M. G. Leonard
@MGLnrd
Followers
17,046
Following
3,644
Media
1,984
Statuses
7,443
Tweeting about Author-y stuff. Please use my website for ALL enquiries. She/Her VP @Buzz_dont_tweet Agent: @TheStormBoy
In the undergrowth, looking up
Joined September 2013
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Rafah
• 1429941 Tweets
Met Gala
• 463572 Tweets
井上尚弥
• 280005 Tweets
#ŞimşekMebeMülakatsız68Bin
• 220509 Tweets
Superman
• 83331 Tweets
Merchan
• 69447 Tweets
Qatar
• 63936 Tweets
#الاهلي_الهلال
• 44737 Tweets
Crystal Palace
• 28290 Tweets
20 YEARS OF MINJI
• 23484 Tweets
No Bruno
• 23472 Tweets
Konya
• 22700 Tweets
Bernard Pivot
• 22528 Tweets
Białoruś
• 22339 Tweets
David Corenswet
• 20670 Tweets
David Moyes
• 16381 Tweets
Hades II
• 14755 Tweets
Cavill
• 14170 Tweets
#KONvFB
• 10882 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
MAGICAL REVEAL time. Look at this glorious cover! The Ice Children paperback publishes on 3rd October & is beautifully illustrated by
@PennyNevilleLee
My fairytale adventure about winter is available to pre-order NOW 😃❄️🌨️⛄️ from
@Waterstones
3
15
76
Dear universe, I never won anything as a child & I've not won lots of book awards. Being a winner feels like dressing in clothes I can't afford but gosh it's heady fun. At the end of the day, it's about the children who read the books & I hope we've written something they'll love
73
58
739
OMG! Twitch has won the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book of the Year!!!! I’m crying. I’m so proud of this book. Thankyou to
@WalkerBooksUK
and
@Booktrust
and everyone. What a day! 🦅📚❤️
102
81
733
Yesterday I opened the most adorable outdoor library. I wish every school in the country could have such a space. If only the government would give schools a workable budget. Children have a right to read.
29
96
706
I can promise you your children will enjoy and learn more from my books than anything written by Geri Halliwell or Peter Andre. I have dedicated my life to creating stories for children. It is my vocation.
.
@scholasticuk
has signed a new series of children’s books by TV personality
@MrPeterAndre
with “bright, bold and funny illustrations" by
@KatieKearArt
Read here:
38
0
11
41
61
683
Well now!
@frankcottrell_b
@redbreastedbird
&
@katyabalen
on the Today show have stirred up some support! The Telegraph is committing to reviewing a children's book every week.
Celebrity has ruined children’s books – but we are going to fight back!
36
136
547
BIG NEWS! There's an Adventures on Trains film franchise coming down the tracks!🚂
There’s lots we aren’t able to talk about yet, but
@samuelsedgman
& I are stoked that
@kindleentUK
are bringing our books to the big screen!
88
58
514
To all teachers, teaching assistants, heads, and librarians, I hope you have an utterly magnificent Christmas and take a moment to realise what an incredibly difficult but important job you've done in 2021. You've gone above and beyond for our children and I am in awe. Thank you.
11
67
511
Best moment of my career!
Congratulations to this year's Children's Fiction Book of the Year winners
@MGLnrd
&
@samuelsedgman
for The Highland Falcon Thief, illustrated by
@elisaupsidedown
, valiantly presented by
@LennyHenry
and supported by
@theweekjunior
!
@MacmillanKidsUK
#BritishBookAwards
#Nibbies
26
72
263
81
26
501
I believe every school should have a well stocked library. Reading changes lives & should not be only available to the well-heeled. I support
@CressidaCowell
campaign with every atom of my being.
8
101
481
Every school should have a school library. I believe it is a young human’s right. Opening libraries is one of my favourite things.
12
60
478
We’ve bought our first home! It was a day of dreams coming true for my family. And we did it Bridgerton style! I put on my wedding dress
@samsparling78
put on a suit & carried me over the threshold! I cannot believe we’ve done it!
53
3
460
TEACHERS & SCHOOL LIBRARIANS! I’ve sorted my international editions & have 5 book bundles of over 15 of my books & audiobooks that I’d like to donate to STATE SCHOOL libraries. To enter, comment a lovely thing about libraries before April 3rd & you could win 1 of these. RETWEET!
298
362
437
Here it is. The most beautiful book. Huge thanks to
@paddydonnelly
for his amazing work, and to
@WalkerBooksUK
for working so hard to get the right cover for this story. I feel very lucky. I hope you like it. Twitch will be flying into shops in June.
