Northern Highlight - Ness Wood

 Northern Highlight - Ness Wood


Ness Wood

Why did you want to work in the children's book industry?


I always wanted to be a designer from spending most of my childhood colouring in! I didn’t really know what one was and so my Art ‘O’ Level was filled with record cover designs. I ended up working in Children’s Books after studying graphic design at Salford University. I applied for over 100 positions, and the then Art director at Collins (now HarperCollins) Publishers Ian Butterworth took a chance on me and gave me a junior designer job. I was ecstatic! I came to London with my mate Mandy (sherliker_design). Both of us from up North, she sold her little car and my mum gave me £100 and we slept on someone's floor for 6 weeks!


My family heirloom The Illustrated Treasury of Children’s Literature is a children's book published by Collins and given to me on my 1st birthday - so I was destined to get my first job there!

Tell us about where you live.

I now live in Didsbury, in South Manchester. I moved to Manchester about 3 years ago. I think of London as my home, as I left the North many years ago to grow up and find out about life. I came out there and met amazing good friends, however, I wanted to buy somewhere to live so I moved back and I bought a flat two years ago and I am making a life here.

Where are you happiest working?


I have always worked from home, being freelance and so being at my desk with a great book design project makes me happy. My latest book is a brilliant collaboration with Maisie and Rose (maisieparadise and iamroseblake) – so, watch this space especially if you LOVE cats!


What for you is the "spirit of the North" and has this spirit influenced your work?

My parents were not very well off and my mum worked very hard in a laundrette most of her life and so her incredible work ethic definitely rubbed off on me; her multi-tasking, for me, is one of the ‘spirits of the north’. I am a very hard worker, but I do think there is a balance which I am still striving to gain!

Who for you are the great northern children’s illustrators?

Well, there are so many . . . Maisie Paradise Shearring who is so incredibly talented. Martin Chatterton is someone that I commissioned when I started in book design - he’s from Liverpool and John Vernon Lord went to Salford also . . . plus I love Cara Rooney’s work and she is based in Dundee - one to watch!

If you could be transported to anywhere in the North right now, where would it be? 

This would be swimming with my mate, the amazing woman and CBN co-founder Tilda Johnson, from Golden Egg, in Pickmere Lake, Cheshire - we have lots of fun.

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

More Publishing Houses setting up here, I know they are beginning to but definitely more. More opportunities for graduates who can’t afford or don’t have the luxury to move to London. I am a Leader in Residence at UCLAN and they have an incredible team of lecturers who work on the Publishing MA run by Alexa Gregson-Kenmuir.

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

Tricky, I do love The Railway Children by E. Nesbit, which I always think is set down south, but it’s not, it’s in Yorkshire.
It’s a story of change and kindness and hope.

Maisie did a personal project cover for this ages ago - I think it’d look great on the book! 

https://maisieparadise.co.uk/The-Railway-Children


You can follow Ness on Instagram and Twitter





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mentor Scheme 2024 - Applications Open

Image
Children's Books North 2024 Mentor Scheme Applications Open! Applications are now open for the Children’s Books North Mentor Scheme! The scheme offers twelve aspiring publishers living in the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Scotland four hours of mentoring with a publishing professional over four months, with the goal of demystifying the industry for new talent. Mentoring will work on a 1:1 basis and mentees will be matched with a mentor that suits their interests and experience, whether that’s editorial, production, design, marketing, sales or agenting. For more info on publishing roles, see document here for a list of different departments within publishing. Applications are open to anyone interested in beginning a career in publishing. No previous experience is needed and we also welcome applications from those looking to change career path. The only essential is a love for children’s books and to be based in the North of England or Scotland. Scroll to the ‘How to Apply...
Read more

Northern Highlights - Jenny Bloomfield

Image
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Jenny Bloomfield    Where do you live, and how would you sum up the place in three words?   Leeds - Urban, Dales, Evolving   What is special to you about creating children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process?  Children's books are mini-works of art and a favourite book will be looked at hundreds and hundreds of times - not many books get this much attention from their audience! I am always drawing (I've drawn every day since 1st September 2014 - you can see every single day on my instagram @Jennybloomfield ) so I love being able to transfer my sketchbook observations and ideas to a living breathing story. For instance,  The Worry Jar , has some scenes at a swimming pool and I was able to go back to all the drawing I did sitting on the side of the pool while my kids were having lessons.   Jenny's sketches by the pool The Worry Jar, Oxford University Press, 2022.       Tell us about your upcomin...
Read more

Looking North: The Children's Books North Directory

Image
Looking North:  An indispensable di rectory of Children's Books North members We are delighted to be launching our Directory of Members, which lists published children’s authors, illustrators and publishing professionals based in the North East, North West, Yorkshire and Scotland.   Tilda Johnson said: ‘ The Directory is a key resource in our aim to connect the children’s book professionals living in our regions, to promote our members' work, and to champion the importance of regional diversity in children’s books and the publishing industry.’ Members are listed along with their details, short bios and recent covers, enabling booksellers, librarians, schools, festivals, literacy organisations, agents and publishers to easily get in touch. The Directory is also a valuable resource for authors and illustrators looking to connect with other creatives working in their region and to forge new networks. Our plan is to update the Directory annually, as the network grows. It wi...
Read more