Instead of a Back To School post for teens, here’s a First Time at School post on behalf of Bea, who is heading to Reception class next week! We didn’t intentionally read starting school stories but we snagged one from Walker (thanks Jo), were sent one by AlannaMax (thanks Fay), and picked a recently published Little Tiger title up at the library (thanks Stock Manager)!
If you have never read one of Mo Willem’s Pigeon books then I envy the joy you will experience when you open one for the first time. I owned them all (that had been published so far obv.) before I even had a Bea, so imagine my excitement when I saw that this was being published at the most perfect time! I was at Walker for a YLG London evening and was allowed to snaffle it as an extra goody. Those of you who have read a Pigeon book might guess what mode of transport makes an appearance…
Those of you who follow me on twitter may already know how much I love Lulu (and her little brother Zeki). This is a wonderful addition to the collection of stories about her life. It is simply a step by step account of how a first day goes, but with fantastic little touches that bring it to life and make it so much more than just a ‘first experiences’ book. The family is gorgeous and ordinary, and the children she meets at preschool are diverse and adorable.
Pirates Don’t Go To School is a very silly but great fun tale of a young pirate who persuades his family that he should go to school. They’re worried for him because there are too many rotten rules and scary teachers and nothing piratical, and his day starts off pretty badly as he accidentally releases his ship’s parrot into school, but things end up ok!
Nell hates her sister’s illness, her drunken dad, and the daily absence of her mum. When she meets Lukas, adopted heir to a Norwegian oil fortune, she sees her escape: the two of them running away from the world. But Lukas has his own dark wishes, and soon it’s clear that what joins them goes way beyond love. This is survival … and is any boy really worth her soul?
Lucy contacted me and asked if I’d like to read her debut YA before very kindly sending me a copy, along with the teaching notes (which, as you’d expect, are massively spoilery so I won’t share them here, but they’re very useful, especially if you want to use the novel as a creative writing prompt or to spark some research ideas, if you’d like to see them then contact me on twitter).
As well as winning the inaugural Bath Children’s Novel Award, it has just been shortlisted for the Irish Great Reads Award (chosen by librarians, and we know what we’re talking about) so I read it in the car on the way home from hols. It is very dark “Nordic noir” for teens and the scene setting is stunning. Basically all the relationships are terrible, all the characters have experienced something traumatic, and things seem to only get worse and worse…so of course I was completely gripped and raced through it!
Lily’s only sixteen, but she already feels like she’s losing at life. Victimised at school, she won’t lay her unhappiness at her parents’ door – they have problems of their own – and so Lily feels utterly trapped and alone. When the kids at school finally go too far, Lily has to decide if she’s going to fight back. But is her new-found confidence simply about getting revenge on those who hurt her? Or about taking charge of her own life for once and for all? Gloves Off is the stunning story of a girl taking on the world, about body-image and bullying, and above all, about making every moment worth fighting for.
I was completely overwhelmed when I read Gloves Off, Louisa Reid’s debut #UKYA novel for the new independent publisher, Guppy Books. I sat down to start it and then just didn’t get up again until I’d finished. Part one is absolutely heartbreaking, and hearing the voices of both Lily and her mother gives you so much to think about. It talks of body image and self worth and bullying and family and love, all in faultless verse.
Louisa is an English teacher by day, and wrote us a piece about why she thinks teens (and adults) are embracing verse novels.
Why We’re Falling
in Love with The Verse Novel
In the age of tl;dr, of
Netflix marathons, of fast-paced snapchatting and Instagrammable
moments, I think verse novels are the perfect way to bring stories to
readers who might otherwise be switched off by denser works of
fiction. They appeal also, of course, to the poets, and the actors,
to the curious and the creative, to so-called readers and non-readers
alike. Eminently bingeable, pacey, immersive, these books are an
exciting way of experiencing intensely internal stories, whilst being
a hybrid form that is perfect for our times.
When I sat down to
write Gloves Off, I began in prose. But I have a really vivid memory
of sitting at my laptop, reading back over what I’d written, fists
clenched in frustration, and just knowing that these sentences and
paragraphs were wrong. Nothing sang, nothing moved: the words felt
dull and lifeless, the story too slow. It was clear that something
was stopping me expressing the intensity of feeling that this story
demanded, that I was cluttering the narrative with extraneous detail,
and that’s when I decided to give writing in verse a go.
