Northern Highlights - Gill Arbuthnot
NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS
Where do you live, and how would you sum up the place in three words?
I’m lucky enough to live in Edinburgh, city of 1)
Arts 2) History 3) WIND!!
What is special to you about creating children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process?
I remember the intense pleasure I got from reading as a child, and it’s wonderful to think I may be giving someone else the same sort of pleasure with my own writing. When I’m writing non-fiction, I love researching. Even with a topic you think you know pretty well, there are delightful surprises, and specialists are so generous in sharing their knowledge. Anything from homing pigeons to the Battle of Waterloo, there is someone who can answer any question! With fiction, it’s the moment the story takes wing and starts to dictate where it’s going, and you don’t want to stop writing. This can lead to family trouble however, such as completely forgetting to pick your son up from football practice. It’s amazing how many years later that still comes up…
Tell us about your upcoming/most recent book
Last year was most odd, as I had three books
published in quick succession, due to covid-related delays. From Shore to Ocean Floor (Big Picture Press) is a history of undersea
exploration, Microbe Wars (Templar
Books) looks at the human race’s relationships – good, as well as bad – with
microbes. As for The Amazing Life of
Mary, Queen of Scots (Young Kelpies) - the title says it all! These are all
non-fiction books, but I’m hoping to get some new fiction out soon. In the
meantime, I’m working on a book on evolution for Big Picture Press
If you could be transported to anywhere in the North/Scotland right now, where would it be?
I’ve been planning a trip to Bamburgh Castle,
Lindisfarne and Barter Books in Alnwick for quite a while, so if you could just
magic me to one of those places, please… or onto the beach at St Andrews – but
it has to be a warm, sunny summer’s day.
What literary events have you been involved with recently (in the North/Scotland)?
I was thrilled to be asked to do a live event, in
front of actual, non-virtual people, as part of Borders Book Festival in
November last year. I was actually quite nervous: would I remember how to talk
to an audience? How much time would what I had prepared actually fill? In the
end it was all fine. In fact it was great – what a joy to interact directly
with readers again.
Name your favourite children's book/art organisations in the North/Scotland
Scottish Book Trust is a great supporter of
authors, readers and education professionals. Their Live Literature funding
programme really encourages schools to have authors visit them. They support
new writers with a well thought out mentoring scheme and publicise all sorts of
writing opportunities for a wide range of established and aspiring authors of
all ages.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers in the North/Scotland?
Just get on with it. Don’t wait for the right moment or even the right idea. Make writing a habit, so that if you go for a few days without doing it, you feel guilty. Guilt is a great motivator… Write for yourself: if you don’t enjoy what you’ve written, what makes you think anyone else will?
Who for you are the great Northern/Scottish children's writers/illustrators?
David Almond is one of my very favourite writers,
and I love the way his writing is totally rooted in the Newcastle area. The Fire Eaters is not his best-known
book, but it’s my favourite. I’m in awe
of J K Rowling’s versatility. I particularly love The Casual Vacancy, a very Victorian novel although it has a
contemporary setting. Debbie Gliori and Mairi Hedderwick are both wonderful
writers and illustrators, which seems
entirely too much talent for one person. Kate Leiper is one of our best
contemporary illustrators, especially her gorgeous bird paintings.
What's next on your TBR pile by a Northern/Scottish creative?
I’ve been reading great reviews of The Second Cut, by Louise Welsh. It’s
the sequel to The Cutting Room, which
I haven’t read, so I’ll be reading both of them as soon as I get down the
current TBR pile a bit more.
Website: www.gillarbuthnott.com
Instagram: @gillarbuthnott
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