Truly unique resources to inspire the next generation of readers!
Aisha Bushby was born in the Middle East and has lived in Kuwait, England and Canada. Her short story, Marionette Girl, was featured in the Stripes award-winning anthology, A Change is Gonna Come. She now lives by the sea and writes children’s books, sometimes with a little bit of magic in them. She loves cats, […]
Ally Sherrick* loves exploring ruined castles and decaying mansions and imagining what it must have been like to live in them without electricity and hot and cold running water – although she’s quite glad she doesn’t have to herself! She has a BA in medieval history and French from the University of Newcastle and an […]
Chris Vick* lives near Bath, with his wife and daughter. His new book, Girl. Boy. Sea. was published by Zephyr, August 2019 and tells the story of a girl and a boy shipwrecked in a storm off the coast of Morocco. ‘The sea seeped, poured, then stormed into my writing. The ocean is my subject- […]
Growing up, Dan Smith* led three lives. In one he survived the day-to-day humdrum of boarding school, while in another he travelled the world, finding adventure in the paddy fields of South East Asia and the jungles of Brazil. But the third life he lived in a world of his own, making up stories . […]
Darren Simpson* lives in Nottingham with his wife and two mischievous boys. After not quite making it as a drummer in a rock band, Darren turned to writing and discovered that it’s a fun way not only to escape reality, but also to explore and confront it in unusual ways. He can usually be found […]
David Walliams is a prolific and much loved children’s author who has been described as ‘the natural heir to Roald Dahl’. Best-known for his novels Mr Stink, Billionaire Boy, Fing, The World’s Worst Teachers Walliams’ books are hilariously funny and beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake and Tony Ross. His 2014 book, The Boy in The […]
Although Edith Nesbit grew up in France and Germany, it was her country life in beloved Kent which provided material for her stories. It was in the 1890’s when Edith began to write stories for children, eventually leading her to produce more than 60 books, some of which were collaborations. Her most famous books include […]
Eloise Williams* was born in Cardiff and grew up in Llantrisant. She now lives in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, very close to the beach where she walks her dog Watson Jones and collects sea glass with her artist husband, Guy Manning. She worked in the theatre in various odd jobs before going on to study Drama at […]
Ewa* Jozefkowicz: I’ve loved reading for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I felt very lucky that my dad was a bookseller. I remember spending many school holidays tucked up in the corner of a bookshop, slowly reading my way through the children’s section. I was allowed to read as many […]
James Nicol* has loved books and stories his whole life. He grew up near the North Norfolk coast, a place teeming with legends about witches! And as a child spent hours absorbed in novels, watching epic 1980s cartoons or adventuring in the wood at the bottom of the garden searching for dragons and witches! He […]
I have always loved reading and writing. Growing up, I kept a tower of books under my pillow for sneak-reading after lights out, and it became quite clear from a young age that putting words together in ways that made other people want to read them was basically the only thing I was any good […]
Joanne Rowling always loved books as a child. She wrote stories as a young child and had written her first novel at the age of eleven. She continued this love of reading and read so widely that at university she amassed a £50 fine for overdue books! The idea for Harry Potter came whilst waiting […]
Lexi Rees* writes action packed adventures brim full of witch-doctors, fortune-tellers, warriors and smugglers, combining elemental magic with hints of dystopia. She also writes fun activity books for children. She’s passionate about developing a love of reading and writing in children and, as well as an active programme of school visits and other events, she […]
Onjali Q. Rauf* is the award-winning author of her debut book, The Boy at the Back of the Class. Her newest book is called The Star Outside My Window and delicately deals with the issue of domestic abuse. She is also the founder of Making Herstory, an organisation working to help end the abuse and trafficking […]
P.G. Bell* is a native of south Wales, where he was raised on a diet of Greek mythology, ghost stories and Doctor Who. He’s had all sorts of jobs over the years, from lifeguard to roller coaster operator, but has always wanted to write stories. He lives in Wales with his wife Anna and their […]
Rick Riordan has written many books for young readers, most notably including the Percy Jackson series. Rick fist began writing books for adults whilst working full time as a teacher. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was Rick’s first story for young readers and actually began as a bedtime story for his son Haley. After […]
Roald Dahl wrote many books for adults before finding fame with his children’s stories. Written for his own children, James and the Giant Peach was a brilliant success and was turned into a film in 1996. Many of Roald dahl’s stories featured gruesome experiences and the villains were often adults, which made his writing different […]
Born in Tasmania with Irish roots, Samuel J. Halpin* is 27 and writes daily. Having studied journalism at the University of New South Wales, Samuel went on to take cinematography at AFTRS, the national Australian film school in Sydney before moving to London and working in comedy TV production. The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Woods […]
Sinéad O’Hart lives in County Meath, near Dublin with her husband and their daughter. She has done many jobs in her life, including working as a butcher and a bookseller, but could never quite shake the small voice whispering ‘write ‘ in her ear. She has a degree in English and History, a PhD in […]
Sophie Anderson grew up with stories in her blood, from her mother, who is a writer, to her Prussian grandmother, whose own storytelling inspired The House with Chicken Legs. Born in Swansea but now living in the Lake District with her family, Sophie loves walking, canoeing and daydreaming. Her dream is to create stories that help […]
Vanessa Harbour* is a disabled writer and academic who loves words and believes in living life to the full regardless of what life throws at her. In particular, she likes to weave her words into stories for children and young adults providing moments of hope in a difficult world. When she was growing up, she […]
Vashti Hardy* is a writer of children’s books living near Brighton in Sussex with her husband and three teens. She was a primary school teacher for several years, and has a special interest in children’s writing, especially free-writing and the use of journals and creating fantasy worlds. She has a first-class honours teaching degree with […]
A lifelong storyteller and daydreamer, Victoria Williamson is a children’s author and teacher who has lived and worked in Africa, China, America and the UK. Victoria grew up just north of Glasgow, surrounded by hills on the edge of a forest estate where many of her early ghost stories and fantasy tales were born amid […]
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I’ve had to keep quiet about this one for a while!!! So proud of our fantastic patron, who is THE most selfless per… twitter.com/i/web/status/12834…
I know what we are doing at 7pm tonight! 
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This looks a bit good! Fab competition from the lovely people at @WRDmag 
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