Celebrating Difference

As the summer holidays - for teachers and children at least - draw to a close what better way to be invigorated for the academic year ahead than by reading?  The government may be doing all that it can to encourage reading in all the wrong ways but thankfully authors, booksellers, readers, reviewers. librarians and many teachers are continuing to ensure that children of all ages develop a love of reading that will stay with them for life.

By Celebrating Difference in teen fiction three writers are ensuring that the older readers have plenty of story as well as many issues to get to grips with.

R J Palacio, Sally Gardner and Laura Jarratt were interviewed by Catherine Woodfine from the Booktrust and grilled by an audience of new and avid fans at an event held at Waterstones Piccadilly (London) on Wednesday 14th August.

R J Palacio had quite literally just stepped off a train from Edinburgh where she and Sally Gardner had been part of a panel event.  Laura Jarratt and her husband were just in London for the event and a short overnight stay, the first without the newest addition to their family!  All were wonderfully enthusiastic and full of insightful thoughts on children's literature and how to celebrate difference.

Beginning the evening with a challenge - how to get on the very comfy but high chairs - certainly broke the ice for all and was followed by a brief introduction from Catherine Woodfine to the authors, their books and the concept of celebrating difference - looking at characters who are profoundly different from those around them.

For R J Palacio it is Auggie a 10 year old boy with a cranial facial difference.  Sally Gardener introduces Standish Treadwell, a severe dyslexic and Laura Jarratt uses Jenna, an average teen who wants to fit in and Ryan a traveller boy.  The books, Wonder, Maggot Moon and Skin Deep are all fantastic reading, gripping from page one despite an apparent lack of quest, detective or spy thriller or even vampirical theme!  It just goes to prove that great writing is great writing and can be gripping for itself.

Back to the books and the discussion ...

In Wonder Auggie feels that he is normal, and RJ explores the way in which he faces a world who do not know how to react, this theme of courage is one that is shared by all the books.  So what motivated the authors?  For R J it was personal experience - not knowing how to react when her son was upset at seeing a girl with a facial deformity.  for Sally it was having become so cantankerous when on a diet that she had to shut herself away and write whilst for Laura it was pastoral work with children.

In each book the celebration of difference becomes a strength for the character in question, they begin to accept themselves, gain more empathy with those around them and think outside of the traditional box.

Writing outside the 'box' is however not easy.  R J explained how she had a book about gay characters rejected as marketing were not convinced it would sell and Sally explained how she felt many were too quick to judge.  Read and understand, allow writers to challenge and children to think from within the safety of fiction - this is the message.  A message that is beginning to break through, certainly for R J who has seen a shift in the US book market towards a celebration of difference that does not mean turning into a vampire or werewolf!

For the authors exploring and celebrating difference is not only important for their audience it is important for them too.  Readers can use the books to explore, find themselves, have fun, be individual.  It is a challenge, to create a character who, on the surface appears not to fit in but in reality with a little work, does.  In effect all fiction is about difference, it is the way in which authors approach it that really matters.  Difference is a common theme in humanity and deserves to be celebrated.

So to all those in the audience and now to those of you reading this Blog the message was to be a good writer extrapolate.  Write about what you feel from the gut, imagine.  Believe in your story, tell it over and over again until you get it right and when it burns inside you don't ignore it - write it!

Keeping the 'Adult' in Young Fiction

Monday 17th June, Waterstones Piccadilly, Malorie Blackman - new Children's Laureate, Melvin Burgess and Lucy Mangan in conversation about keeping teen literature alive, loving life, death and reading!

Lucy, questioning her panel of Malorie and Melvin dove straight into the evening by asking both authors what is was that drew them to YA writing, why was it different she asked?  Malorie began the discussion by explaining that she loved to write for all ages and tackle the subjects and themes close to her heart and the heart of her readers.  She explained that as a writer she asks lots of questions, not necessarily having the answers, her books are therefore open to debate and challenge the reder - this is why she enjoys writing for Young Adults but also for all ages.

Melvin bagan writing when there was little for teens, he remembered the music, the books of his own teen years and so decided to write new things to entertain the modern teen - to him there is a gap because adults are traumatised by teens, they distrust them, show them as negative stereotypes yet it is a fascinating stage of life.

As you can probably tell the stage was now set for a fascinating discussion not only around the books written by both Malorie and Melvin but around the concept of teen literature what it involves, who it engages, why and how.


The audience were certainly hanging on every word and why not - here were two greats from teen fiction writing, they were thought provoking and entertaining, opinionated too and that is not bad thing!  At times it seemed as though Lucy wouldn't have a chance to get her questions in for every question she asked there was so much to say ... but a good interviewer always knows a good time to drop into the discussion and Lucy did just this, letting both speak and then challenging them again ...

