Yesterday as I was waiting in the lobby of a school (which I won’t name), I noticed that all-too-familiar sign on the door which read something like ‘Our staff are free to work in an environment without assault. Verbal or physical assault will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted’…or something like that. We’ve all seen ...

In the run up to World Book Day, I’ve unshackled myself from the writing desk and am flinging myself up and down the UK to talk to students as part of the MetaWars 4.0 Book Tour. I love doing school visits.  It’s a chance to get out of my own bubble to meet young readers and ...

Back in the day, Twitter asked you to share “What are you doing right now?” Twitter has evolved beyond that simple query, but most (non-commercial) Tweets are still a variation on that status update – what I’m doing/thinking about/caring about/what’s happening. But there’s a filter between brain and tweet (fortunately), and people consciously think about what they ...

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you will have no doubt noticed that I’m obsessed with world-building. It’s a skill and an art. Some creatives do it well (J.J.Abrams, Joss Whedon) and others not so well (no need to name names). Last night the first trailer broke for Marvel’s newest edition to its cinematic ...

Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to the kickoff party for the Southbank Centre’s Imagine Festival – a two-week celebration of reading and storytelling sponsored by The Book People. Three iconic authors were invited to speak to the assembled great and good of children’s publishing. Michael Rosen rightfully articulated the need to allow kids ...