Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Best Class in the World… sends letters

Posted on October 19, 2020 by

There’s something special about getting a letter. There’s something really especially special about getting a letter that says something fancy about you or something you’ve done. There’s something super duper special about 23 letters all saying something fancy and drawing … Continue reading →

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Welcome to 4b: The Worst Class in the World

Posted on May 14, 2020 by

Schools might be closed for most of us, but for one long-suffering teacher, Mr Nidgett, the classroom is packed with shenanigans. That’s because he’s in charge of 4b, who are LITERALLY The Worst Class in the World, at least according … Continue reading →

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The BEST (Deputy) Headteacher in the World

Posted on May 13, 2020 by

Whenever I write a new book, I get the luxury of choosing who to dedicate it to. My child, of course (several times, as she has a habit of checking), my friend’s children, and my friends as well. But when … Continue reading →

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And another one…

Posted on November 26, 2019 by

2020-2021 is a busy book year for me, but this one is a biggie. Second adult novel, set in Essex in 1981 and featuring Grifter bikes, Charles and Di, Panda Pops, a Welsh Elvis impersonator, a fake Marc Bolan, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970s, 1980s, creative writing, Fiction, love, Uncategorized, women's fiction | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CBBC’s Joe All Alone and the truth about child poverty

Posted on April 2, 2018 by

Joe All Alone is a book (and, now, BBC TV series) about friendship. It’s a book about family, and what constitutes that today. It’s a book about bullying. It’s a book about difference and acceptance. But beneath all that, it’s … Continue reading →

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Joe All Alone at BAFTA

Posted on March 15, 2018 by

About five years ago I wrote a book about a boy from Peckham. Like the Velveteen Rabbit, he turned real. And now he’s out in the wild and being screened at BAFTA before the series starts its run on CBBC. … Continue reading →

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The Queen of Bloody Everything is born

Posted on February 8, 2018 by

This one has been a long time coming. I’ve been writing for children and young adults for seventeen years. But for various reasons I’d shied away from grown-ups. Partly because I had so much to say about teenage years – it’s … Continue reading →

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A face for radio

Posted on January 31, 2018 by

Many years ago, when I still thought I’d lead a glamorous life in the meejah, I read radio news for a living. And it’s a medium I adore – the focus on words, the invisibility of it, so that, when … Continue reading →

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Want to write middle grade?

Posted on August 4, 2017 by

Want to know how to write middle grade fiction? Want to know what middle grade fiction is and why the bejaysus we keep stealing words from the Americans? Then join me (and Bloomsbury Publishing’s Writers and Artists Yearbook) in this 2.5 … Continue reading →

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A is for Apiphobia.

Posted on June 1, 2015 by

Originally posted on Smiles away girl.:
Do you cross the road if a dog is walking towards you? Do buttons make your skin crawl? Snakes make you want to cry? Are you overwhelmed by panic at the thought of blood,…

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