Books for Young People

 

DEAR DYLAN

My first novel for teenagers, Dear Dylan was self-published in April 2010. It went on to win the 2010 Young Minds Book Award and in January 2011 it became the subject of a bidding war between various major publishing houses. It will be relaunched from its lovely new publishing home, Egmont soon!

FINDING CHEROKEE BROWN

My next book for young people is called Finding Cherokee Brown and is due to be published by Egmont in 2012. One of the main issues the book explores is bullying.

If you have been affected by bullying and would like to help me with my research into this very serious subject matter please email me via my mailbox.

It really depresses me that bullying still seems to be so rife in schools and I am all too aware of the serious and long term effects bullying can have upon those unfortunate enough to fall victim.

As well as writing Finding Cherokee Brown I am also planning a series of writing-based workshops to help victims of bullying rebuild their self-esteem. Again, if you would like more information about this please feel free to email me.

The Faded Bookmark

My blog The Faded Bookmark features news, reviews and interviews with a YA fiction focus but a love of all things book. I want it to be as interactive as possible so please do pay it a visit…

Workshops for Young People

For many years I have run writing workshops for young people, which I love. Because I’m not bound by a curriculum or targets like teachers, I am able to get pretty adventurous in my workshops. I use a lot of improvisation and role plays to make it as fun and interactive as possible and have found that this approach can get even the most reluctant participants writing.

As well as running ad hoc workshops for schools, libraries and local authorities, I have been Writer in Residence for a group of 13 London schools.

My proudest moment to date was following a workshop at an inner city school when a student came up to me and said, “When they told me we was getting a writer to teach us I thought it was gonna be well boring. But it was wicked!”

Way back in the day when I was a teenager, I remember believing that because of my background (I grew up on a North London council estate) I wouldn’t ever make it as a writer. This lack of self belief also led to me dropping out of university, despite the fact that I passed my A levels with flying colours. Therefore I try to do all that I can to encourage young people to use writing to help them achieve their goals and increase their self belief.

Write Club

I have recently set up an organisation to help develop and promote young writers with my friend and fellow author Sara Starbuck. For more information on Write Club please click here.

Writing Advice

If you are a young person and would like any tips and advice regarding your own writing, please drop me a message via my mailbox.