This week's blog is published on the Arvon website. I wanted to talk about how much Arvon has supported me for the whole of my writing life...
On finished copies & advice to my past self
Yesterday, my book became real. It doesn't just exist in my head any more, or as an attachment in an email between editors, or as a pile of papers on my desk, bristling with rainbow-coloured post-it notes...
Read MoreTalking Myth, Magic, Selkies and Sailcloth with Deep Water author Lu Hersey
Lu Hersey’s novel Deep Water won the 2013 Mslexia Children’s Novel Writing Award. Since it was published in 2015, it has been shortlisted for the Wirral Paperback of the Year Award and it was named by The Guardian as one of the best children’s books of 2015. In my house Deep Water has fans of many ages, so it’s a delight to ask Lu about her writing process and how she weaves in the myth and magic that runs through her work…
Read MoreMyth and Magic in Young Adult Fiction - Talking to Anna McKerrow
I talk to YA author Anna McKerrow about her books Crow Moon and Red Witch, and why she is drawn to using myth and magic in her writing.
Read More(RE)Sisters: Stories of Rebel Girls, Revolution, Empowerment and Escape
Today the YA anthology (RE)Sisters: Stories of Rebel Girls, Revolution, Empowerment and Escape is published by For Books’ Sake. Here, I share the story of how I came to write 'Come Fly', my short story in this anthology.
Read MoreDoing It With Someone Else: Collaborative Writing in YA Fiction
Writing often seems like a solitary activity. Yet recently I’ve noticed some of the most talented writers in Young Adult Fiction collaborating together. What is it really like to write with someone else? I asked creative partners Brian Conaghan and Sarah Crossan, authors of We Come Apart; and Joanna Nadin and Anthony McGowan, authors of Everybody Hurts.
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