52
61
412
Flying high on the news that TWITCH, my book about a birdwatcher who turns detective, has been shortlisted for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book of the Year, 2021. 😃
@WalkerBooksUK
31
35
390
Beetle Boy was published 6 years ago. This unusual, thrilling & funny story about a boy called Darkus & a rhinoceros beetle called Baxter has changed my life. I'm very proud of it. I recommend you give it a try. You'll never look at beetles the same way again.
32
21
341
When you 1st hold your book it’s magical. I’ve waited a long time for this story to exist in print. I’m excited for readers to discover it in their Christmas stockings. The artwork
@PennyNevilleLee
is creating is magic.
The Ice Children arrives in bookshops in November. ❄️
34
50
320
I WON!!! And I was so shocked and utterly delighted. Thankyou so much to all who voted for TWITCH 🥰
Congratulations
@MGLnrd
on this year's win for
#Twitch
- such a worthy winner & what a cheer from the crowd! Great to overlap with you for
@BranfordBoase
& now
@APChBookAward
!
3
3
14
37
21
308
@frankcottrell_b
Do beetles experience time in the same way as humans?
Honestly, I was dumbfounded and had to admit that I didn't know!
3
5
300
10 years to write Beetle Boy.
I was terrified when I had only 1 year to write Beetle Queen.
In 2021 I’ll have publish 3 books!
I believe they contain some of my best writing.
I am proud of producing these adventures during difficult times.
I hope they bring readers much joy.
13
18
294
I’ve just opened my post and received a wet proof of the cover for The Ice Children and OH MY it’s so pretty 🤩
33
16
294
Utterly shocked & ecstatic that Murder on the Safari Star has steamed straight into the children’s bestseller chart at number 9! Every single Adventures on Trains book has been a bestseller! Thankyou to every reader who preordered. 🚂❤️
37
15
288
I’d hazard a guess that the number of celebrity children’s books created as a brand extension exercise rather than a quality reading experience doesn’t help children’s books achieve the respect and consideration they deserve.
Why is children's literature not considered as important as other literature? 📚
Gruffalo and Tabby McTat author Julia Donaldson tells
@JustinOnWeb
that despite Britain being 'famous' for children's books, she's unsure why the genre gets 'little attention'.
#R4Today
36
137
318
13
52
290
I found out in the lunch break between events that Twitch won the Sainsbury’s Children’s Fiction Book of the Year and this is what it looked like before I cried.
43
5
271
This morning I’m basking in the news that TWITCH has won the
@CrimeFest
award for Best Crime Novel For Children. I cannot tell you how delighted I am to get an award for my criminal credentials! 😃 If you haven’t read TWITCH, why not give it a try? 📚🪶
31
31
267
Happy Birthday to me.
Had lunch by the sea.
Got spoiled with presents
From my lovely family.
I’m 47 today & feel blessed to have enjoyed another year on this beautiful planet.
As Nat King Cole sings:
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return.
41
4
264
The 1st week of Feb has become super special for me. 5 yrs ago, Beetle Boy was
@waterstones
BOTM & launched my writing career. 1 yr ago The Highland Falcon Thief was BOTM. This year Murder on the Safari Star is published & I celebrate 5 yrs of being a children's author. THANK YOU
16
18
257
It’s written, so I can now reveal that the 4th & final adventure in The Twitchers seasonal quartet will be called Feather 🪶 & flying into bookshops on February 1st 2024. It’s a winter story in which The Twitchers meet a raven called Caliban & try to solve a museum heist! 🐦⬛
24
35
255
It's with enourmous gratitude & pride that I can announce TWITCH has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. There is no higher accolade for a children's book, & I was raised by libraries, so I'm doing my happy dance. Congratulations to all nominated authors, it's 1 hell of a list
📣 We are delighted to announce the nominations for the 2022 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals!
Congratulations to all the incredible authors and illustrators in the running for
#CKG22
!
View the full lists here:
58
360
744
33
14
253
When your author event is gatecrashed by the Prime Minister! 😱
90
5
252
NEWS: SPARK is coming in September!
Spark Bird = bird that sparks an interest in birding, that opens your eyes to the wonder of birds & nature. A pivotal moment in which your world is changed.
This story is about Jack.
@waterstones
reveals
@paddydonnelly
cover on MONDAY!
25
38
251
Only two days to publication! This one is for all you wonderful mums. If you’ve loved the series, do pre-order. It would be lovely to end on a high. 😃🚂📚
37
29
241
Getting set up to give my talk at the
@The_UKLA
conference and I’m nervous. The other author speakers include
@PhilipPullman
and
@MichaelRosenYes
18
5
241
Are you one of those readers who has read all 4 of the Adventures on Trains books & is waiting patiently for book 5 whilst wondering what book 6 might be called? Then
@samuelsedgman
& I have news that you'll be interested in... coming tomorrow... morning...
