*KLAXON:* It's the last week of Read It Forward! If you buy my WWI children's novel MY FAMILY THE ENEMY through Bookshop.org, 10% goes to independent bookshops, and a further 10% goes to the fabulous BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust: bit.ly/4rDN9UX

Who has cute notebooks, a velcro cat and would like the power to zap empathy at people? It's @karenmccombie.bsky.social! Read our interview with her and find out all about her amazing books, pets and writing tips. virtualauthors.co.uk/2026/01/22/1... #virtualauthorvisits #kidlit #authorinterview

Happy publication day, Paula! 🤩 #ANIMAGICALS

Happy publication day to you and your Golden Monkey, Piu! 🤩

⭐️OUT TODAY!⭐️ 'The Accidental Vikings' is inspired by the back-in-time ride at the wonderful @jorvikviking.bsky.social museum in York! First went when my kiddo was in Yr3 and studying the Vikings at school & we went again for research purposes last year (kiddo now 23!). @barringtonstoke.bsky.social

Book of the Month?!? What a fab way to kick off the new year! Thank you, @lovereading4kids.bsky.social ! #MyFamilyTheEnemy #WW1 #AlexandraPalace

Thanks for the lovely review, Jacqui! And I agree, Anneli Bray's illustrations are great, and really add to the story. (BTW, if any teachers go on to read this alongside teaching the Viking topic, then please feel free to get in touch with me - I'd happily send a message to your class!)

Out 15/01 for 7+ readers, huge thanks to Poppy @barringtonstoke.bsky.social for sending The Accidental Vikings by @karenmccombie.bsky.social, illustrated by Anneli Bray, together with a list of the publisher’s early 2026 highlights to tempt me. 🥰 #KidlitUK #UKKidlit

#MyFamilyTheEnemy is my new WW1 adventure, set in London and perfect for readers 9+. You can order a signed and dedicated copy from my lovely local children's bookshop, Pickled Pepper! www.pickledpepperbooks.co.uk/products/my-... @bloomsburyed.bsky.social

Forget Black Friday; Books For Topics celebrates #BookFriday on Nov 28! My book rec is DANCE OF RESISTANCE by Catherine Johnson, and there're more book recs for schools to download here: www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/to.... @catwrote.bsky.social Cover: Katie Hickey @barringtonstoke.bsky.social

#PrimaryTeachers teaching #WW1 topic: Fred is an ordinary London boy, but as the First World War looms, friends, neighbours and classmates turn against his family. Their crime? Fred's father is German... A story of othering, fear and hope. @bloomsburyed.bsky.social #PrimaryRocks #UKEdChat

What I especially love about the Carnegies is seeing so many small presses repped, with books the big five wouldn’t risk. Go @fireflypress.bsky.social and @foxandinkbooks.bsky.social as well as Everything with Words, Guppy, Old Barn Books @theemmapress.bsky.social @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

This morning's 7am alarm stare...

*COVER REVEAL!!* The cover of my upcoming Viking time-slip novel has been gloriously illustrated by Anneli Bray. Out Jan '26! @barringtonstoke.bsky.social @theagencybooks.bsky.social

*COVER REVEAL!!* Not out till Jan '26, but the glorious cover of my Viking time-slip story - by Anneli Bray - is suitably autumnal! 🍁 #AccidentalVikings #ShortReadNovel #DyslexiaFriendly

Thanks for the review, Sue! I walk in the hilly park at Ally Pally every day with my dog. Writing about the WW1 internees who once shared this glorious space was very moving...

Thanks, Fleur! And it's a piece of British history that so few people know about... #WW1 #internees

OUT TODAY! It's 1914, and as war looms, London boy Fred is about to see his father taken away, accused of being an enemy of Britain... My new children's novel (age 9+) is based on little-known true events. @bloomsburyed.bsky.social

What an astounding image!

This book is a cracker… two 11-year-olds are on the run from very different but difficult home lives and meet by chance. Author @elnorrywriter.bsky.social weaves a story that touches on tricky themes but is ultimately uplifting. #RUNAWAYS @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

It's #DylslexiaAwarenessWeek in Scotland this week & the rest of the UK the week after. Dylslexia-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke are offering 20% off individual books during this time, using code DAW20. Plenty authors to choose from, but here's a selection of my books! bsky.app/profile/barr...

Just arrived; a bundle of advance copies of my new WW1 novel! Stunning cover by #MarcoGaudalupi and lovely cover quote courtesy of the awesome Catherine Johnson @catwrote.bsky.social Out 9 Oct... @bloomsburyed.bsky.social @theagencybooks.bsky.social

Happy book birthday to @emmashevah.bsky.social, on the publication of her #YA novel 'MY NAME IS JODIE JONES'! 15-year-old Jodie Jones is NEVER just 'Jodie', and she's not shy about telling people off if they get that wrong! But what family secret is dragging her down? @dfbstoryhouse.bsky.social

My 2025 books... so far! WORLD OF WANDA (10+, featuring an #ADHD main character + a secret family!) & novella MY PERFECT COUSIN (for anyone who likes a short read, plus it's #dyslexiafriendly #yay). @foxandinkbooks.bsky.social @barringtonstoke.bsky.social

Ooh, I have STRONG stamper envy, Louie!

