Julia Golding’s first novel, The Diamond of Drury Lane, won the 2006 Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize and the Nestle Children’s Book Prize. This was the first in a series of books which tell the story of a feisty orphan girl brought up in a theatre in Georgian London. Her other series include the Companions Quartet and the Darcie Lock books.…
Alan Gibbons has been writing children’s books for seventeen years. He is the winner of the Blue Peter Book Award 2000 ‘The book I couldn’t put down’ for his best-selling book Shadow of the Minotaur. He was a judge of the 2001 Awards. Alan has been a teacher for 16 years, working with KS1, KS2…
Once you have an idea for a book, how do you start? It can be difficult for example, with the new Jamie Johnson book, Skills From Brazil, I knew I wanted to write a story about Brazil (perfect for this summer) but that is actually quite a difficult place to start from a dramatic point…
Pauline Francis was a teacher and librarian before becoming a full-time writer. She writes books for children and young people. What comes first – the fiction side of the book or the historical period? I’m interested in the women who were trapped in dangerous situations and didn’t always have the power to extricate themselves. How…
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…