Maya Melesi is a thirteen year old girl living in Nairobi, Kenya. At one stage she was part of my after school creative writing club, Magic Pencil, and I was struck by her boundless enthusiasm, creativity and facility with words. Maya is dyslexic, and while this was never a problem with her creative writing, I invited her […]
‘Someone reading a book is a sign of order in the world.’ Mary Ruefle Over the past six months as I have been travelling round India, I have been reading and reading and reading. Not that this is any different from normal, but what has been different is being exposed to numerous book swaps across India in […]
I am always so happy to meet another writer. Whether it’s a seven year old child who is tentatively but excitedly experimenting with the power of storytelling, an older person wanting to get their stories down for posterity or somebody who plays around with the occasional poem, meeting another writer who recognises the potency of […]
It is hard to know how to describe Lucy Paget, so wide-ranging are her skills. Perhaps polymath would be the best word for her: Writer, Osteopath, Business Owner, Yoga teacher, Nutritional Herbalist, Chef…the list goes on. Lucy has helped thousands of people the world over to reclaim their physical and mental wellbeing, to embrace life […]
After this year’s shock announcement that no Nobel prize for Literature will be awarded in 2018 due to a sexual harassment scandal (when, oh when will these scandals cease? I suppose when the perpetrators are all exposed, and that could take some time…), I thought I’d say a few words about a Nobel prizewinner for […]
Rudyard Kipling. We all know that he wrote The Jungle Book, one of the most famous pieces of children’s literary works from the Victorian era, spawning of number of big screen adaptations and a plethora of jungle-based adventure stories. We also know he spent time in India, but what else? I, for one, know very […]
As you probably know, I’m travelling round India right now with my husband and three kids (familygappers.com)and lots of people have been asking me, will your next novel be set in India and based on your experiences? The short answer is no, because I’ve got something brewing right now for the next novel which I’m […]
Its been 1.5 years since I wrote my last blog about reading aloud to children, even older children. My kids are now 11,9 & 7 and I thought I’d give an update on what we’re doing now. Well, I’m still reading to my three most nights and the simple reason for that is because they […]
Virginia Woolf As February draws to a close, I am sneaking in with a quick blog post to celebrate #FeministFebruary as I only discovered its existence the other day. Coincidentally, I am reading Virginia Woolf’s book A Room of One’s Own (1929) at the moment, a glimpse into the brilliant mind of one of the most ardent and […]
International Book Giving Day! It truly does exist! And, bookworm that I am, I cannot resist taking part. This is a day devoted, in their own words to ‘getting new, used and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible.’ What’s not to love? As I am currently travelling with my family in […]