Thursday 23 December 2021

TYGER!

I've just tweeted some news about my new book, TYGER!  



I've blogged a little bit about TYGER here before.  It's a project that I started 9 years ago, and it's been through many twists and turns in all that time.  But last week, I finally finished writing the book, and I feel sure it's the best book I've written so far – a big step up on Varjak Paw, and on Phoenix. 


TYGER is currently scheduled for publication in October 2022, but I will blog more about it next year when I have more information.  Please do check my Twitter feed for more updates too – but in the meantime, I want to wish all my readers a very happy new year, and happy reading in 2022!

Friday 2 July 2021

Varjak Paw chosen as one of the 100 best children's books of the past 100 years!

I have some amazing news! The reading charity BookTrust has put together a list of the 100 best children's books of the past 100 years – and Varjak Paw is on the list!



It's such an honour to see it included as part of a fantastic selection that combines established classics with newer, more contemporary books.  Have a look around the list in full – it includes some of my own favourite books of all time, like Philip Pullman's Northern Lights, Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses, Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard Of Earthsea, Alan Garner's The Owl Service, Jamila Gavin's The Wheel Of Surya, Andy Stanton's Mr Gum, and many many more!

I think there's something for everyone here.  The selection is divided into four age groups: 0-5, 6-8, 9-11, and 12-14.  Varjak appears in the Best Books for 9-11 list.

Huge thanks to everyone who was involved in putting this list together!  I don't find writing easy – Varjak Paw took me 5 years to get right, and I'm currently 8 and a half years into work on my new book TYGER – but things like this make all the hard work worthwhile!


Thursday 4 March 2021

World Book Day 2021

Happy World Book Day 2021!  This has been a strange World Book Day, because of the lockdown, but I've been inspired to see all the different ways that people have still found to celebrate books and reading!  It's an amazing thing for an author to see their books and characters being celebrated – so here are some of the brilliant pictures I've seen this year, with thanks to everyone who's taken the time to make these astonishing creations! 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday 23 February 2021

A Message For World Book Day 2021

Usually on World Book Day, I'd be visiting schools, talking to classes about reading and books. This year, because of the lockdown, that won't be possible – so instead, I've made a World Book Day video, all about reading and books!  

This video is absolutely free for anyone to watch on YouTube, so if you or your school would like a message from me on World Book Day, here it is:


I hope you enjoy it – and if you do, please pass it on to anyone else who you think might enjoy it, too!