Too much news - Ciaran Murtagh

I've been finding it hard to concentrate lately. It's new for me. Usually, I know what I'm writing that day and I settle into writing it. But lately, it's been hard to shake the real world off my shoes before diving into the much more comforting world of make believe.

We live in turbulent times and it's hard not to get distracted by that. Speaking to writer friends it seems I'm not alone. Our working situation is a perfect storm for this kind of thing:

1) We work alone. We rarely have anyone staring over our shoulders to check we're actually doing the work we're supposed to be doing. It's very easy to be distracted without consequence. We also don't have the opportunity to break out for a coffee with work mates to blow off steam or chat about the issues of the day. There's no safety valve.

2) We define what our work is, therefore it's very hard for anyone else to judge whether we've done it properly.  Only we know if we're cheating, and these days it's easy to cheat.

3) We spend a lot of time in our own heads. This is a particular problem. If I'm trying to consider whether character A says something to character B and then I hear the news, or someone texts me the news, or I just remember something about the news that annoyed me this morning then it's hard not to get absorbed by that instead.

4) Our computer keeps wanting to drag us into the real world with pop ups, news alerts and the temptation of Facebook, Twitter etc. In fact sometimes part of our job is to actually visit social media sites, and once you're there I give you five seconds before you get annoyed by something!

Partly I'm making excuses for myself, but partly it's a genuine problem. Turning off my phone, turning off apps, all my usual solutions aren't working for me, because the problems we face as a country are now absorbing a significant part of my brain and my brain is the most important tool I have to do my job.

Making up stories can seem trite and a waste of time when you genuinely don't know if your passport is going to let you back into the country at the end of the month. Who cares what the funniest line you can write might be when there's precious little to laugh about right now.

Also, and this might just be me, it's hard to motivate yourself to do a good job when everybody else seems to be doing theirs so badly. If the Prime Minister can be so monumentally terrible at her job - seemingly the point of view of every side in the debate - who cares if my nouns aren't quite as zingy as normal. Does it really matter in the great scheme of things? Not really.

I guess we keep keeping on, but when all you have is yourself and your brain and it's already full of negativity, how do you carve out the nice little comfy space we, as children's writers, need?

I'd love to hear your tips.

Incidentally, I shall be speaking at Bafta in a few weeks on head writing the new series of Mr Bean. If you want to learn more about writing for animation, or you're just a fan of Bean, come along, tickets are available here:

http://www.bafta.org/whats-on/bafta-kids-preview-mr-bean-the-animated-series

The importance of non-fiction

If you ask people what their favourite book was as a child most tell you a fiction title.

Non-fiction books for children don’t get as much coverage as fiction and yet they contribute just as much to young people’s lives. It’s a pity, then, that they sometimes appear to have been denigrated to second best or not as memorable.

I’ve always thought that if fiction can take you on adventures, help you step into the lives of others, develop empathy, imagination and language, then non-fiction does exactly the same – just in a slightly different way.

The ability to read non-fiction is an important skill that needs to start at the same time as reading fiction. Later on students will need to tackle text books and all sorts of factual information and be able to understand and use it. The ability to use factual information is an essential life skill then.

But more than that: those early delightfully engaging non-fiction picture books and others aimed at young children really do help children discover and understand the world.

Studies have shown that non-fiction underpins our ability to engage with fiction and suggests a strong correlation between acquiring background knowledge from non-fiction books and achievement, including success in exams, at university and beyond.

Parents and teachers know that many children not interested in stories can take to non-fiction books – preferring to read about facts and subjects that interest them. When I was a volunteer reader helper for Beanstalk I definitely found this to be true. Many of the reluctant readers of fiction could become happily engrossed in a book about ships or the weather or space and normally hesitant readers made great progress in this way.

Children need a choice of books don’t they? Authors, illustrators and publishers go to enormous lengths to ensure non-fiction books for children are full of exciting and engaging accurate facts, promoting the desire to discuss and find out more. Some combine imagination and facts in a wonderful way.

The Drop in My Drink by Meredith Hooper and Chris Coady is one such book. I reviewed it for the Book Bag:

“This brilliant book tells the story of where water comes from in a wonderfully captivating way. In full colour picture book style, it does far more than explain scientific facts about our planet, the way life has evolved and where our water comes from. It takes the reader on an inspiring, exciting and eye-opening journey through millions of years – the same journey one little drop of water in one child's cup may have taken!

From the very first pages I could tell this definitely was going to be anything but a dull book of facts. The language has a lovely poetic feel to it in many places and this really drew me into the subject. One minute I was reading how water trickles and seeps and flows. It freezes into hard ice, It floats in the air. It is liquid and solid and vapour. It is never still and so on – and then the wonderful fact : All the water we have is all the water we've always had…” (continue reading here ).

When it comes to the importance of books in children’s lives fiction and non-fiction should go hand in hand and young readers benefit most when they are encouraged to discover both.

Hilary Hawkes



(A Witch Called Rosa)

The First Week Being Published by Jess Butterworth

This has been my first week as a published author and I wanted to share some of my highlights from it. It was busier and better than I ever could have imagined! I’ve been overwhelmed by the support from all of you - thank you very much! 

