Whew! It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I’m really lucky to be able to get out and about to do events in schools full of amazing kids and staff. A huge THANK YOU to the following for hosting me recently: Hinckley Academy, Leicester St Nicolas Junior School, Newbury Ducklington Primary, Witney Prestfelde School,Shrewsbury Hounslow … More World Book Day Week
The lovely peeps at Oxford University Press Education interviewed me during half term about Looking at the Stars, Electrigirl, which characters I identify with, how to write a 500 word story, and what inspires me creatively. I’m not quite sure why the video insists on starting at 2 mins in but I can’t seem to … More Interviewed!
I’ve been putting off writing this new post because it feels a bit like starting 2019 with a downer, even though I see it as a Positive Decision. Thing is, I’ve given myself permission not to try to write a new children’s novel this year. The past couple of years have been tough going, personally … More New year, new direction, painting and Guernsey
Over the past week I’ve attended two events voluntarily: the Kids’ Lit Quiz regional heat in my area, and the Young Muslim Writers Awards, held in Senate House, London. As an author, I get asked to do lots of things, but I mostly love to give my time (when I can) to events like these … More It’s all about the kids
Wait. That should be “Welcome to the world, Jelly!” but actually, it works this way round too 🙂 I’m so, so thrilled that JELLY is finally out there, in the world, getting to readers. I honestly think it’s one of my best books so far, and I hope so much that readers agree with me. … More Welcome to the Jelly World…!
I’ve been Doing Lots over the past few months. And the trouble with Doing Lots is that sometimes you get Very Tired. I am currently very tired – to the extent that a daily nap has had to become part of my routine – I know!! Me, the whirlwind of activity and…zzz. Recently *adopts fake … More Creek and Sofa – when you have to REST
It’s been a busy couple of weeks and I’m only now finding a chance to write about it! On Tues 17th April, I flew out to Frankfurt in Germany… (This narrative will be highly illustrated by photos) I was staying in Bad Vilbel, outside Frankfurt, for two nights while I visited the Europäische Schule RheinMain. … More Great fun in Germany
Last week was another exciting one (this one is due to be VERY BORING, phew!) and the excitement kicked off on Tuesday when I attended a concert at my patron of reading school, Didcot Girls’, because the Y8 choir was performing my brand new song Happy Face, written specially for my new book Jelly. The … More I attend a special concert, and am streamed live across Cambridgeshire!
A few weeks back, I ran a songwriting workshop at Didcot Girls’ School which was a huge success. The school decided to hold a competition for the finished songs, and to my utter delight, the winner (not decided by me but by the school’s Patron of Writing, Elaine Baker) was Erin Brady, with a really … More Young student wins competition with song based on my book!
It’s been another busy week, with a visit to Beachborough School in Brackley on Tuesday (hello, Anna! Hello, brilliant kids!) followed by a drive up to Leicester for a day with the organisation Whatever It Takes (WiT), part of the Schools’ Development Support Agency. Cerrie Burnell (latterly of CBeebies) and David Harmer and I all … More Whatever It Takes…Leicester to Libraries!
Jo Cotterill 