24
16
239
Merry Christmas to you beetle-loving, bird-watching, train-riding, winter-adventuring, book reading folk. Thankyou for opening my books & diving in. Without you there are no stories. I hope your holiday is festive, fun filled & the new year brings peace & prosperity. 🎄❤️❄️🕊️🚂🪲
9
7
235
I have visited schools that have no library and each one broke my heart.
@PhilipPullman
is right. It should be law. Schools are doing their best. The government is not.
‘Every school should have a library’: Philip Pullman calls for new UK laws
11
143
423
9
45
234
What cancelled TV Show would you bring back that isn't Firefly?
💯
What cancelled TV Show would you bring back that isn't Firefly?
0
0
5
22
40
228
TODAY The Arctic Railway Assassin steams into bookshops to give readers a chilling Christmassy, Scandi-noir, ride to the Arctic circle! The research trip was such an incredible experience. I hope you can tell when you read it. And wait till you see
@elisaupsidedown
illustrations!
31
33
227
Oh HAPPY DAY! The Highland Falcon Thief has been shortlisted as one of the 6 Children’s Fiction Books of the Year in the British Book Awards! If you’re not in book world, this our equivalent of being nominated for an Oscar! 😃🚂📚
Congratulations to our Book of the Year Children's Fiction shortlistees,
@kwebberwrites
&
@kevtsang
,
@SerenaKPatel
,
@MGLnrd
&
@samuelsedgman
,
@davidwalliams
,
@TomFletcher
and
@jk_rowling
!
#BritishBookAwards
#Nibbies
3
24
103
35
14
227
🤢🤮☹️ I DONT WANT AN ALTERNATIVE TO TREES 🌳 🤬
Scientists create Liquid Trees; a tank full of water and micro-algae that could be an alternative to trees in urban areas.
4K
2K
17K
27
18
220
I keep thinking that I dreamt this... but I didn't! 😃
Shortlisted for Children's Fiction Book of the Year is The Highland Falcon Thief by
@MGLnrd
and
@SamuelSedgman
with illustrations by
@ElisaPaganelli
, the first book in the bestselling
#AdventuresOnTrains
series
#BritishBookAwards
3
5
28
24
10
211
And then there were five! From today you can hop aboard the Solar Express at all good bookshops. Normally I’d be running around signing & visiting said reading stations however I’ve been struck down by a horrid tummy bug, so instead I’ll be staring at social media 🤣
31
39
209
Happy Book Birthday to Murder on the Safari Star. She's the tenth book I've published, and that feels pretty special. I hope you all enjoy the ride. We've worked hard to give you a great escape.
30
27
209
So it turns out, after a lifetime of thinking I was a cat person, I discover I’m also a dog person & the emotions I’m experiencing as we fall in love with Nell are overwhelming. I’ve been on the brink of tears since I met her. It’s very surprising & wonderful.
22
2
209
The 4th & final Twitchers book has arrived. Meet FEATHER, the story of 7 brave children & a museum heist. Incredible artwork by
@paddydonnelly
My seasonal quartet is now complete. I’ve loved everything about writing these books. Huge thanks to
@WalkerBooksUK
for publishing them
11
27
208
Today, at a school, a kid called me
M. G. Legend
And I liked it.
4
1
206
To my delight, I was approached to write an introduction to the new
@OxfordChildrens
Classics edition of The Wind in the Willows. This book has been a touchstone at many pivotal points in my life, so it is a great honour to introduce it to new readers. Available
@Waterstones
12
27
204
Morning. Here’s my elegant pup, who I am ridiculously in love with.
15
0
201
Today our family grew. Meet Nell. Finally there’s another girl I. The family. She’s named after The Nell of Old Drury in Covent Garden, where
@samsparling78
& I courted one another and she’s already loved.
21
0
197
Merry Christmas to every bookseller, librarian, teacher, parent & reader who’ve picked up, read, recommended, sold, gifted or reviewed my books. I love creating stories. Your reading them enables me to do it. I’m send a healthy dollop of love with the gratitude. Thankyou. 🎄❤️
7
5
198
The 6th
#AdventuresOnTrains
book is The Arctic Railway Assassin. It will be arriving in bookshops on the 13th of October and looking like THIS! Soak in that wonderfully wintry cover by
@elisaupsidedown
& get your pre-order from
@Waterstones
here:
18
30
199
We give you
@elisaupsidedown
stunning cover for the fifth Adventures on Trains boo: Sabotage on the Solar Express coming to books shops in February 2022.
