Julia Golding
 | | Julia Golding |
Julia Golding grew up on the edge of Epping Forest. After reading English at Cambridge, she joined the Foreign Office and served in Poland. Her work as a diplomat took her from the high point of town twinning in the Tatra Mountains to the low of inspecting the bottom of a Silesian coal mine. On leaving Poland, she joined Oxfam as a lobbyist on conflict issues, campaigning at the United Nations and with governments to lessen the impact on civilians living in war zones. Married with three children, she lives in Oxford. Her first novel for children, The Diamond of Drury Lane, is published in January 2006 by Egmont, closely followed by Secret of the Sirens (Oxford) in March, the first part of the Companions Quartet. Julia’s Top Tip: Don't get hung up over getting the start of your story absolutely perfect. Get to the end and then go back and fix what you don't like. It's so much easier to work on a complete draft as it gives you a sense of achievement and you can see the whole picture when you make your changes. Diane Purkiss & Michael Dowling
 | | Michael Dowling and Diane Purkiss |
Tobias Druitt is the penname of mother-and-son writing team Diane Purkiss and Michael Dowling. They are the authors of Corydon and the Island of Monsters, and of two more books about Corydon to be published by Simon and Schuster. They are also writing the story of Tobias Druitt's own adventures as The Knight of Swords. Diane also writes stories with Michael's five-year-old sister. Diane is an Oxford don and teaches English at Keble College. Michael is eleven, but he was eight when he wrote Corydon and the Island of Monsters. He enjoys reading, gaming, fencing and chess. Diane & Michael’s Top Tip: the best stories start with a problem. What was Theseus like as a child? What would it be like if Hamlet were to find himself in the 21st century? That way it's a game. Alan Snow
 | | Alan Snow |
Alan Snow is 46 and lives in Bath. He was had a long and varied career with jobs as diverse as mixing flavours into yogurt, to animation, and forestry. Over the years he has written and/or illustrated over 160 books, and has just had his first novel published, Here be Monsters! (Oxford). Alan’s Top Tip: Once you have worked out which story you want to develop give yourself some real thinking time. Sit down and close your eyes, or go for a walk. Play with ideas. Write down as many ideas as you can think of before writing the actual story. Give yourself rewards after each stage of writing. For instance - a bar of chocolate for 5 good ideas, An extra portion of pudding for getting the rough story down, more chocolate (somewhere between 5 and 200 bars) for finishing the clean up, and sending it off. Katherine Langrish
 | | Katherine Langrish |
Katherine Langrish grew up in the Yorkshire Dales. She always wanted to be an author, beginning when she was ten by writing a 'Narnia' story in an old blue notebook, which she still has. She studied English at London University.
Katherine has lived in France, where she ran a storytelling group for children, and also in a small town in America, where bears lived at the top of the road. On coming back to England, Katherine wrote Troll Fell which was published by HarperCollins in 2004. The sequel, Troll Mill was published in 2005, and her third book, Troll Blood, will be published in 2006. In order to research the new book, she recently spent time in Denmark learning how to sail a Viking ship. Katherine is married with two daughters, and now lives in Oxfordshire. Katherine’s Top Tip: The thing I find most useful is to carry a notebook and pencil around with me wherever I go – on walks or in the car, or wherever. That means if I get a good idea for a story, I can jot it down straight away, and won’t forget it. But what’s even more important, is that it’s like a reporter’s notebook. All the time, I’m turning what I see into words. On a walk, I’ll jot down bits of description of skies, weather, woods and seashore. I can note bits of funny or interesting conversation that I overhear. Characters, faces, birds and animals - down it all goes, and then, maybe weeks or months or even years later, I’ll use it. Maybe I’m writing about a forest. I’ll look through my notes till I find something I wrote last time I walked in a forest, when the experience was fresh in my head. And it’s good writing practice, too! Chris Smith
 | | Chris Smith |
Chris Smith is a storyteller, musician and writer with a special interest in traditional stories from around the world. "Stories open doorways into other worlds and other ways." He is co-author of The Islamic Year, a book of sacred and traditional stories about the Muslim belief, and performs regularly in the schools, theatres and festivals nationwide. (www.storysmith.co.uk). Chris directs the schools programme of the Story Museum in Oxford. Chris’s Top Tip: Once I have an idea, I like to lie down on the sofa with my eyes closed, and imagine the story as if it was a movie. Once I can see it, then I start to write about it.
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