In the Reading Corner

Annaliese Avery is a former library manager and children's book editor who lives in Suffolk, England. She has an MA in creative writing and a lifelong interest in physics and astronomy and in 2017 she founded an astronomical society. Her debut novel The Nightsilver Promise ,  a magical fantasy adventure packed with astronomical interest and dragons was published in 2021. The second book, The...

Lucy Hawking is a journalist, writer and science educator. With her father, the late Professor Stephen Hawking, she co-authored a series of books, George's Secret Key to the Universe, which introduced the science of cosmology through a blend of fiction and information. Lucy's new series pitched at a slightly younger reader in a similar vein tackles issues of pollution and climate change...

Jennifer has always wanted to be a writer, but really started when she applied for a Creative Writing MA at Brunel University, which is where she first got the idea for Alex Sparrow and the Really Big Stink ., her debut book. Since then she has written two more books in the Alex Sparrow series, a standalone middle-grade fiction, Mo Lottie and the Junkers, and the spooky Crater Lake books. Jennifer...

Katie Cotton studied English Literature at Oxford University before becoming an author and editor of children’s books. Her books Counting Lions and The Road Home were both published internationally and received starred reviews in the US.  Other books include Bricks: The House a Greedy Pig Built and  The Road Home. Katie's most recent book is The Secret of Splint Hall, a historical fantasy, un...

Lissa Evans has written books for both adults and children, including the bestselling Old Baggage , Their Finest Hour and a Half, longlisted for the Orange Prize, and Crooked Heart, longlisted for the Baileys Women's. Prize for Fiction. For children, Small Change for Stuart , was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Costa Book Awards. It was followed by a sequel Big Change for Stuart. L...

Tony Bradman's Viking Boy is a popular book in primary classrooms, often used to support a historical study of The Vikings. Now Tony has written a companion book, Viking Boy: The Real Story. A scholar of history, Tony is particularly knowledgeable about the Roman, Viking and Saxon periods and in this episode, he shares his enthusiasm with Nikki Gamble. About Viking Boy: The Real Story A spark...

Emma Chichester Clark is one of the UK's foremost illustrators. She has published well over 60 books for children including her own very popular Blue Kangaroo series as well as stand-alone picture books and illustrated books for other writers. Emma studied graphic design at Chelsea School of Art in the 1970s and then later studied illustration at the Royal College of Art where Quentin Blake w...

Lee Newbery's debut novel, The Last Firefox was recently published by Puffin.  It's a fantasy adventure in which another world bursts into the real world, in the form of a magical firefox and Charlie Challinor has to summon all of his bravery to protect the endangered creature from the villains that are hunting it down. Lee talks to Nikki Gamble about the experience of having his first b...

Kate di Camillo is an American children's author with over 25 novels on her backlist. Her first novel Because of Winn Dixie won her immediate critical attention. Further novels include The Tiger Rising, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Magician's Elephant, Flora and Ulysees and the Three Rancheros series. She has twice been awarded The Newbery Medal. Kate's most recent n...

Undiscovered Voices is an initiative from SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Illustrators and Writers) which gives a platform to up and coming voices in children's writing. An online anthology is published featuring the work of the selected authors which can be read online and downloaded http://www.undiscoveredvoices.com/ Nikki Gamble caught up with two of this year's authors, K L Ka...

Catherine Rayner is well-known for her glorious animal picture stories, but now she turns her skills to illustrating nonfiction. IN this episode she talks to Nikki Gamble about her narrative nonfiction book about goldfish which has a few lessons for young readers to learn about caring for these popular pets - including setting them free when they outgrow the fish tank. About My Pet Goldfish A char...

Natasha Farrant has a long career in children's publishing and has her own literary scouting agency. Her debut YA novel The Things We Did for Love was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award.   In 2020,  an adventure story Voyage of the Sparrowhawk won the Times and Sunday Times Children's Books of the Year and was awarded the prestigious Cost Children's  January 2021 . Eight Princ...

Paul Jennings was born in 1943 in Heston, Middlesex and emigrated to Australia with his family in 1943. After graduating, he became a teacher and speech pathologist and then a lecturer in special education. In 1985 his first book of short stories, Unreal! was published. In 1989 he gave up teaching to write full-time. His stories were adapted for the TV series Round the Twist. Paul's memoir un...