The discussion verged on radical at times with suggestions that writing for teens was an art which disturbed the comfortable and comforted the disturbed.  It should not talk down to its readers but serve them well, raise debatem create strategies for dealing with situations and create an empathy.  Melvin also felt it should be subversive, pushing, questioning and genuinely serve its audience.

The discussion turned to politics, not party politics but society politics - the have's and have not's.  For Malorie is is abut balance not taking sides, make the book enticing but serious (the politics comes in here), have a breadth of subject matter and question.

MAlorie's latest book, Noble Conflict is politicaly inspired by the STI issues among blacks in America between 1932 and 1972.  the appaling way in which they were treated but not treated inspired her to write yet her book has nothing to do with these issues, it was just inspired by them.  The issues inspired her to ask on behalf of those who did not ...

The subject then changed to the inevitable questions about Malorie as Laureate, as rightly it should when she has taken on such a significant role.  As Laureate she explained her aim is to engage children in stories, stimulate a creative response and drive an online storytelling initiative to ensure that no-one is embarrassed by their reading rather they are encouraged to continue - if they love Twilight give them Frankenstein for example, if they love the beano give them graphic novels and so on.  Above all else make sure that no-one is just normal, all embrace difference and love who they are.

A thoughtful moment and a powerful message followed by a light-hearted consideration of what makes an author tick, what inspires them - apparently it is mostly listening in to the conversations of others and remembering who you were, your aims, ambitions and desires at the same age - so watch out for you never know who might be listening but at the same time try to remember who you are, in may come in useful in the future!

Finally the discussion opened to Q & A from the audience who wanted to know what was more accessible the film or the book - as you can imagine it is the book, in the minds of these great authors, but not because they see that as more educational or of greater value, no it is because a film is supplementary, it can never be the book, it is  a different mindset for a different audience and if the author does not want that they should not sell the rights - simple!  Books have their own life, they break new ground and innovate, they progress.  Films and Hollywood like a sure thing, a definite if not always happy ending, they are a comfort zone whilst books challenge.

As for boys and reading? - give them anything was the message here.

School libraries and librarians? - essential for transferring curiosity and putting books into the hands of children.

The final message? - read to all children, whatever their age, hook them in and keep them there...

An Evening with Michael Grant

A balmy Wednesday evening in April.  Waterstones Piccadilly the venue, bloggers, fans of Michael Grant, children and adults alike gathered (I was lucky enough to have won a pair of tickets to the event) to hear Michael in conversation with one of his publishers.

Michael began with the shocking revelation that each of the 7 books in the Gone series has been written without a plan, without a sense of direction!  He has written 5 books in 6 years, a superfast output fuelled mostly by coffee.  His revelations did not however stop there.  Not only does he not plan in advance (though he does always send his publishers a vague outline to keep them happy!) he only writes for a few hours each day.  This was a revelation and also a refreshingly honest insight into the work and life of a writer – they are not all slaves to their desks, computers, notepads or even stories.  They do not all agonise over every word and every stage of the story.  So how does he do it?

Michael begins with the title.  This is his guide to the way in which the story will develop.  There is then, in his own words, lots of faffing!  Lots of formatting.  The first page will be written.  The first 20-30 pages will then be written, they may not stay as the first pages but the bare bones of the story is now beginning to take shape.  A solid opening in place and the linear structure of the story continues, speed comes not only from coffee but also from experience – Michael has been writing for years (he was one of the authors of the Animorphs series among other books).

He has taken his inspiration from many place but particularly of interest was Disney films – the death of parents is a big inspiration ... Gone was therefore started on the principal that the parents were Gone from the outset!  He is also inspired by other authors – Stephen King, now a friend, has been a big inspiration for example.

Michael is often asked if the deaths in his stories are too gruesome, too inventive?  He just laughs at the level of gruesomeness and knows that the children who read his books will too – children don’t have the context that adults do, they love to be ‘grossed out’, they love to feel the power of their emotions, this is what Michael taps into with his books.  He explained that what he hopes he is doing is giving them the ability to feel – I think he is certainly doing that!

Having had many jobs and many experiences of life Michael explained that he always knew he would and could write, an ability he was born with, it was just finding the moment.  He began his writing career as a co-author with his wife using pseudonyms so that many, many books could be written!  Now he concentrates on his own work but the Gone series is certainly complete and new projects are on their way ... Messenger of Fear was one title mentioned ...

As we all look forward to completing the Gone series and the next book from Michael we must also thank him for providing such enthralling and gripping books for teens, for his enthusiasm for writing and for a great evening!