It kicked off with a launch party at Waterstones in Bath. I brought lots of objects along that feature in Running on the Roof of the World, like a yak bell, prayer wheel, and two toy yaks. I said a few words, followed by my editor. There was an interview and an audience question and answer session, and then I did a reading of the first chapter of the book before signings. 

Over the week my publicist had arranged for me to meet wonderful booksellers and sign their stock of the book. Seeing it out in the wild is the best feeling ever! 

On Monday, I did my first school visit. I spoke to sixty 9-year-olds about Tibet, writing, and inspiration. (And introduced them to my toy yaks!) 

On Wednesday, I was thrilled to pop into Fun Kids Radio and be interviewed. It will be aired early next week – watch this space! 

That evening I was delighted to take part in a panel called ‘New Voices in Middle-Grade Fiction,’ at Waterstones Piccadilly, alongside Sarah Driver, Amy Wilson, Christopher Edge and Kiran Millwood-Hargrave. The event was chaired by Clare Zinkin from Minerva Reads. We discussed our writing processes, inciting wonder in our readers, and the importance of books for this age group.

Now it’s back to finishing the edits for my second book, When the Mountains Roared!

Jess Butterworth 

@j_t_butterworth (twitter)

@jessbutterworthauthor (facebook)  

Running on the Roof of the World is out now

An Interview with Children's Author, Sarah Driver, by Jess Butterworth

This month, I’m delighted to be interviewing Sarah Driver about the launch of her brilliant novel for 8-12 year olds, The Huntress: Sea, and what her first month has been like as a published children’s author.  

Hi Sarah. Your debut, The Huntress: Sea, was officially released on April 6^th but it was spotted in Waterstones all throughout March. Can you tell us more?

The book isn’t *technically* out until April 6th, but was released early, exclusively at Waterstones, due to being selected for March Children’s Book of the Month! This amazing opportunity made my publishing journey even more of a wild ride than ever. I’m blown away by Waterstones’ support, and I’m still pinching myself.

That’s wonderful! What were some highlights of being Book of the Month?  

Throughout March I visited eleven Waterstones shops (Deep breath – Haywards Heath, Lewes, Brighton, Worthing, Hastings, Eastbourne, Rye, Piccadilly, Islington, Gower Street and Charing Cross) signed stacks of books (hooray for justified growth of Sharpie collection!) and met lots of lovely booksellers. Here I am with fellow Egmontee Lisa Heathfield, during the first leg of our Sussex signing tour!

I had my first bookshop event in Portsmouth (appropriate, as it’s home to the Mary Rose, one of my favourite research destinations!) where I read chapter one of Sea to a fantastic group of young readers.

The booksellers dressed up (wearing, amongst other wonders, splotches of silver ‘glitter’ – aka MOONSPRITE DUST!) made gorgeous displays and there were even cupcakes with icing whales! 

I wish I’d had time to visit every single store during my Book of the Month slot, because LOOK at some of these gorgeous displays…

Waterstones Gloucester:

Ipswitch:

Brighton:

They’re beautiful! Can you tell us about your official book launch?

The book launch itself was last week, at the Book Nook in Hove. If you’ve never visited this gorgeous gem of a specialist kid’s indie bookshop, you really should. They have a beautifully curated collection of children’s books, a pirate ship play area and a cafe, and they’re only a short walk from the beach.

The launch was the best celebration with family and friends I could ever have imagined. The publicity team at Egmont did the most fantastic job of making it a wonderful evening (check out the book cover cupcakes!) as did my editor Ali with her magical speech.

We were joined by friends from as far as California in the west and Prague in the east. But perhaps the most honoured guest of all was the amazing nine-year-old reader who sent me my first ever fan letter!

Sounds fantastic! What are some of the other things about being an author you’re excited about?

The start of the Huntress school tour. I’m so excited to be getting out there and meeting more young readers.

Thanks, Sarah! 

To see more about Sarah, follow her on twitter @SarahDriver10 or visit her website sarahdriver.com 

By Jess Butterworth, author of Running on the Roof of the World, out June 1st.  

@j_t_butterworth (twitter) 

@jessbutterworthauthor (Facebook) 

Tommy v Cancer - John Dougherty

I'm not going to post much today. Instead, I'm going to point you towards another blog.

As some of you will know, children's author Tommy Donbavand has recently been diagnosed with cancer. I've never met Tommy, though I have emailed him a few times. My impression from those emails - and his reputation among those I know who have met him - is that he's a lovely guy, one of the best.

And certainly, he's facing up to his current condition with an extraordinarily courageous openness. So this month, instead of reading any more from me, I'd like you to visit his Tommy v. Cancer blog, and offer him your support.

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John's Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face series, illustrated by David Tazzyman, is published by OUP.

His new books in 2016 will include the next two Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face titles, his first poetry collection - Dinosaurs & Dinner-Ladies, illustrated by Tom Morgan-Jones and published by Otter-Barry Books  - and several readers for schools.