
Resources for Writers
Writing for Children & YA

Age Categories and Word Counts for Children’s Books by Niamh Garvey
This is a general list of age categories and word counts for children’s books. I have often looked this up and got different results, which makes it very confusing. I...

Adapting a Classic for Children by Katherine Woodfine
Awesomely Austen: Rewriting Pride and Prejudice for today’s young readers I was twelve when I discovered Jane Austen for the first time. Andrew Davies’ superb adaptation of Pride and Prejudice,...

The Shape of Stories by Holly Jackson
My first book, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, has just been published by Egmont UK, but my journey of writing it might begin somewhere you wouldn’t expect. When I...

Writing for Children by Bannie McPartlin
My first book Pack Up The Moon, was published in 2006. My first screenplay was transmitted in 2008. Now in 2019 my first children’s book is currently on bookshelves across...

Picture Books: From Idea to Submission by Olivia Hope
If ever someone tells me they have a children’s picturebook story they want to write I’ll beam enthusiastically and say ‘How fantastic. What’s your favourite picturebook you’ve recently read?’ Their...

Writing for Teens: Dialogue Inspirations by Alex Wheatle
When I create a teenage character for a fictional piece of work, my first priority is to give that young person an engaging, entertaining and fresh voice. I surround my...

Flying Zebras and Dancing Cheese: Writing for Children by Debbie Thomas
This article was originally titled ‘How to write for children’. But there are millions of ways to do that and millions of children with millions of tastes. Then it became...

An Essential YA Reading List by Claire Hennessy
If you read a lot of author interviews or FAQs you’re probably sick of seeing this bit of advice: ‘make sure you read lots of [genre/field X!] if you want...

Prints and Paints: Designing Socks for Mr Wolf by Tatyana Feeney
My books have been described as “deceptively simple”, a description that I have never been fully comfortable with. Perhaps this comment is a reference to the spare text or the...

The ‘Issue’ with YA Fiction by Claire Hennessy
Sometimes, as a writer, introducing yourself is a terrifying thing. You mightn’t know this, but people do presume published authors are psychic, that we can instantly access the answers to...