Northern Highlight - Jon Mayhew

NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT

Photo credit: Linda Pelling Photography

JON MAYHEW

1. Why did you become a writer?

I’ve always loved reading and writing stories since I was a teenager but I became a writer by accident. Being passionate about literacy, I ended up teaching English in a High School. I used to write stories for my pupils. Then, one day, I was training for the London Marathon and I broke my ankle, quite spectacularly. Finding myself immobilised, I took to writing a story and that story became Mortlock, my first spooky, Victorian children’s book. 

Cover illustration by Robin Boyden

Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books

2. Tell us about where you live.

I live on the Wirral. It’s a misty, marshy peninsula stuck between North Wales and Liverpool. We have the best of all worlds; mountains and countryside to the left of us, city life and excitement to the right. I’ve always lived on the Wirral and have deep roots here.

3. Where do you work?

All over my house, mainly in the front room but sometimes I go wild and work in the kitchen. I’m just wild like that, I guess. 

4. What for you is the 'spirit of the North'?

Friendliness and the pleasure in telling a story. In Liverpool, if you’re sitting on your own, it won’t last long; someone will talk to you. I think too, the sense of community is strong here.

5. Has this spirit influenced your work?

Yes. I set my next book, The Spybrarian, in an imaginary northern town called Hinderton. It’s all red brick buildings and canals. 

Cover illustration by Robin Boyden

Published by UCLan Publishing (January 2021)

But I’ve found, too, that my work in schools is influenced by that sense of community. I work closely with a charity called Writing on the Wall based in Liverpool. They work closely with Liverpool schools in communities where all the opportunities aren’t always there. 

6. Who for you are the great Northern writers or illustrators?

My favourite illustrator is Chris Mould. He’s a genius and a lovely bloke, too. Berlie Doherty is one of my favourite writers. 

7. If you could be transported to anywhere in the North right now, 

where would it be? 

I love where I live and where I’m from, so I don’t really need to be transported anywhere. I do love Edinburgh, though. I also love the North East coast - Holy Island and Bamburgh but also Saltburn-by-the-sea and Cullercoats. I also love Whitby.

8. What would you like to see from children's publishing in the North?

More stories set in Northern towns and cities. Not just beauty spots or remote Scottish islands and not necessarily, ‘gritty, grim up North’ stereotypes but some stories that have an ordinary northern backdrop.

9. What's your favourite children's book set in the North?

I do like David Almond's Skellig but Berlie Doherty’s Granny was a Buffer Girl made me cry whilst I was reading it to a class. It’s such a powerful family story set in Sheffield.

                          

                           Published by Hachette Children's Group                     Published by Catnip Publishing Ltd

You can follow Jon on:

Twitter @MayhewJ