Northern Highlight Paul Morton Why did you become a writer/illustrator?  It’s all I ever wanted to do since I was at infant school. I never realised that I could actually go to art school instead of university. As soon as I realised that I was off. Published by Five Quills Tell us about where you live.  Barnsley in South Yorkshire. Its had somewhat of a bad press over the years but it’s set in the beautiful Pennines and Peak District. We have a nice garden with a pond full of frogs (of course). Where do you write/illustrate?  Always from home. My illustration studio is converted from a double bedroom. Just recently, well before Covid, I also discovered the joy of writing on my iPad, in a selection of favourite cafes.  What for you is the ‘spirit of the North’?  The great outdoors, nature and the sincere warmth and fantastic sense of humour of the people. Has this spirit influenced your work? Certainly in the humour, and I think ‘wearing my heart on my slee...

 SPECIAL GUEST NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT Matt Fenton,  Artistic Director & Chief Executive, CONTACT Can you tell us about Contact? Contact is where young people change their lives through the arts. Based in Manchester, we are the leading national theatre and arts venue to place young people at the decision-making heart of everything. At Contact, young people aged 13-30 work alongside staff in deciding the artistic programme, making staff appointments and act as full Board members. We develop and present new theatre shows, and deliver a wide range of free creative-training programmes for young people in theatre, music, creative media and spoken word. Old Tools > New Masters > New Futures produced by Contact and Young Identity. Photo credit Oscar Lister Tell us about your amazing new building and the advantages of being based in Manchester. Contact is a brilliant, sustainably-designed arts building. We’ve just finished a major expansion and refurbishment that has create...

 NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT Jen Carney   Why did you become a writer/illustrator? I initially tried to break into the industry in my early twenties (two decades ago) with a novel about a girl with two mums and then a picture book featuring a ‘rainbow’ family because I wanted to be part of the early movement representing contemporary families. I didn’t really know what I was doing! I’d never heard of a literary agent and, after having my work rejected by the handful of small publishing houses I approached directly, I ended up ditching my dream to enter the world of teaching.   Fast forward to 2014, and my son (the most reluctant reader ever!) told me he’d only read an entire novel if I wrote one! Rising to this challenge, I wrote the first draft of what is now The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. to reflect his reality by making the protagonist an adopted child with two mums. After he’d read it (and enjoyed it – phew!), the manuscript gathered dust in my loft until 2019 when my m...

NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT     CARLY GLEDHILL Why did you become a writer & illustrator? I’ve always enjoyed creating characters and bringing them to life, and read a lot of great kids books when I was young and impressionable. Books and children’s TV have always fascinated me, offering up portals into different, fantastical worlds. As a shy child, the stories and characters I read about were great company and I’ve not really changed! After completing a degree in textile design, I began to combine illustration and textiles, making tactile books and 3D plush characters. The next natural step was to try and get the stories and characters down on paper, to create my own picture books. Based on the story by L Frank Baum. Published by Penguin   Based on the story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Published by Penguin Tell us about where you live. I live in Reddish, Stockport, 7 miles from Manchester city centre. I live in a typical Mancunian red-b...

 SPECIAL GUEST NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT Angela Foster, Children and Young Person's Librarian, Stockton-on-Tees There are many aspects to your role - can you tell us a bit about life as a Children and Young Person's Librarian I am Children and Young Person’s Librarian for Stockton Borough Libraries. This means I am responsible for the development and co-ordination of all aspects of the library service with children and young people. This includes organising events, activities and promotions linked to The Universal Offer Calendar including Children’s Mental Health Week, The Summer Reading Challenge, National Poetry Day and across age ranges from birth to teens and young adults and families. There is a lot of partnership work both within the library service, with branch librarians, the Health & Wellbeing Librarian and our Digital Team, working across the Council with Children Services, Family Hubs and our schools; and also across the North East region with ASCEL, Youth Libraries...

NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT NAOMI BERWIN Why did you want to work in the children's book industry? I was an absolute classic bookworm as a child – I spent most of my time reading  stories, writing stories, and telling myself stories in my head. Even as I moved on to  reading adult books, and ultimately began my career in adult publishing (I got my  start through a Graduate Recruitment Scheme with Macmillan), it was always  children’s books that held that magic for me – I still have shelves full of my  favourites, which I go back to time and time again for comfort – and I leapt at the  chance to join Hachette Children’s Group in 2017. Tell us about where you live. After eleven years in London, I moved back to my home town of Leeds towards the  end of 2019. I currently live just opposite Roundhay Park, one of the largest city  parks in Europe, which was a particular godsend during a year of mostly-locked- down maternity leave. Roundhay Park, Leeds Where are ...