I had no idea if I
could write a verse novel, so it was a total leap of faith to
undertake the project. But as someone who had always loved poetry,
who loves music and rhythm, I had nothing to lose. Appreciating the
craft, its playfulness and immediacy, I knew writing my own novel in
verse would be a challenge; it was not simply going to be a matter of
chopping my paragraphs into short lines.
Before this, my own
experience of reading verse novels had been very powerful, and was
partly inspired by seeing my pupils’ appetite for this form (I work
as an English teacher, and have done so for almost twenty years).
Drawn into the intensely emotional experience that the verse novel
offers its readers, I’d read the work of David Levithan, Sarah
Crossan and Ellen Hopkins to mention just a few of the outstanding
writers working in this field. It was easy to understand why so many
of the girls I teach are big fans, especially of Sarah Crossan’s
writing (although with the growing popularity of the genre, I’m
sure they’ll be branching out to sample Kwame Alexander, Jason
Reynolds and Elizabeth Acevedo, too – the school where I work is
lucky to have an amazingly well-stocked library). When I’m
teaching creative writing, we often look at moments pupils have found
powerful in their own reading, and its always hugely enriching to
explore extracts from verse novels – chosen by the students
themselves – and to see them appreciate how the language sings, how
it is so carefully condensed and crafted, and then to see this
reflected in their own writing .
Another
appealing aspect of this form, especially for the less confident, is
the abundance of white space and that there are comparatively fewer
words – the pages turn so quickly; I think the fact that these
narratives move so fast is also very appealing for young adult
readers who are used to a fast-moving culture and who can enjoy the
sense of accomplishment as they finish a book in one big gulp: the
experience becomes utterly immersive.
The form also
incorporates and amalgamates aspects of drama, as well as poetry and
the novel, to make a rich, but not an intimidating, reading
experience. The polyphonic element of YA storytelling has always held
a great appeal for me, and many verse novels use different voices to
remarkable effect – Brian Conaghan and Sarah Crossan’s We Come
Apart is a favourite – I love the distinctive contrast of voices in
this book. Other verse novels may change speaker every poem, and this
poses its own challenges for readers and makes big demands it terms
of flexibility and comprehension. I also think that my students
appreciate the form’s unflinching honesty; as we know, teenage
readers are masterful at detecting anything insincere, and the verse
novel tells a story in which there is no room to hide.
I’m so glad that this amazing, adaptable form is gaining popularity in the UK. Coincidentally I’ve observed a real appetite for the music of words in my classroom, as students give speeches on topics as diverse as school uniform, to racism, from LGBTQI rights to the environment in ways that make use of powerful poetic techniques, clearly influenced by the rhythms of the music they listen to, the books they’re reading, and showing their enjoyment of playing with language. It’s so exciting to see verse novels being read more widely and I’m trying to convert adult readers to this form, too. It’s definitely got something for everyone.
Louisa Reid
Thankyou so much to Louisa for the insight, and to Guppy Books for a proof copy to review. Gloves Off is out on 29th August.
This place is magic . . . but it’s not the sort of magic that comes from wands and spells . . . Can piecing together the past help you change the present? Safiya and her mum have never seen eye to eye. Her mum doesn’t understand Safiya’s love of gaming and Safiya doesn’t think they have anything in common. As Safiya struggles to fit in at school she wonders if her mum wishes she was more like her confident best friend Elle. But then her mum falls into a coma and, when Safiya waits by her bedside, she finds herself in a strange and magical world that looks a bit like one of her games. And there’s a rebellious teenage girl, with a secret, who looks suspiciously familiar . . .
A Pocketful of Stars is Aisha Bushy’s debut middle grade novel, which will fit very nicely in both primary and secondary school libraries, in which Safiya learns more about her mum, her friends, and herself. It is slightly heartbreaking but also very hopeful, a brilliant twist on the quest story, and a really good look at the way friendships change over time.
I asked Aisha a few questions!
