NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT  Susan Penny The Bright Agency Where are you based  and how would you sum up the place in three words?   A hop, skip and a jump from the Bonnie Banks o’ Loch Lomond. Every shade (of) green. What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing about it?   For me, the most exciting and magical thing about children’s books – picture books in particular – is that third reality created in the mind of the child (and parent) as they interpret what the words and pictures mean to them. There are endless opportunities to convey meaning, and owning that meaning for ourselves allows the story to live on, beyond the page, reaching into the fabric of our imaginations and staying with us for a lifetime. I never forgot my favourite picture books.   Tell us about the most recent project you worked on   As an agent I have my fingers in so many pies – at different stages of cooking – that picking a highlight from such an embarrassment of rich

  GUEST NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Mirror Me Write Why did you set up Mirror Me Write? Mirror Me Write is my online bookshop, specialising in books that promote representation and inclusion. I set up Mirror Me Write in 2019, after working in the Education sector for a number of years. The lack of representation in the book choices that were being offered to children in the classroom and the one narrative version of the world they were being taught didn't sit well with me. Denying representation to children  from entire communities makes them feel like their existence doesn't matter.  Coming from a migrant family, I knew this feeling all too well, and when I became a mother I knew I wanted better for my own children. I wanted children not to just see themselves in books but also see as many different stories of communities from all over the world. I knew that this kind of engagement, particularly from the Early Years, could do so much in terms of developing respect, tolerance, empa

NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS Julian Beresford  Where do you live, and how would you sum up the place in three words I live in south Yorkshire, Doncaster, Newfound city status What is special to you about creating children's books, and what is your favourite part of the process? What’s special to me about creating children's books is the ability to tell stories that I would have loved to read as a kid and reflect the world I grew up in. My favourite part of the process is character creation and world-building, designing the look and style of the characters and the setting of the worlds they dwell in. Tell us about your upcoming/most recent book Having recently illustrated the Gadgeteers for the Summer Reading Challenge, I am also currently illustrating a fantastical picture book with Hachette, Title and publishing date to be announced. Gadgeteers, The Reading Agency If you could be transported to anywhere in the North/Scotland right now, where would it be? St Kilda, part of the outer Heb