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Guest Northern Highlights - Manchester Metropolitan University

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GUEST NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Manchester Metropolitan University   You are the new kid on the block! How does your MA stand out from other publishing MAs? We think it’s quite special in that it was set up in collaboration with Comma Press and is taught with them. And within MMU the MA is also collaborative. It sits within the Department of English and the Manchester Writing School, which is home to the biggest creative writing MA/MFA in the country, but we have great staff from the Department of Languages, Information and Communications and the Department of Law and are also increasingly working with Art and Design. As you will know, publishing is a broad field, combining many areas of expertise, which is why this MA is so interdisciplinary. We cover all the key areas, from commissioning and editing to sales and marketing, book design, contracts and rights. And we also offer exciting options in contemporary magazine publishing, literature in translation and writing, illustrating
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Northern Highlight - Katie Clapham

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 NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT  Katie Clapham  Where do you live, and how would you sum up the place in three words? I live in Lytham St. Annes. The St. Annes on Sea part of it. It’s a bit old-fashioned as a holiday resort now but for the people who live here it’s always been comfortable, convenient and most importantly, coastal! Our beaches are beautiful.   What is special to you about creating children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process?   I do really enjoy the actual writing part but only when I’ve got a starting point. I’m not one of those writers who has a million ideas at any one time, but when I do have a good idea, I like to experiment with different forms and styles, which can often take a story in an unexpected direction. I love those moments of surprising yourself when you’re writing. Creating children’s books is special because you’re creating readers, and a love of books is one of life’s greatest, purest joys – who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?   Tell u
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Guest Northern Highlight - Stories of Care

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GUEST NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Stories of Care  Can you start by telling us about the work that Stories of Care do?   At Stories Of Care, we empower new writers who are ethnically and socio-economically underrepresented in the Arts to tell their own stories and become creative leaders.   The personal background of our Lead Artist and additionally the backgrounds of our creative team inspire our projects, so we have a particular focus on supporting young people from care-experienced backgrounds and (more recently) young people from low-income, non-traditional family backgrounds. Our Children’s Writing & Professional Development Programme is targeted at new writers aged 18-25, who wish to level up the quality of their writing and develop their creative careers by working towards the publication of their first short story for children. Here, we work with our Co-Producer Manchester Metropolitan University to publish comforting and inspiring stories for children aged 7-12, as well as
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Northern Highlights - Lisette Auton

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  NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Lisette  Auton Where do you live, and how would you sum up the place in three words?   I live in Darlington. Three words: railway, rivers, home What is special to you about creating children’s books, and what is your favourite part of the process?  I love the magic of reading them, and hope I can write a bit of that for others to read too. For me it's making sure that the characters that were missing from my bookshelves are now there, and hoping to encourage others to write their missings. My favourite bit is the "making it up" bit at the beginning, when the idea is all new and not quite pinned down, chasing ideas to see what they become: lots of daydreaming and researching. The best way to stick it all together always occur on dog walks. Then I love the line edit stage - making it sing! First drafts are horrific *shudders*. Tell us about your upcoming/most recent book. "The Secret of Haven Point" was just published by Puffin in February 20
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Northern Highlights - Aneesa Marufu

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  NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Aneesa Marufu Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I live in Manchester and I would describe the place as lively, diverse and busy. What is special to you about writing children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process? i think the reason I love writing for young adults is because that was the age I truly fell in love with reading. My biggest hope of writing for that age group is to be able to ignite that same passion for reading in teenagers today. Tell us about the most recent books you've worked on My debut, The Balloon Thief , published on World Book Day at the beginning of March, is a South Asian inspired Young Adult fantasy about Khadija and Jacob, from two opposing races. As the book unfolds, the characters must put their differences aside to tackle a greater threat, and in doing so learn the importance of friendship and forgiveness. The Balloon Thief,  Chicken House Ltd 2022 If you could be transp
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Northern Highlights - James Shaw and Anthony Barlow

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 NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS  James Shaw and  Anthony Barlow from Tiny Tree  Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  Tiny Tree Children’s Books is based in Marple, near Stockport, in Greater Manchester. It’s hard to sum up in three words, but “countryside literary history” might just do the trick — Agatha Christie’s famous detective was named after our little town! What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process? Working in children’s publishing is special in itself, especially for a little publisher like us — there’s only two of us full time! For me (Anthony) I really enjoy getting to work directly with an author, understanding their process and how they want people to experience their book. For James, who handles 99% of our design and typesetting work, it’s an incredible creative outlet as well. Tell us about the most recent books you've worked on We’re just about to publish Clara Claus Saves
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Children's Books North - #CBNPitch2022

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 Children's Books North - #CBNPitch2022 Are you an unagented children's author or illustrator living in the North of England or Scotland? Do you have a children's/YA book idea you'd love to get in front of agents and publishers? On Thursday 28th April Children's Books North will be hosting a 'Twitter Pitch' event, giving you the opportunity to pitch your idea or portfolio to children's book agents and publishers. #CBNPitch2022 will run throughout the day at 11-12pm, 5-6pm and 8-9pm, when children's agents and publishers will be on Twitter for you to pitch your ideas and portfolio to. Open to 18+ creatives. Format:                                              - Twitter (280 characters max, & visuals if needed)                                                - 1 pitch per Tweet - Include your location: #NW #NE #Yorkshire #Scotland                                               
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