In the Reading Corner

Kwame Alexander is an American poet and author of books for children, including the verse novel The Crossover, which was awarded the Newbery Medal in 2015 and is the basis for a new series from Disne…

Mariajo Illustrajo is a Spanish designer, printmaker and illustrator living in the UK. After studying at the art school in Madrid, she moved to Bath, where she completed a degree in Graphic Communica…

Shirley Marr is a Chinese-Australian author who migrated from Singapore with her family in the 1980s. Her novel, A Glasshouse of Stars, which won the Children's Book Council of Australia Award, is ba…

Deborah Ellis works as a mental health residential counsellor in Toronto. She is the winner of the Governor General's Award in Canada (equivalent to the Carnegie Medal) for her first novel Looking fo…

Abi Elphinstone is a writer of children's fantasy stories, including The Dream Snatcher, Sky Song and Rumblestar. She has also written picturebooks, The Snow Dragon and the Frost Goblin. Many of Abi'…

Neuroscientishttps://justimagine.co.uk/review/the-boy-who-didnt-want-to-die/t and Holocaust survivor, Peter Lantos, has written a children's book about his childhood experience of being sent, aged 5 …

Berlie Doherty is one of our foremost fiction writers for children and young adults. She is a double recipient of the Carnegie Medal with her novels Granny was a Buffer Girl (1986) and Dear Nobody (1…

Emily Gravett achieved instant success with the publication of her debut picture book, Wolves - a university project that was awarded the Macmillan Prize and was published by Macmillan Children's Boo…

Neurodivergent teenager, Libby Scott tells us how she came to be a published author and her partnership with author Rebecca Westcott.

Libby and Rebecca talk about co-authoring, the importance of own …

Kelly Yang is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Front desk series, two YA novels and a non-fiction book about the Chinese American experience.

in 2019, she was awarded the Asian Pacific …

David Atherton is a food writer and presenter. In 2019, he won The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 and has since been featured on Steph’s Packed Lunch, ITV’s Good Morning Britain, and the BBC’s B…

Peter Kalu is a poet, fiction writer and playwright. He was a member of
 Manchester, UK’s Moss Side Write black writers workshop and has had nine novels, two film scripts and three theatre plays produ…

Kandace Chimbiri (writing as K.N. Chimbiri) started as a self-published author.

She didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer. However, she was greatly disturbed by the lack of diversity in children’s boo…

Newcastle-born author, Malcolm Duffy, has a background in advertising.  And has won numerous awards for copy, press, TV and radio. He worked for Comic Relief as Creative Director, creating campaigns …

Greg Jenner is a public historian specialising in public engagement. He's an author and award-winning podcaster.

His smash hit podcast 'You're Dead to Me' pairs up top comedians with top historians to…

Naturalist, eco-journalist and activist Sarah Roberts is the author of three children's picture books about environmental concerns.

Somebody Swallowed Stanley addressed the problem of plastic waste in…

Nyanda Foday was Birmingham's Young Poet Laureate 2016-2018, and is inspired by the impact that words can have to create, unite, explain and enjoy. She strives to connect with others where she can by…

Scottish author Juliette Forrest is the award-winning author of Twister,  The True Colours of Coral Glen, and The Night My Dream Came Alive.

Twister was a Sunday Times Book of the Week and chosen by T…

Philip Ardagh is one of the funniest children's writers, and Ben Mantle is a well-loved illustrator. The combination of talents produced the explosively hilarious Bunnies on the Bus, which provided a…

Sophie McKenzie is the undisputed queen of the teen thriller. After being made redundant from her job in 2003, she started a year-long 'Writing for Children course' at the CityLit Institute in London…