I interviewed Yasmin Rahman, your fellow newbie in the Stripes ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ anthology, for her debut earlier this month. In your acknowledgments you say how important your support for one another has been, what was the next best thing about being part of it?
Having my short story featured in ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ was like attending a writer bootcamp. I got to see what it was like to edit a book, attend school visits and festivals, and deal with not-so-great feedback! By the time my own debut novel was published, I felt quite ready for what was to come, and I’m so thankful to everyone at Stripes for guiding us.
Had you already started writing ‘A Pocketful of Stars’ when you wrote your short story, or was it still just a simmering idea?
It wasn’t even an idea. I was working in a very different novel at the time, one that I didn’t get very good feedback on. I thought of and drafted ‘A Pocketful of Stars’ in the months between being picked for ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ and the anthology’s publication.
Did the story start with the gaming idea or did it come to you as a way to make the “dreams” a more modern quest story?
It started off with Safiya witnessing her mother’s memories in a dream-like way, but as I continued to work on ‘A Pocketful of Stars’ I needed to give Safiya something to strive for. That was when the quest came in. And, as Safiya loves video games, it made sense for her to navigate this world in that way.
What is your favourite computer game?
I really love The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, because it is open-world, which means you can explore as much as you want without any limitations (unlike in ‘A Pocketful of Stars’ where the world crumbles when Safiya tries to leave the house). But when I was Safiya’s age my favourite games were Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. I played them both for hours.
Have you any thoughts on how teens might balance gaming as a hobby with “real life” relationships?
I don’t think they have to be mutually exclusive. Gaming is a very social hobby. When you play online you can create groups for your friends to join and play together; otherwise you can meet up and play in the same room. I see it as bringing friendships together through a shared interest, in the way it connects Safiya with her new friends in ‘A Pocketful of Stars’.
What kind of event would you like to do if invited into schools?
I have two different events planned at the moment that I’ll be pitching to schools in September. The first is a scent-based workshop where I’ll ask students to pick and smell one of several pots filled with different scents. They are tasked with writing the opening of a story leading in with scent, whilst working in the other senses too.
The second event I have planned can work in smaller groups or larger assemblies (and I’ll be running this one during my school tour). It’s about narrative gaming, and different ways of consuming stories. I will work collaboratively with students to create the basis for our very own video-game by picking a character, setting, and premise.
What are you reading at the moment and who would you recommend it to?
I am reading lots of things at the moment, some I can talk about, some I can’t. Two books I am dying to talk about, both middle grade, are I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak, written from the perspective of a dog. It is one of the most heart-warming books I have ever read and I’ve already cried twice whilst reading it. It was published at the beginning of August, so you can buy it right now (and I very much recommend that you do).
My second read is an advanced copy of a book out next year called The Girl Who Stole An Elephant by Nizrana Farook (what a great title). The book is packed with adventure and friendship, and the world is so fully realised that you really feel you are riding through the jungle on the back of an elephant you may or may not have stolen yourself…
Any hints of what we can expect from you next?
I can’t say much yet (mostly as I’m drafting it and I’m still learning what it’s going to become), but let’s just say there will be a new magical world to explore…
Never make a promise at a funeral. It’s my new motto. When Agnes made a promise to her girlfriend, Ellie, she thought they would be together for ever. But when she has to keep that promise a year later, it puts Agnes in a situation she could never have predicted – climbing a desolate mountain in miserable weather, with Ellie and her new boyfriend, Steve. And when the weather takes a threatening turn and the tension between the trio hits its peak, Agnes will have to push herself further than she ever thought was possible …
In true Barrington Stoke form, this is a tightly paced, readable YA novella. In true Cat Clarke form, this is an emotional rollercoaster of a book! I was given the opportunity to ask Cat some questions.
This is your second book for Barrington Stoke, after Falling, how different is writing and editing with Barrington Stoke compared to other publishers? The only real difference in the writing process is that the book is a lot shorter, so it took me a couple of months to write instead of a year. The editing process is a little different, as the manuscript goes through an additional edit for readability for dyslexic and reluctant readers. All in all, it’s a very smooth, streamlined process, and one that I very much enjoy! The Barrington Stoke crew are such a joy to work with.