William Matthew Timothy Stephen Sieghart CBE is a British entrepreneur, publisher and philanthropist and the founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry. He is the current chairman of the Somerset House Trust. In this episode, he talks to Nikki Gamble about the place of poetry in our lives and talks about some of his favourite poems. About Everyone Sang: a poem for every feeling A magnificent antholo...

Actress Tmazin Merchant recently published her second children's book, The Map Makers, a second adventure for the sparky heroine, Cordelia Hatmaker. Like her heroine, Tamzin is a creator, a lover of plant magic and adventure. In this episode, Tamzin talks to Nikki Gamble about the ideas underpinning this fantastical and gripping adventure. About The Mapmakers Ever since Cordelia discovered th...

Gill Lewis is a highly acclaimed author of children's books featuring animals, environmental concerns, wildlife protection with a strong sense of social justice. In her recent novel, A Street Dog Named Pup , she writes about dogs' relationships with their closest companions, humans - both the good and the bad. The story is presented through a dog's eye view of the world and like Ann...

Former Children's Laureate, Anne Fine, is one of our finest novelists for children and teenagers. Characteristically her stories reveal acute observations of family life coupled with humour and a sense of fairness and a belief that people generally try to do the right thing, even though they may not always make wise decisions. In this episode, Anne talks to Nikki Gamble about her recent book...

Literary agent and former bookseller, Sam Copeland has risen quickly to the heights of bestselling author with his blend of humour and emotionally engaging characters. His debut Charlie Changes into a Chicken , addressed common childhood worries in a wonderfully reassuring, positive story. This was followed by two further Charlie stories and another book, Uma and the Answer to Absolutely Everythin...

Sarah Ardizzone is an established and highly regarded literary translator of books from French into English. She has a particular interest in the translation of dialogue and in writers who have a social awareness and conscience. Among the list of children's books that she has translated are: Daniel Pennac, Eye of the Wolf and The Rights of the Reader Timothee de Fombelle, Toby Alone , Vango,...

Eoin McLaughlin is a writer of children's picturebooks. His debut picture book The Hug (illustrated by Polly Dunbar) was named a ‘Book of the Year’ by The Guardian and shortlisted for The Children's Books Ireland Award. The sequel, While We Can't Hug was read by many families around the world during the COVID-19 lockdowns. He has written two books that have been illustrated by Ross...

Lisette Auton is a disabled writer, activist, poet, novelist, spoken-word artist, actor, film & theatre-maker and creative practitioner. She's an award-winning poet who has performed at Northern Stage, ARC, The Southbank Centre and the Sage, in pubs, in a crypt, at festivals, indoors, outdoors, on a bridge and in a launderette. The Secret of Haven Point is Lisette's debut novel, a mi...

Lisa Thompson is a children’s novelist born in Essex, UK.  Her debut novel, The Goldfish Boy , was published in the UK and North America in 2017 and went on to become a bestseller.  The Goldfish Boy has been nominated for numerous awards including the Carnegie Medal, The Branford Boase Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Lisa has gone on to write more best-selling novels, including Th...

Roma Agrawal MBE FICE HonFREng is an Indian-British-American chartered structural engineer based in London. She has worked on several major engineering projects, including the Shard. Agrawal is also an author and a diversity campaigner, championing women in engineering. Roma talked to Nikki Gamble about her passion for engineering, historic buildings and writing for children. Support the show Than...

Original from California, Katherine Webber has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Maui and Atlanta but now lives in London. As well as being an established YA author, Katherine has also co-authored two series with her husband, Kevin Tsang: Sam Wu is Not Afraid series and the Dragon Realm series. Her YA books are Wing Jones (Walker, 2017), Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Walker, 2018) and most recent T...

Andrew Pettie is a writer and editor at What on Earth Books and the recently launched Britannica Magazine. Andrew joined Nikki Gamble for this episode of In The Reading Corner to tell us about the importance of good design and how it makes a difference to readers. Support the show Thank you for listening.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please support us by subscribing to our channel. and by purchas...