The Great Northern Meet-up 2021 YLG and CBN hosts and panellists On Saturday 15th May, Children's Books North and the Youth Libraries Group hosted our first virtual conference - 'The Great Northern Meet-up 2021'. The conference brought together  YLG members from the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, North East and Scotland, and all CBN members, for a morning of exclusive panels, presentations and networking opportunities. Chris Newton from Scottish Book Trust opened the conference with a fabulous keynote speech sharing SBT's commitment to creating a vibrant reading culture in every school in Scotland. Chris' encouragement for delegates to share their children's book recommendations set the tone for a lively, interactive morning. Delegates were treated to a series of inspiring, creative and practical top tips from illustrator Helen Stephens, poet Tony Walsh, YLG chair and librarian Alison Brumwell, and author Phil Earle. Tweet from Sheryl Webster Tweet from

SPECIAL GUEST NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT  Reading Roots Bookshop Keira Andrews When did Reading Roots open and where are you based? We opened in December 2020 in Wetherby, Yorkshire, and were able to open for just three weeks before the third lockdown began! There’s always a silver lining though – due to the unexpected time on our hands, we began fundraising within the local community to provide every child in the whole town who receives free school meals with a brand-new book for the lockdown. We completed this goal just twelve weeks after opening for the first time! We would love to hear about your children's section . Our children’s section is based in its own area of the building where the ceiling is covered in a jungle net that is home to a variety of animals. We have plenty of books for everyone from newborns to young adults, and each age range has their own bookshelves to peruse. We have a wonderful (and growing) children’s non-fiction section, and reserve our largest two windows to

 NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT ALISON BROWN Why did you become a children’s writer/illustrator? I will always be in awe of people who can tell a story - that is, who can just start talking and hold an audience. That eloquence is a talent I don’t have, but I discovered that I have more of a fluency when it comes to combining words and pictures. It’s a privilege to write and illustrate a story that someone wants to read, and there’s a responsibility to find a way to be truthful and open. For me it’s always in the way that the words and images relate to each other. Tell us about where you live. I’m an adopted Northerner - I come from County Down in Northern Ireland. I live in Leeds, but have also lived in Manchester and Liverpool, and I love them all! They are grand old cities which enjoyed magnificent heydays, suffered decline and then grew back in new, unexpected ways by welcoming diverse people and ideas. Written by Tony Mitton, designed by Zoe Waring, published by Bloomsbury   Where do you

NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT   Francis Martin   Why did you become a writer/illustrator? The vain conceit that if I worked hard enough I might be able to entertain people even children with the stories that I think up.   Tell us about where you live. Just prior to the pandemic I was moving into my new home on the banks of the Leeds Liverpool Canal near Burnley. Now I have to stay a little longer in Liverpool which is no hardship. As I am next to Sefton Park which is one of the most magical places I know. We have a statue of Eros in the centre made from the same cast as the one in Piccadilly Circus, the same statue of Peter Pan that resides in Kensington Gardens. All surrounded by the most beautiful landscape courtesy of the same bloke (Édouard André) who designed the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. Where do you illustrate? I haven’t been able to move into my new studio yet. It has a sink and a window overlooking Pendle Hill. Hopefully access to limitless tea and a panoramic panoramas will unleash my

 SPECIAL GUEST NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT THE SOCIETY OF YOUNG PUBLISHERS, SCOTLAND Can you tell us about SYP and your work in Scotland? The SYP is an organisation for those working in the publishing industry. The aim is to support and encourage anyone in the first ten years of their publishing career (the ‘young’ in our name is only in relation to career length, not the age of our members). The Scottish branch is for members based in Scotland – we put on monthly events including panels, workshops and socials for our members, which allows them to develop their networking and other publishing skills while engaging with issues that the publishing industry is facing. We also run an annual mentorship scheme, online networking events, and host an annual conference, which is the highlight of many publishing professionals' calendars. What are your latest events? Grace: Our biggest event this year was our conference, Ctrl Alt Refresh, which was our first fully digital conference. Accessibility an

Northern Highlight Barbara Henderson Why did you become a children’s writer/illustrator? I had dreamed of making stories my job since I was very young. I had a horrible accident when I was a child and had to have four operations. Weeks and weeks on the sofa with pureed food and nothing to do. The stories my sisters and parents read me became a lifeline to other worlds, and I resolved early on that I wanted to do this for others, too. But lack of confidence kicked in, and I was in my thirties by the time I realised that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.   Tell us about where you live. I live in Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands, and I absolutely love it. It has a great theatre and all the things you’d expect from a city, but is surrounded by many, many wild places which really inspire me. Where do you write? Over the last year, our wee spare bedroom, little more than a cupboard. But my preference is to be a nomad – I might write in cafes or librari