When an idea comes to you do you already know if it would most suit a novella rather than a full length YA novel or does it come clear as it develops? I usually specifically set out to come up with an idea that would suit a novella. In the case of Letting Go, I really fancied writing something with a very different setting to my other books. The short time frame of the story in Letting Go–less than 24 hours–really seemed to lend itself to the novella format.
You often write quite heartbreaking stuff, does your mood change depending on what kind of scene you’re working on? Definitely! I’m not much fun to be around when I’m writing the heartbreaking stuff. I have playlists I listen to for different moods–my favourite is my ‘impending doom’ playlist! If I listen to that one too much, I get *really* anxious.
Are you a fan of mountain climbing or did you have to do quite a bit of research to set the scene for Letting Go? I used to climb mountains when I was a kid (thanks, Dad!), but I haven’t done it for many years. I did some research, and also got some help from a friend of mine. He gave me mountain-climbing info and I gave him a home-cooked meal.
What’s your favourite kind of author event to be involved in? I love all author events, but I have to say it’s particularly lovely when young people have come to see me by choice! The events I’ve done at the Edinburgh International Book Festival have been some of the highlights of my career. I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many lovely readers, and appear on panels with some incredible authors, including David Levithan and Holly Bourne.
Do you get much feedback from teens about your work? I do! It’s so rewarding when a reader takes the time to get in touch and let me know what they think about my books. It’s one of the great joys of being an author.
What are you reading at the moment and who would you recommend it to? I’m currently reading The Stories You Tell by Kristen Lepionka. It’s a brilliant crime novel, featuring a bisexual private detective. If you’re interested, I’d recommend you start with the first in the series: The Last Place You Look. I’d recommend these books to anyone who loves crime. (N.B. Unless you love *committing* crimes, in which case: STOP DOING CRIMES! IT’S VERY NAUGHTY.)
What will we see from you next? I’m working on several exciting projects at the moment, none of which I’m allowed to talk about. All I can say is that they all feature queer characters, which is something I’m very happy about.
Thanks so much for having me on your lovely blog!
Thankyou for being on the blog!
LETTING GO is out now! Huge thanks to Barrington Stoke for sending a review copy.
It’s not my body that’s holding me back. It’s more of a problem that people keep telling me it should. Meet Emily Daly, a stylish, cute, intelligent and hilarious seventeen-year-old about to start her last year at school. Emily is also fat. She likes herself and her body. When she meets Joe at a house party, he instantly becomes The Crush of Her Life. Everything changes. At first he seems perfect. But as they spend more time together, doubts start to creep in. With her mum trying new fad diets every week, and increasing pressure to change, Emily faces a constant battle to stay strong, be her true self and not change for anyone. No Big Deal is a warm, funny inspiring debut YA novel from Bethany Rutter: influencer, editor and a fierce UK voice in the debate around body positivity.
I adored No Big Deal by Bethany Rutter, from the opening pages where our protagonist Emily is stuck in a dress in the changing rooms (if that hasn’t happened to you then you will never really understand, but this chapter might help you empathise), to the difficult relationship with her Mum because of Mum’s obsession with weight, and the true-to-life peer relationships. I adored it so much, that the moment I finished reading it I tweeted Bethany to ask some questions, which she very graciously answered in record time!
As a journalist you’ve been writing for a mainly adult audience for some time, why did you decide that your debut novel would be YA?
I just had this thought of ‘if I only ever write one novel, what’s the one story I most want to tell?’ and it turned out to be this one, which is best suited for a teen-ish audience!
How autobiographical is the book?
I would be lying if I said it wasn’t autobiographical at all, but I don’t want people to read it and see Emily as purely me, because she’s not. It’s more that she’s in various situations that I was in when I was her age but she almost universally deals with them differently.
Have you had much opportunity to talk to teens about the book? I’d particularly love to know the reaction of teen boys to Emily’s sister’s advice that, basically, things will get better but teen boys are a bit crap because of societal expectations!
Do you know what, I’ve actually only spoken to teen girls about it, which is really interesting! It would be amazing if teen boys did read it, and then they could tell me if I was a bit harsh! But I’ve absolutely loved talking to teen girls about No Big Deal, it’s so fun and interesting to hear about the things that resonated with them.
What is the most important thing that you want fat teens to take on board?
