Northern Highlights - James Shaw and Anthony Barlow


 NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS

 James Shaw and Anthony Barlow from Tiny Tree 


Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words? 

Tiny Tree Children’s Books is based in Marple, near Stockport, in Greater Manchester. It’s hard to sum up in three words, but “countryside literary history” might just do the trick — Agatha Christie’s famous detective was named after our little town!

What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process?

Working in children’s publishing is special in itself, especially for a little publisher like us — there’s only two of us full time! For me (Anthony) I really enjoy getting to work directly with an author, understanding their process and how they want people to experience their book. For James, who handles 99% of our design and typesetting work, it’s an incredible creative outlet as well.

Tell us about the most recent books you've worked on

We’re just about to publish Clara Claus Saves Easter by Bonnie Bridgman and Louise Forshaw on March 17th. We’re really excited about that one as it continues the story of Clara Claus from her first book (Clara Claus Saves Christmas) in a new and fun way. We’ve also just announced ‘Lucas Twigg’s Truly Terrible Luck’ by Andy Rigden and Jim Landen. That one is a bright and bold picture book that we think is really going to wow people when they see it.

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

Ooh, this is a hard one. Especially after the last couple of years. Edinburgh is a city that we both love, so it would probably have to be there.


A selection of books published by Tiny Tree

What literary/kid lit events have you attended or run/been involved with recently in the North/Scotland?

In-person events have been far more few and far between for us since the pandemic, but we’ve done plenty of digital launches over the past two years. We’re finally getting back into the swing of things now though. We were involved with an event for Bonnie Bridgman and Clara Claus Saves Christmas with the lovely folks at Wonderland Bookshop in Retford, Nottinghamshire at the end of 2021 and can’t wait to get back to some more of our favourite Northern and Scottish bookshops later this year.

Name your favourite children’s book set in the North/Scotland

This one was hard too, but it has to be ‘The Railway Children’ by Edith Nesbitt. Not only is it an absolute classic, but it’s also got a somewhat local connection to us with the book being set a stones throw away on the railway line between Marple and New Mills.
 
What advice would you give to aspiring publishers living in the North and Scotland?
 
I think the biggest advice we could give is to not be obsessed with the London publishing bubble. There are plenty of publishing houses established in the North of England and Scotland all of whom would love to have all of the talented individuals who want to work in publishing working for them.
 
What would you like to see from children's publishing in the North and Scotland? 
 
We'd love to see more distinctly Northern and Scottish working class voices being represented by children’s publishers in this part of the world. There are plenty of people with fantastic stories to tell who feel that they can’t penetrate that ‘London bubble’ I just mentioned. We’re not perfect at this either, so It’s something we’re working on doing as well.
 
Who for you are the great Northern/Scottish children’s writers/illustrators?
 
There are so many to choose from – and so many who haven’t been discovered yet! – but currently we have to shout out Elle McNicoll. Elle’s first two books are simply incredible and she’s such a brilliant role model for neurodivergent kids. She’s also a fantastic follow on Twitter.
 
What’s next on your TBR pile by a Northern/Scottish creative?
 
Speaking of Elle, her next book is top of both of our TBR lists. We’ve both been waiting to read ‘Like A Charm’ for ages so hopefully we’ll get to that one soon. We’ve also got a mountain of submissions to read too; many of which are from Northern and Scottish creatives.



https://www.tinytreebooks.co.uk/
Twitter: @TinyTreeBooks
Instagram: @tinytreebooks

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