In this Northern Highlight, we interview Susan Baker, an author based in Beverley, East Yorkshire. Susan tells us a bit about how she is currently working on a book from the point of view of a young teenager dealing with a grandparent’s dementia. Link in bio 📚 @sjbakerauthor.bsky.social

Thank you, @libraryfhs.bsky.social, for the shout out! #yadystopia #yafiction #readingforpleasure

"By the way, Mum," my son said, "Your book's in the window of the Beverley Bookshop." And it was! Delighted to be part of their blue display. I'm not sure I'll ever get over the indescribable thrill at seeing my novel in a real bookshop! #authorlife #yafiction #indiebookshops #yadystopia

Just finished the 2nd in Dando's trilogy set in today's world, with magic and Norse mythology woven in. Highly recommended for middle grade+: pacy with believable, sympathetic characters battling human and supernatural darkness. Humour and tension, in a convincing narrative. Great art work, too!

Supporting independent filmmakers... Very much enjoyed this atmospheric short film from Featherside Films. Excellent acting and a well-constructed, beautifully shot story. 'Likes' matter - do give it a thumbs up if you enjoy it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_XR...

Delighted to be with @troikabooks.bsky.social and alongside @antoniamaxwell.bsky.social as 'Calm' and 'Terra Electrica' are republished tomorrow!

I'm delighted that I've just signed a contract with @troikabooks.bsky.social, who will relaunch 'Calm' in January and take on its sequel. So pleased to have found a safe and friendly haven after the somewhat rocky road of the last few months!

I was pleased to be asked to write an article for the Prep School Magazine - and have just received the latest issue with my article in it! The full magazine (complete with my contribution on page 35) can be found at heyzine.com/flip-book/PS...

I'm in @thebookseller.com today talking about how we can get more young people interested in publishing and writing careers. Featuring @sjbakerauthor.bsky.social and her wonderful, articulate and passionate students. www.thebookseller.com/comment/wide...

Honoured to have taken part in this Northern Voices podcast with 6 of my students, discussing 'Calm', Beta reading and how young people in Hull feel about stereotypes of northerners and access to writing and publishing opportunities. With @jenbowden12.bsky.social soundcloud.com/northern_voi...

Sad news in the last couple of weeks that Neem Tree Press has gone under. Like other NTP and Unbound authors, I'm now looking for new representation/publication - with the sequel to 'Calm' ready to go. #unbound #boundless #neemtreepress #yadystopia #authorlife

Almost lost for words. It's the time of year when we say goodbye to Year 11 students - and one of them turned up at my door this morning with this cake! I confess that tears were shed. #teacherjoys #yadystopia #authorjoys #neemtreepress

This from a teacher who's reading 'Calm' with her class, discussing the novel's premise (all passion suppressed by a drug in the water). Writing dystopias these days feels very relevant: what happens when we suppress all compassion, all empathy? Go Student 2! #neemtreepress #yadystopias #authorlife

Calm - @sjbakerauthor.bsky.social's dystopian YA thriller - is back in stock! 'A gripping examination of our human need to feel' - Kirkus starred review Available in paperback from Macmillan (MDL) or your usual supplier (PB 9781911107934) #Calm #YAbook #YAfiction #dystopianYA

Very random, but I find myself singing the first line of a certain song every time I log on to this app... Though I can't match the inimitable Ella! www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAa4...

'Loveliest of trees, the cherry now/Is hung with blooms on every bough...' Springtime in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and it's gorgeous! #springtime #poetry #naturalworld #blueskypoetry

Just read 'Small Bomb at Dimperley' and absolutely loved it. It was a Christmas present and it definitely goes on the 'will read this again' pile - it's humane, humorous, engaging, beautifully observed, convincing and moving. Highly recommended - I'll be hunting down more of her books!

Celebrating the US and Rest of the World launch of 'Calm' today! #neemtreepress #boundlesspublishing #booksky #blueskybooks #authormilestones #yadystopia #readingmatters

'Calm' is published in the US and Rest of the World tomorrow: "A gripping examination of our human need to feel" (Kirkus Review). #Booksky #authorlife #yadystopia #Blueskybooks #author #booklaunch

'Calm' has its US and RoW launch on 22/04. "Whilst aware of the danger of naïve idealism, I wanted to assert that – though evil exists and seems to flourish – people can retain compassion and humanity; they can make selfless choices; they can fight for what is right and good and true." (Author blog)

A real thrill to see this today - as a debut author, it still amazes me that my book is out there! #ya #dystopia #booksky #authorlife

'Calm' has made it to the local Oxfam bookshop! Somewhat bizarrely, it's labelled as 'History' - I know the world has a dystopian feel just now, but I don't think 'Calm' has become reality yet... #authormilestone #blueskybooks #yafiction #oxfambookshops #oxfam #yadystopia #booksky

On Friday I stood in the school where I had been a student in the 1970s and talked with current students about my novel. I wonder what the teenage me, secretly nurturing an ambition to write, would have thought? #booksky #yafiction #schoollibraries #authorvisits #yadystopia #authorlife

Delighted to have been asked to write a blog for New2theScene, a website that supports new authors! www.new2thescene.co.uk/blog/s-j-bak...

We teach this each year to our GCSE students. For some reason, it has been on my mind in recent days.

As a book-loving child growing up in Kent, a trip to London was a rare treat - and if I was lucky, we went to Foyles Bookshop - the biggest bookshop I'd ever seen. I could never have dreamt that half a century later, my son would find my own book on sale there. My heart is full!

Delighted and somewhat reeling to learn that 'Calm' has been awarded a coveted Kirkus Star prior to its release in the US: #unbound #neemtreepress #yafiction #dystopia #kirkusstar #kirkusreviews

Signing copies today in @waterstones.bsky.social in Hull - thank you for being so welcoming! #yafiction #yadystopia #authorlife #readingmatters

One of my students today: "I've just read your book, Miss. It's sick." (I think that's a compliment).

One of the challenges I've really enjoyed in writing 'Calm' and now working on its sequel is to try and conjure an abandoned countryside, left to itself for 15 years. Yesterday I was hunting synonyms for 'brambles' (there aren't many!).

Very chuffed to have made it on to the table display in @waterstones.bsky.social in Hull. #unbounders #neemtreepress #childrensbooksnorth

So many interesting questions from 180 Y9 students at King's School, Peterborough, today. We talked reading, writing, dystopias, titles... and pet rabbits, for some reason. A huge privilege to talk books with young people. #unbounders #neemtreepress #authorvisits #schoolvisits #yafiction #dystopias

Spot the earring - excited to be setting off for an author visit to my old school in Peterborough! @unbounders.bsky.social @neemtreepress.bsky.social

When you discover you've been reviewed in a parish magazine... thank you, Scarborough!

My first post on Bluesky - hoping to meet many other writers, booklovers, storytellers... #Unbounders #YAfiction #blueskybooks #dystopias #goodconversation #choosebookshops #Calm