Honestly it is that very basic idea that things won’t always feel as limiting and frustrating as they do now, and that the world and the people in it get so much more interesting once they figure out who they are.
Body positivity campaigns seem to lead to a lot of negative comments, as well as encouraging ones, do you think social media is mainly a force for good or harm?
Personally I am very in favour of social media because it’s allowed me to find my people and my community and hear from people that I wouldn’t otherwise and learn about so many amazing important things. I know there’s always an element of backlash and negativity but for me, I would say the good outweighs the bad – particularly because it’s a way for people to give themselves a degree of representation that the media hardly ever will!
Can you recommend role models for teens to follow?
What are you reading at the moment and who would you recommend it to?
I just finished listening to Eat Up by Ruby Tandoh on audiobook which I had read in book form before but I’m so glad I revisited it in audio, because it just such a special, kind, radical and thought-provoking book. I would really recommend it to anyone, of any age, because we all eat.
Have you plans to write any more novels?
Yes! I’m partway through my second YA novel which isn’t a sequel but has some similar themes to No Big Deal. It’s set by the seaside so I should probably use that as excuse to take some daytrips for ‘research’…
Bethany Rutter, author of NO BIG DEAL
NO BIG DEAL is published on 8th August by Macmillan, and I’m very grateful to them for sending me a proof copy.
You might be aware of the American charity We Need Diverse Books, set up in 2014 by a group of children’s book lovers (mainly writers initially, rallied by Ellen Oh) with the mission to put more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all children.
We recognize all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities*, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. *We subscribe to a broad definition of disability, which includes but is not limited to physical, sensory, cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities, chronic conditions, and mental illnesses (this may also include addiction). Furthermore, we subscribe to a social model of disability, which presents disability as created by barriers in the social environment, due to lack of equal access, stereotyping, and other forms of marginalization.
WNDB
Last night Knights Of, a newish and brilliant UK based publisher who are working so hard to improve inclusivity and diversity in publishing, invited Dhonielle Clayton, WNDB co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (an entirely voluntary position) to speak about the feasibility of starting something similar in the UK. The meeting was attended by aspiring and established authors, owners of small independent publishers, people who worked for larger publishers in all stages of book production and promotion, Inclusive Minds ambassadors, and of course some librarians!
We Need Diverse Books pin
The meeting was over in a blink of an eye with so much to talk about. The projects that WNDB manage are amazing:
Publishing internship programmes with stipends and mentoring to help break into the “Big 5” American publishers, mainly based in New York.
Speaking to marginalised students about publishing as a potential career.
Grants/mentoring/retreats for writers.
Making it easy for teachers and librarians to find diverse stock for their schools and libraries (and parents/teens themselves to find new titles) by creating the Our Story app, which highlights good books with diverse content from marginalised creators and even provides resources for many of the titles for educators to use.
There was lots of discussion about the differences between the US and UK education system, book suppliers, nurturing homegrown talent, the problem of volunteer burnout, how to decide what to target first, what is already being done and by whom, funding, and including everyone. Dhonielle made it clear that their first priority in the US has been to get people from marginalised backgrounds into the publishing industry and actually producing the books, closely followed by getting those books into the hands of children that need to see themselves as heroes in what they’re reading. Afterwards I asked her whether, when talking to students about going into publishing, they discuss also becoming a “gatekeeper”, ie librarian/bookseller, and she said they do but (but) there’s no point having those conversations if these children don’t yet have a passion for books and reading.
A twitter account appeared after the meeting and already has over 500 followers:
ARE YOU IN?
Last night was the beginning. Now we need four / five people to help us move forward – so many next steps!
📢 Strategy / Lead Voice 📑 Admin (Charity set-up) 💰 Marketing / Fundraising 🖥 Social Media
— We Need Diverse Books UK (@DiverseBooksUK) July 30, 2019
So if you think you have something to contribute or want to know more then do get in touch with them, this will be a really exciting project to get involved in!
