I hope to spend most of my time writing this year (on a very special project) but will be taking time out to visit a number of schools, some here in the UK, some further away like the International School of Dusseldorf, and some really far away in Calgary, Alberta in Canada!
I shall give a keynote talk ‘Ghosts have a Way of Rising: Writing the Past’ at the University of Hertfordshire, 4 April. The conference is called The Sands of Time: Children’s Literature, Culture, Politics and Identity
Burn My Heart has been shortlisted for Calderdale’s teenage category book award and I shall meet Calderdale readers in June
I also have a turn on a jury this year when I take part in nominating and being an advocate for an author whom I believe has made a difference to the quality of children’s literature for the NSK Neustadt Children’s Literature Prize. I have chosen to advocate Jamila Gavin with Coram Boy as her ‘representative text’!
In June, Barrington Stoke publish Call of the Deep. One of my tales is about the Mermaid of Zennor who enticed my Cornish ancestor Mathy out to sea!
In November I shall be at the Kaleidoscope Conference Story: Bridging Worlds
This year I shall also guest edit with Shereen Pandit a special issue on children’s and young adult literature for the international literary journal Wasafiri in 2009
