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Northern Highlight - Victoria Williamson

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   Northern Highlight Victoria Williamson Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I’m based in Scotland not too far from a major city, but surrounded by fields and hills, so there’s plenty to look at when I need a bit of inspiration from nature. There’s woodlands to walk through on mellow autumn days, trails to hike in summer, and coffee shops to hide in on cold winter afternoons. I’d sum this place up as atmospheric, picturesque or dreich, depending on the time of year! If you could be transported to anywhere in the North/ Scotland right now, where would it be?  I love writing stories based on history, archaeology and Scottish myths, so I’d love to be in Orkney just now exploring the ancient sites there. I spent some time in Orkney last April while doing an Archaeology course with Aberdeen University, and I got to investigate places steeped in history and legend such as the Ring of Brodgar and Skara Brae. I’ve written children’s books about standing st
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Committee Highlight - Louise Corcoran

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   Committee Highlight Louise Corcoran What’s your role on the CBN committee, and what excites you most about it? I’m the social butterfly, looking after Twitter and Instagram. What excites me most about my role is sharing all the exciting things that are happening in publishing in the North and Scotland, and helping to connect people. What's your day job outside of CBN? My day job outside of CBN is Key Account Manager and Northern Sales Rep at Bounce Sales and Marketing. Bounce looks after sales and distribution for approx. 40 independent children’s publishers, encompassing everything from baby cloth books to YA fiction and graphic novels. I sell these books to retailers across NW and some of NE England. I also work with a couple of key library and educational suppliers, and work closely with UCLan Publishing, one of the publishers represented by Bounce.  Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words? I’m based in Manchester. It’s historic, lively and (une
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Northern Highlight - Nadine Aisha Jassat

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   Northern Highlight Nadine Aisha Jassat Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I’m based in Edinburgh, Scotland. My three words would be: Chosen Home, Community. What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing about it? I first fell in love with books and reading as a child. Knowing that my books could be treasured by a young reader, and help them navigate the world – whether by exploring big issues, or simply being book-friends in paper form – is something I cherish. My favourite part is when I’m so deep in writing a story that the characters and the world feel real and vibrant to me – and then, much later, to hear from readers that they felt the exact same thing! Tell us about the most recent book you've worked on or come across in your job.  Published by Hachette UK, May 2024 My next novel, The Hidden Story of Estie Noor , comes out in May! Like The Stories Grandma Forgot (And How I Found Them)
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Bookshop of the Month - The Edinburgh Bookshop

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   Bookshop of the Month (April) The Edinburgh Bookshop Interviewee: Fiona (children's specialist) Can you tell us more about the Edinburgh Bookshop, and what drew you to work there?  The Edinburgh Bookshop is a small-but-stuffed, award-winning, independent bookshop based in the Bruntsfield area of the city. Besides being across the road from one of the best ice cream parlours in town (!), the shop's community spirit and focus on young readers was a real draw to work there, as well as the wonderful close-knit team of passionate booksellers, led by the inimitable Marie Moser, which I am now proud to be a part of. The Edinburgh Bookshop hosts author events and book clubs for children and young people. How important is having in-person events at the bookshop? A building full of books (most of which you haven't read) can be exciting for many but intimidating as well. Knowing that authors are just regular people too and were once children like them is encouraging and often reass
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Mentor Scheme 2024 - Meet the Mentors

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Children's Books North 2024 Mentor Scheme Meet the Mentors! Children’s Books North’s annual mentor scheme for aspiring publishers is back for 2024! Aiming to demystify the publishing industry to those wishing to pursue a career in the sector, the CBN Mentor Scheme offers selected mentees four remote mentoring sessions with an established publishing professional. Applications are now open! Doubling last year’s offering, this year we welcome twelve mentors from a variety of roles across the publishing sector, including experts from editorial, marketing, sales, design, production and agenting. Our CBN mentors this year include: Emma Layfield Picture Book Development Director North (HCG) & CBN co-founder Manchester-based Emma is Picture Book Development Director, North at Hachette Children’s Group. She is focused on acquiring Northern, Scottish and Irish talent. Emma is also Hachette UK’s Manchester Office Lead and is a board member for Seven Stories in Newcastle. Laura Horsley Pub
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Mentor Scheme 2024 - Applications Open

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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&#
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Northern Highlight - Trish Cooke

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   Northern Highlight Trish Cooke Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I am based in Yorkshire. Picturesque. Family. Home. What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing about it? It’s special when I read my story to a child and it connects. My favourite part of the process is reading the final draft after putting all the work in. You're an actress and a scriptwriter as well as a writer - how has that impacted your writing career and how you tell stories? From a very young age, I enjoyed creating characters and acting out stories. I loved finding out where the stories would go. Listening to what someone says and then carrying on the story with truth. This works for me as a performer and also as a writer creating characters and stories. It came naturally. Improvisation has always been something I have been good at, and I suppose this impacted me  not only  as a performer but also as a writer. I enj
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