A few days ago I received a wonderful email from a reader who had enjoyed Looking at the Stars so much she used it as inspiration for a recent art project. She said she found the book very meaningful and tried to capture that in her work. I think she absolutely has – what do … More Fan Art: Looking at the Stars
Last week was very busy. I spent a day and a half in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, talking to children from three schools as part of the Tower Hamlets Book Award (the awards ceremony is this Friday). On the Tuesday, I had a gap of a couple of hours in between schools, so … More Visiting schools and meeting Electrigirl!
I don’t usually write this sort of post. But a few days ago, the list of books for World Book Day 2018 was announced, and since then there’s been a LOT of discussion and rage online about it. The books for World Book Day (WBD) are the ones produced specially for the event: slim, nicely-designed … More What A Children’s Author Does and Why I’m Proud To Be One
Last week I received a message from a school librarian. This kind of message is exactly why I keep writing for children: “We have a girl in Y3 with severe Asperger traits. It’s incredibly hard to get her to stay in a class room let alone settle with a book. Any books she looks at … More Making a difference – message from a school librarian
So here’s a writerly confession: I’ve hardly ever made any money from royalties. Most of my books (over thirty now, since 2004) have never earned out their advances. This is the money you get paid up front – no matter how well or badly the book does, that money is yours. But if the book … More I bought a piece of art
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. Over the weekend, we hosted a birthday party for my youngest daughter, and so come Monday, I was feeling very washed out and completely lacking in motivation. The sun was shining, and my brain went ‘DON’T WANT TO WORK’, so I rebelled. I took a mat into the garden … More Taking the Day Off
I do quite a few school visits. Not as many as some authors, who are almost constantly on the road. But since my first book was published in 2004, I’ve been to quite a lot of schools now, primary and secondary, independent and state, inner-city and rural, etc etc. Last Thursday I visited Wyvern College … More My most unusual school visit…
Now that term is properly under way, I’ve recovered from the holidays and am getting back into the swing of writing. And remembering just WHY my job is so flipping awesome đŸ™‚ This week so far (it’s only Wednesday), I have done the following: downloaded Windows Movie Maker, taught myself how to use it, and … More What I’m Working On This Week
It would have been a packed six weeks anyway: a family holiday, three festivals, holiday courses for the kids…but this summer has been extra packed because I’ve had a mountain of writing to do! Just before the end of the summer term, I delivered the manuscript of ELECTRIGIRL 3 (title still under wraps for now!) … More What I Did On My Summer Holidays #3: Writing
This summer, in the space of three weeks, I attended and took part in three festivals: the Edinburgh Book Festival, the Just So Festival and the Stroud Fringe. They were all a lot of fun! Leaving my family on the Isle of Wight (see previous post), I flew up to Edinburgh for three days. I’ve … More What I Did On My Summer Holidays #2: Festivals!
Jo Cotterill 