Stevie is eleven and loves reading and sea-creatures. She lives with her mum, and she’s been best friends with Andrew since forever. Stevie’s mum teases her that someday they’ll get married, but Stevie knows that won’t ever happen. There’s a girl at school that she likes more. A lot more. Actually, she’s a bit confused about how much she likes her. It’s nothing like the way she likes Andrew. It makes her fizz inside. That’s a new feeling, one she doesn’t understand. Stevie needs to find out if girls can like girls – love them, even – but it’s hard to get any information, and she’s too shy to ask out loud about it. But maybe she can find an answer in a book. With the help of a librarian, Stevie finds stories of girls loving girls, and builds up her courage to share the truth with her mum.
I adored this book. I made a note of pages with favourite quotes and cannot find my copy (thanks for sending it to me Nina) anywhere…I must have lent it to someone, I hope I get it back! Obviously my favourite quotes were about just how special the library and librarian are! But the whole book is just beautiful and lyrical and perfectly pitched for a middle grade audience.
Meg Grehan kindly wrote a piece for the blog:
On writing THE DEEPEST BREATH, and on queer representation in books and the media
About a year ago I wrote an article about how queer characters so often get stuck with sad endings. I tried my best to be inclusive in the language I used, I wrote at least five drafts and I spent hours researching the history of this trend to learn and share why it’s so pervasive. Within a couple hours of the article being posted it had over a hundred comments, almost all of them negative. I tried my best to stay away, to convince myself not to read them, to just close the tab and walk away. But like a moth to a flame I just kept going back, refreshing and refreshing. I watched them flood in, most of them seemed like their writers hadn’t even read the article but just wanted to spread vitriol about the subject or the inclusive language I’d used in the title. But some of them, a surprisingly large number of them, said something along the lines of this: “I’m straight and I’ve never used a character in a book as instructions on how to behave.”
I hated these comments, I couldn’t help it, no matter how hard I tried to let them roll of my back they climbed up and latched on. The point of the article was to discuss the importance of happy endings, of positivity, and all it seemed to have accomplished was to give angry people another place to leave hateful words.
Queer representation in the media is something I’m passionate about, especially when it comes to books. I’m all about kindness and acceptance, with my books all I strive to do is to make a little space safe, to try to make life even the tiniest bit softer and easier for anyone who might find themselves between the pages. Seeing so many people disregard the importance of representation made me feel deflated. Seeing yourself in the books you read makes you feel validated, it helps you understand and accept yourself. It affirms your existence. So many of us need to see aspects of ourselves, especially those that make us different, to know that we aren’t alone. It doesn’t mean we need instructions on to behave, on how to be gay or bi or however we identify. It means we need to feel less alone. To disregard this need because you don’t share it is cruel.
It is a privilege to never have to look for yourself, to have it be so entirely normalised that you needn’t notice or pay it any attention. To be the default.
A year on I still think about those comments sometimes, about what a strange overwhelming experience it all was. If I was to respond to those comments, which for the sake of my sanity I didn’t, I would ask their writers to have a little empathy. I would tell them that opening a book and finding a character who identifies how I do was an experience I waited such a long time for, one that fundamentally changed how I viewed myself, how I treated myself. I would tell them that it made me stop thinking of myself as a weird, as someone who might always feel lonely. I would ask them to understand that just because they don’t need it doesn’t mean no one does.
Meg Grehan’s THE DEEPEST BREATH, a beautifully written, poetic, lyrical and insightful story of one girl’s coming into full awareness of who she is, and who she might want to love (Little Island), is out now.
In this delightful and persuasive essay for adult readers Katherine Rundell explores how children’s books ignite, and can re-ignite, the imagination; how children’s fiction, with its unabashed emotion and playfulness, can awaken old hungers and create new perspectives on the world.
Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise
Katherine Rundell has written some amazing adventures for children that are destined to be classics, her latest The Good Thieves could well be my favourite, but she is also an academic, and this summer Bloomsbury published her essay “Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise”. They gave me the opportunity to ask her some questions about this lovely little tome!
Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise puts into words a lot of my thoughts about children’s books, as well as providing a brief but fascinating history, what prompted you to write such an essay for publication?
I felt that there was such a treasure trove of brilliant books, that adults were overlooking, books which could offer a defibrillation for the imagination – and imagination feels to me something which we need urgently at this point in history. And it’s also a bit of a love letter, after more than ten years of writing children’s fiction; a sort of thank you note, to all the books I’ve loved.