A gorgeous selection, as always! 😍📕

"This is a cracking title for those at the top end of primary and into KS3, where those who need shorter stories like this often miss out..." Thanks for this review of MY PERFECT COUSIN, Jacqui! It's always a pleasure to write for the amazingly inclusive @barringtonstoke.bsky.social

Thanks for including 'Fagin's Girl' in this fabulous collection of #Victorians themed books! (And always happy to answer questions via a teacher, if it's used in class!)

Incoming... new book for all the Beatles-heads! RINGO: A FAB LIFE, written by my music journo mister Tom Doyle, is out this October. Ace Ringo tales a-go-go! @newmodernbooks.bsky.social

Thank you! And it's always a TOTAL pleasure and privilege to work with you, dear @barringtonstoke.bsky.social! Your commitment to helping every child and teen find a book that works for them gets me in the feels every time... #inclusivereads #everyoneareader #dyslexiafriendly

From childhood poverty to 1930s superstardom to WW2 spy... the life of legendary Black entertainer Josephine Baker is BRILLIANTLY retold in 'Dance of Resistance', by Catherine Johnson @catwrote.bsky.social. I read this advance copy in one gulp! Out Sept '25 @barringtonstoke.bsky.social

*SHINY NEW BOOK ALERT!* I was lucky enough to be sent an early proof copy of MY NAME IS JODIE JONES, the new YA by the fabulous Emma Shevah! (Out September '25.) Can't wait to dive in... @emmashevah.bsky.social @dfbstoryhouse.bsky.social

Much appreciate the gushing, Emma! Thank you so much for your lovely, LOVELY words about #WorldOfWanda... 🥹🥰 #ADHD #SECRETFAMILIES #UKMG @uclanpublishing.bsky.social

Most excellent book post today: an advance copy of Catherine Johnson's next book - DANCE OF RESISTANCE: THE JOSEPHINE BAKER STORY - about the life of the iconic, Black entertainer of the 1920s, who was also a spy! (Out Sept '25) @catwrote.bsky.social @barringtonstoke.bsky.social

Sorry it's a bit late-running, Sharon, but my bookmark is going in the post today! All the best with this year's fundraising #BookmarkProject25 by the Brownies.

On the 3 April we’re organising a day of protest against Meta following revelations of pirated books being used to train their large language models. More information on how to get involved 👇 societyofauthors.org/2025/04/01/s...

"A stunning story about family, belonging and acceptance - this has a quirky cast of characters, lots of drama and a pace that matches the speed of Wanda’s ADHD brain." Thanks for the ace review, @childrensbooksireland.ie! @uclanpublishing.bsky.social childrensbooksireland.ie/our-recommen...

"A cracking story" - Thank you, Jacqui, for the cracking review of #WorldOfWanda! #backpacking #homesickness #secretfamily #ADHD

WOW!! #WorldOfWanda is in the #PrimarySchoolBookClub Feb. 2025 vote this evening! Please VOTE, VOTE, VOTE for my backpacking #ADHD heroine, who aches for a home & family that doesn't exist. Or does it? Pootle over to @PrimarySchoolBC on X & vote using the pinned tweet. @uclanpublishing.bsky.social

There's been a lot of love for the delicious cover of my new novel #WorldOfWanda, and that's ALL thanks to illustrator #StephanieJadeHowe. Stephanie really captured the chaotic interior world of Wanda... 😍 #ADHD #backpacking #homesickness #secretfamilies @uclanpublishing.bsky.social

Lovely, insightful review of #WorldOfWanda in Saturday's #Guardian. Thanks, @imogenrw.bsky.social! #backpacking #homesickness #secretfamilies #adhd

Thanks, Jacqui! Hope you enjoy Wanda's solo adventure, as she stows away and heads of to (hopefully) find her secret family... #eek

Book borrowing is up 31% compared to this time last year! Here are our most popular books!

The 2025 #ReadforEmpathy collection has been announced today by @empathylabuk.bsky.social A new list of 70 excellent books for 3-16 year olds, selected by experts to help understand and build empathy. Please find out more on my blog today. #UKKidLit alibrarylady.blog/2025/02/13/2...

V. happy to find out that #WorldOfWanda is one of @thereaderteacher.bsky.social's 'February Books I'm Most Excited About'. With themes of backpacking, homesickness, #ADHD and secret families, #WorldOfWanda is out now... @uclanpublishing.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_1d...

Celebrated the launch of #WorldOfWanda this weekend with my excellent author buddies @fionadunbar.bsky.social @catwrote.bsky.social @kathrynevans1.bsky.social @carog.bsky.social and #InbaliIsleres! The evening also included LASHINGS of book-chat, food & dancing... 📚🍛💃 @uclanpublishing.bsky.social

*IT’S BOOK BIRTHDAY O’CLOCK!!* #WorldOfWanda is a story of backpacking, homesickness, #ADHD and secret families, and it’s out today! Me and my PA Bonnie popped into our local Pickled Pepper Bookshop to sign copies and celebrate… 🎉📕 @uclanpublishing.bsky.social @theagencybooks.bsky.social

Funny, when it's your lunch break, it whizzes past but when you're waiting for someone to repair your phone, it takes forever. Still, I have an excellent book to keep me company. And I am reading it in a museum cafe. @mglnrd.bsky.social @macmillankidsuk.bsky.social

My newbie WORLD OF WANDA is officially out tomorrow, but had an ace book launch lunch today with local author chums @helenpeters.bsky.social, @pollyfab.bsky.social & @nicolapenfold.bsky.social! #WhoopWhoopForWanda #AnyExcuseToGetTogether @uclanpublishing.bsky.social @theagencybooks.bsky.social