Very excited to read this one! Love Ian’s books.

Watching Refaat was a reminder of why I do what I do. Teaching storytelling is powerful, sacred act. And a great responsibility. A duty that must be fulfilled with courage, humility and care

I taught Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire (edited Jehad Abusalim et al, 2022) yesterday. The supplementary texts included this TED talk by Refaat Alareer thanks to which my students have discovered his lecture videos. Looking forward to their essays youtu.be/YsbEjldJjOw?...

📢 ⬇️ 📖 This incredible prize is in its 10th year and it’s currently open to submissions. Look!

It often does. What would you add?

That is some very good news but YES, we can do better. Take a look and contribute/amplify if you can! #Creatives4Sudan

I’ve just bought my mum Sarah Crossan’s brilliant YA ‘Where the Heart Should Be’ for her Christmas. What other great kids / YA books should we be gifting to grown-ups who don’t generally read children’s books? #KidsBooksFriday #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit

£12K!!!!! 🤗🤗🤗 There are lots of little lots that would make brilliant treats, go on! Also remember there are US-located lots, so if you're a pal from there you can grab 'em for a steal! (I really wanted the hair appointments 😂)

Do Bluesky handles really have to be this long? I don’t like it.

Fellow authors juggling way too many social media platforms - how are you doing this? Every time I think I’ll drop one there’s an interesting convo or something there or something nice happens and I decide to stay. 🤯

🎄 Brilliant gift ideas for all ages. Unplug, connect with family or friends, and jump into someone else’s story this festive season! 🎄 Visit Bookshop.org today and discover the full list

There’s definitely luck in publishing, so do what you can to meet it halfway–join a crit group, take courses, enter comps, read lots, try writing for different age groups. Livia actually started as a middle grade but I was able to revise and resubmit after chat with editor. #ukteenchat #liviainrome

The heart of the book comes from lived experience and that neither-fish-nor-fowl aspect. I lived in italy and in Rome for years and met a lot of third-culture-kids who felt the way I did. A lot of it is experience and memory, but mine is bad so I made trips to double-check things! #ukteenchat

It’s a sunny summer clean-teen romance ☀️ about Livia, a Scottish Italian teenager who is trying to find a sense of belonging, with a bit of family drama and a very distracting Italian boy - as they tend to be! #ukteenchat

Boosting because I’m OBSESSED with Livia in Rome. A beautifully written, fresh and funny FEEL GOOD teen/YA book that everyone should have on their list. #ukteenchat #LiviainRome #kidlituk

From artists to every day Black histories, @sla.org.uk presents the 2025 Winners of the #InformationBookAward #KidLitUK

Lovely that Steven is buying my book, but I made the videos FREE so that the ideas in it are accessible to everyone. These “marvellous machines” are fun to make and can get children thinking about science, and acting like engineers, all using scrap materials you probably have around the house:

We are into the last 5 days of the #Creatives4Sudan auction. There are some INCREDIBLE lots on there. Please consider a cheeky little bid. EG on creative mentoring from @rashmiwriting.bsky.social #KeepEyesOnSudan app.galabid.com/creatives4su...

Sorry for being that annoying author sharing lots of happy news in what is such a tough industry. I do my best to support my peers too because I know the luck I have is unusual. But I share every good thing because it’s so hard to reach readers. Even with all this luck.

Thank you @imogenrw.bsky.social for including THIS IS WHO I AM by Ruchi Mhasane and me in this beautiful collection of ‘The best children’s books of 2025!’ With an amazing write-up too (see below). #kidlituk

This item is VERY special - a one to one with my amazing agent, Molly Ker Hawn. Ask her anything about publishing, esp about children's and YA! app.galabid.com/creatives4su... Bid bid bid! Let's get this auction to ten grand by the end of the day! #Creatives4Sudan

From a quick glance at my shelves of favourites, here are just a few fantastic picture books I love for little ones! #kidlituk #ukkidlit

I feel like Hari would find a way to take doofus as a compliment. The self-love is next level. Thank you @louiestowell.bsky.social for this amazing early review! 🥰📚

Amazing Asia was the overwhelming favourite at our school. The children raved about it!

It's friday! Time for the weekly good news thread. What's YOUR good news from the week? My good news? The #Creatives4Sudan auction has had an amazing response so far. Bid on everything from pro tv script reads to paintings and signed books from Katherine Rundell! app.galabid.com/creatives4su...