The research on fairy tales is particularly interesting, the development of the Cinderella story is fascinating & I like the thought of your retelling. Might you publish one, one day?
I’d love to, one day! I find the story of Cinderella, and her many strange and sharp-edged incarnations, so fascinating: so, absolutely, it might be on the cards, some time down the road…
How does your approach differ when writing fiction versus writing an essay? Do you favour one style of writing over the other?
I think, in both cases, I’m interested in structure and rhythm, and in making a sentence sound as right as I can make it – I think something well or vividly put sticks better in the mind; but they feel quite different beasts, to me, fiction and non-fiction. I love both, but fiction has my heart.
All of your stories are set in very different environments and have very different plots, the only thing guaranteed is adventure, have you considered revisiting any of your characters or writing a series?
Yes! I’m not allowed to say very much, but one day I would love to write a series. I love the idea of continuity, and being able to dig deeper into a world: that sort of ongoing excavation looks very tempting.
If you go into schools, do you prefer writing workshops or author talks?
I like to do a sort of amalgam of both: 25 minutes of talking, about where ideas come from, and story-hunting, and then I enjoy getting the group to write a story together, which I write down. Some of the stories the kids come up with are truly superb: the only consistent feature between schools is that the kids tend to want disastrous, riotous endings: everyone dead on the floor: a pleasingly apocalyptic tone.
What are you currently reading and who would you recommend it to?
I’ve recently finished Lanny, by Max Porter; a book so brilliant it’s like being kicked in the lung. A children’s book I adored recently was Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo; it’s so spare and funny and painful and clever, the kind of book to blow your hair back.
What books do you find yourself revisiting most often?
My copies of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, and the Diana Wynne Jones Chrestomanci books, are so heavily read the pages keep falling out. And I love Jane Austen’s Emma so wildly – for its wit and sharpness and generosity and wisdom – that I’ve read it more than a dozen times; if you read me one line, I can usually recite the next. This is not a party trick, I have to admit, that many people find exciting and/or sexy.
What can we expect from you next?
I’m working on turning my PhD into a book, about John Donne and his obsessions – and, alongside that, I have a new story brewing. I can’t give much away, except: it will be quite different from anything that’s come before, and I am very excited to see how it turns out.
Katherine Rundell
Huge thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of the book and passing on my questions!
The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Little Rebels Children’s Book Award for Radical Fiction is Catherine Johnson for her book, Freedom (Scholastic 2018).
A short historical novel, Freedom tells the story of Nat, a young boy enslaved on a Jamaican plantation, brought over to England in the late eighteenth century. Hopeful that, once on UK soil, he will finally be free from bondage, Nat instead witnesses the pivotal role Britain played in building the slavery industry. Praising the winning title, the award judges commented:
“Freedom is radical in a number of ways. It tells a story of a young enslaved man in Britain. It explores the humanity of those whose humanity was denied through chattel slavery. It subtly examines the similarities and the differences between class oppression and a system of slavery rooted in racism. It tells a story of Britain that continues to be neglected. Johnson’s writing is a masterclass in the maxim ‘show don’t tell’ – through the point of view of her protagonist we are brought into his world and yet we are afforded space to emotionally engage with the story she offers us.”
Darren Chetty, Teaching Fellow at UCL and contributor to The Good Immigrant.
“Catherine Johnson brings the horrific history of slavery to life in this important piece of historical fiction for a middle grade audience. A brilliant adventure story that shines a much-needed spotlight on the UK’s role [and which also introduces us to] real life people who should be more famous than they are, including former slave turned author and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano and Shadrack Furman, the first black army Pensioner. A well deserved win from one of the UK’s most fabulous storytellers.”
Emily Drabble, head of children’s books promotion and prizes at BookTrust
2018 winner Zanib Mian congratulates Catherine Johnson after the announcement
The winner of the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award 2019 was announced at an event held in the CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education) Literacy Library on Wednesday July 10th by Zanib Mian, the 2018 winner for The Muslims (now Planet Omar). This followed on from a panel discussion with the other shortlisted authors (all except Sarah MacIntyre) and a chance to have a look around the beautiful CLPE library.
