Northern Highlight - Andy Ruffell

 

 Northern Highlight

Andy Ruffell

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

I live in North Yorkshire, on the edge of the fabulous North York Moors, about 15 minutes south of Teesside. It's friendly, wild and open.

What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing about it?

While children are our key audience, I love the fact that children’s books are there to be read and enjoyed by everyone. They are such a special genre of books because they don’t just open young people’s eyes to worlds beyond their own, but also welcome adults back to worlds they thought had passed them by.

My favourite part of the creative process is the moment at which an idea or character drops into your thoughts. Sometimes they sidle in without much of a fanfare, and sometimes they appear with a bang, but however they arrive, they are always welcomed as new friends. They never fail to trigger an unstoppable flood of daydreaming – which I love – and it always feels close to magical.

Tell us about the most recent book you've worked on or come across in your job. 

My first book, Lily Grim and the City of Undone, was published this summer. It’s a dark, gothic, mystery adventure about a girl who, to survive, must uncover her past and discover who she really is.

Along the way, she makes a new best friend, Dekka, finds a surrogate family of outcasts, learns to navigate the sewers of Undone, and battles with the deliciously cruel Master. All the time keeping one ear open for the sound of the flesh-eating sewer pigs who roam the darkness looking for people to eat…

Lily appeared in my mind one day as I was driving to work and I loved creating the darkly dangerous City of Undone for her to live in. I only had a vague idea of where the story was going when I started, and I very much relied on Lily and Dekka to deliver the necessary plot twists and guide me through the story. Fortunately, they didn’t let me down!

If you like your adventures served up with dark undercurrents and claustrophobic settings, then Lily Grim is the perfect book for you!

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

My favourite place ever is Rievaulx Abbey. Tucked away in a deep valley in the North York Moors, it’s the perfect place to escape the modern world. When my daughters were younger, we’d spend all day there – picnicking, clambering over the ruined walls, exploring, and enjoying the deep peace and beautiful views. Perfect!

 

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

This summer, I was lucky enough to take part in the Children’s Books North takeover at the Just So Festival at Rode Hall in Cheshire. It was a lovely experience – such a beautiful site and packed with friendly, creative, positive families. Delivering a workshop with no technology in a lovely woodland setting felt like such a treat and I’m very grateful to have been involved.

I also enjoyed a fantastic couple of days on the Great Northern Author Tour organised by the tireless team at Drake The Bookshop, spent a lovely day in Beverley for the East Riding Festival of Words, and had a fab time taking part in the Bradford Literary Festival’s education programme. Coming up, I’m visiting schools in Northumberland and Durham for the Northern Children’s Book Festival and I’m so happy to be part of such a long-running event.

Name your favourite children’s art organisations in the North/Scotland.

Children’s Books North of course! It’s so brilliant to have an organisation dedicated not only to children’s book creators, but with a focus on celebrating those of us who live and work in the north.

Other shout outs have to go to:

• Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, up in Newcastle for championing our genre;
• New Writing North who, along with Hachette Children’s Group, run the Hachette Children’s Novel Award (without which, I probably wouldn’t have got off my backside and dared to write a novel in the first place!);
• All the libraries, schools and booksellers who work together to deliver the fantastic Northern Children’s Book Festival – the largest free annual book festival in Europe;
• And, although not strictly a group with a specifically children’s focus, the wonderful Writers Block North East, run by the fabulously talented Laura Degnan and James Harris, who teach, support and motivate writers to start, complete and hone their novels as part of the courses they run every year.

What advice would you give to aspiring publishing professionals living in the North and Scotland?

Don’t worry about not being based in London because the North is rising! The publishing world may still feel very London-centric, but that just makes your northern networks feel more special. Given that the world of publishing typically feels very friendly anyway, just imagine that feeling transported to the North where the welcomes are given even more freely, and you’ll get a sense of the supportive, creative and positive energy that northern cultural organisations deliver.

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

It would be great to see more national events being delivered from some of our fabulous cities in the North or Scotland.

I’d also love to see much greater investment in moving the publishing industry into the regions to give young people (and career changers) opportunities to join and diversify the workforce. Publishing is an industry that is hugely under-represented by workers outside of London and South-East and it’s missing out on so much talent, creativity and untapped potential by rooting itself so firmly in the South.

Who are your favourite Northern/Scottish children’s authors?

Growing up, my favourite Northern writers were Robert Westall and Alan Garner. I loved the sense of darkness and danger that underpinned their stories which always seemed so rooted in their locations.

In recent times, I will always be wildly jealous of the opening scenes of Struan Murray’s Orphans of the Tide – fabulous scene-setting and one of the greatest hooks into a story ever.

What latest children’s/YA book from a Northern/Scottish creative you have enjoyed?

I am very much hoping that someone in my family reads this and thinks to buy me a copy of Alan Garner’s Treacle Walker for Christmas!

Although certainly not a children’s book, Francine Toon’s Pine is a deliciously chilling book that I would have loved when I was a teen. I read it this Halloween and it was the perfect book to welcome in the darkening nights and approach of winter and I loved the fact that the bulk of the story was seen very much through the eyes of the younger characters.

You can find Andy on:

Twitter: @andy_ruffell