On a train home after doing a keynote at the Peters conference and CRYING to see that Amazing Asia won Children’s Choice in its category AND overall at the Information Book Awards. Children’s Choice!!! 🥰🎉📖🌟

The Creatives4Sudan fundraising auction is now LIVE and I’m offering 2 x 30 min mentoring sessions for children’s writers. Over 350 lots to bid on over the next 10 days and money raised will go to community kitchens in Darfur. www.galabid.com/creatives4sudan

I'm so excited to see we've raised over 5k so far on the #Creatives4Sudan auction. Can you help us get to £10k? I'm offering a personalised original Loki drawing, and I really will go all out to make it as funny as possible. app.galabid.com/creatives4su... #KidLitUK #KeepEyesOnSudan

Are you looking for a christmas present for a creative person? Hoo boy do we have the auction for you. Hundreds of creatives from 20 countries are raising funds for people fleeing Genocide in El-Fasher, Sudan. Huge names, huge items! Bid here! app.galabid.com/creatives4su... Art by @raafaye, insta

Boston's Mayor Wu playing with Yo-Yo Ma at Symphony Hall

This goes for so much consumer tech, esp AI features.

Hari Kumar, Ultimate Superstar is in The Bookseller’s list of 10 Titles Not to Miss in February 2026! 🎉 The new Editor’s Choices. So happy! Art by Mamta Singh.

With it being #BookWeekScotland this week I want to use #KidsBookFriday to celebrate some great books by Scottish authors I’ve read recently. Can anyone else recommend some Scottish favourites? Or share some great books by authors from where you’re from. #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit

Love Maisie Chan’s Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past, Chae Strathie’s So You Think You’ve Got it Bad nonfiction books with Marisa Morea, Elle McNicoll’s Keedie, and Bruna de Luca’s gorgeous teen romance Livia in Rome! #KidLitUK #BookWeekScotland

What everyday action can you take to make the world a better place? Amazing @rashmiwriting.bsky.social their own Empathy Resolution as we celebrate the #EmpathyActionMonth. Share your Resolution with us and Do Something that Matters across November!

Talked to a new picture book writer who is writing a lyrical pb. Friends, what are your favourite (non-rhyming) lyrical pbs? Would love to make a list for her. #kidlit

Yes! The Children's Book Project charity, in West London. childrensbookproject.co.uk

Ok, I’m slowly downsizing and I have a LOT of children’s books I need to donate in spring. All brilliant books in amazing condition and a mix of ages. Thing is, postage is so expensive. Anyone know anywhere in London where I can drop books off so they can find a good home?

Honoured and delighted to draw a special Bunny Vs Monkey picture for the Scottish Book Trust Christmas Appeal Auction. If you fancy this original artwork or any of their other amazing illustrations, you can bid now!

As an immigrant who makes children's books for a living I'm a wee bit tired of a number of things presently. The CLPE are sound, though clpe.org.uk/research/clp... @theclpe.bsky.social

Some happy news. Bromley Council have spent £11 million revitalising their libraries. More of this please! Excited to be part of the celebrations at Mottingham Library’s reopening on Wed 26 Nov.

I love that computers and phones and the whole digital revolution have made film-making and other forms of “content” production widely available and accessible. But that’s come with a de-valuing of skills like writing and producing, and AI is only making that worse.

Ok, I love you all. This chat was so buzzy and brilliant like the old days of book chat on social media. Also, my brain wrote a keynote speech in the middle of the night and I think I love it.

I would like them to encourage adults to share a love of *story* with children. If reading isn't immediately easy they need a reason to persevere.

In that vein I think it’s great when authors talk about the books that get them excited, as well as their own work. Showing kids that they’re a reader as well as a writer and that each fuels the imagination.

I would love them to emphasize to the children that what they read is their choice, that all reading is valid and good, and that it should be FUN 😊 if they're not having fun, that's not what they should be reading (barring homework ofc) 😉

Yes, that reading for pleasure can include oral, whether read to them, audio books or even a video of someone sharing a book. That it doesn't matter if its non-fiction or fiction, it's about finding pleasure in it.

Longshot but hypothetically (*cough cough*) if you’re a teacher/librarian and a children’s author was to give a speech at a literacy/reading conference, what would you like them to talk about? 👀 #kidlituk #childrensbooks #ukkidlit

Such an interesting discussion around children’s nonfiction/information books.