of books which have been turned into television series by the BBC. Where does your inspiration come from? Many different places. I’m very curious about…
After studying English at Keble College, Oxford, Frank Cottrell Boyce joined the writing team at Coronation Street. His career now spans screen, theatre and novel. He has collaborated with several film directors, including Michael Winterbottom (Forget About Me, Butterfly Kiss, Welcome to Sarajevo, The Claim, 24 Hour Party People and Code 46), Danny Boyle (Millions) and Anand…
Tracey Corderoy is an award winning children’s writer who has published over 35 books since 2010. After training as a primary teacher she taught at schools in Swindon and Cirencester before leaving the profession to start a family. Several years later, Corderoy started working with children in primary schools; where she implemented literacy programmes and…
Joseph Coelho is a performance poet and playwright. He has written plays for the Polka Theatre, the Lyric, Hammersmith, and the Unicorn Theatre. He performs his poetry shows with the UK’s top performance poetry organisation, Apples and Snakes, visiting venues across the UK. Joseph’s poems have appeared in many anthologies, including Green Glass Beads by Jacqueline Wilson…