Danger at Dead Man's Pass is available to pre-order NOW!
18
26
195
My son’s GCSE results mean he can go to college & study his chosen subjects. After the bin-fire of the past 18 months, this wasn’t a given. It’s been hard, fighting the negative monster that preys on young minds, but the battle is over & he’s victorious. I’m crying with relief.
11
3
192
Morning storm riders! It’s publication day for The Ice Children! 😃Words by me, pictures by
@PennyNevilleLee
💙❄️
22
38
189
The Twitchers Club posters are up in train stations, featuring Twitch, Spark & Clutch! Thanks to
@paddydonnelly
they look beautiful. This is a surreal & delightful thing about being an author, - seeing your stories championed in such a public way. Thankyou
@WalkerBooksUK
7
15
190
Thankyou to everyone for your congratulations and love for The Highland Falcon Thief. I’m still on cloud nine and pinching myself hourly but I got my
@thebookseller
and there we are 😍
5
8
191
Am at home, in the garden, with my son, who isn’t at school because the teachers have to strike to get this government to listen. We support the
#TeacherStrike
#SaveOurSchools
Teachers deserve a fair wage.
3
9
184
Londoners trying not to stare at me and my chicken, as if it’s the most normal thing ever 🤣🐓
12
7
187
Today is our seven year wedding anniversary and I feel so goddamn lucky ❤️
16
0
185
I am on an actual TRAIN! For the 1st time in a year! I’m travelling to a top secret location to spend a week with
@samuelsedgman
writing about trains! 😃 This feels like a big adventure. At the end, we will have outlined our 5th book - an action packed journey across Australia
17
4
186
Brain tumors are brutal and cruel. This is hard news for the heart. Professor Benjamin Zephaniah was the gentlest rebel and the kind of human it’s impossible not to like and respect and be moved by.
9
17
185
Only in Bristol could I turn up for my second school event of the day and be presented with a falcon! ❤️ Meet Sandy. I’m in love.
7
3
184
Once upon a time, I dreamed of being the kind of author whose books would be advertised on poster boards in stations. Today my dream came true! If you spot one, send me a pic of you beside it. Bonus points if you’re holding one of the books! Thankyou
@MacmillanKidsUK
🚂📚😀
5
8
185
Yesterday was my oldest son’s birthday. We went to a restaurant. He put a tomato in his mouth and ate it! 🤯
Me: but you hate tomatoes!
Him: it’s just a tomato Mum
That was when I realised he’d become a grown up. 🥲 For 18 years I’ve been eating his tomatoes.
No more.
10
3
183
Today I bought a mirror that will begin my career as an Evil Queen and I’m very happy about it!
12
3
185
😃🚂! I’m chuffing over the moon that Murder on the Safari Star is in the top 50 children’s books sold in independent bookshops in the first half of the year! Because of lockdowns it’s impossible to know if our books are selling, so this is amazing.
#choosebookshops
19
10
183
Behold, all you beloved beauties who're bananas about beautiful books: CLUTCH artwork by
@paddydonnelly
19
36
180
HOLY GUACAMOLE!
Kidnap on the California Comet has been nominated for an EDGAR!!! For Brits who don’t know, the
@EdgarAwards
are the annual awards bestowed by the Mystery Writers of America & they are a HUGE deal if you write crime fiction. I couldn’t be prouder right now! 😃🚂
25
7
179
I got back from Yorkshire & my brand new book SPARK was waiting for me! Huge thanks to
@paddydonnelly
for the beautiful artwork & all
@WalkerBooksUK
Get ready for the return of The Twitchers on 1st Sept! 😃
10
24
175
Happy Book Birthday to my third winged beauty, Clutch. I love writing adventures for my nature loving Twitchers. I hope you all enjoy the story and may your Easter eggs be safe from thieves 🥚🐣🪺📚
25
24
171
Yesterday was unforgettable. TWITCh won
@APChBookAward
2023. It’s an award decided by the votes of Over 700 children! When I was announced the winner, the audience went wild. A huge thankyou to all who voted, all who organised the event & the librarians who selected the shortlist
10
10
170
For the Sunday night scrollers, yesterday I revealed
@paddydonnelly
stunning cover for FEATHER, the fourth and final Twitchers mystery. It'll be flying into bookshops in February. Be a darling and pre order a copy here:
15
32
169
This week I’ve seen some early artwork from illustrator
@PennyNevilleLee
for
The Ice Children and all I’m allowed to tell you is that it’s going to be magical ❄️
10
16
164
Been editing since 7am, but the husband has just brought me breakfast and it’s like falling in love all over again.
4
2
165
Last night I arrived home from the trip of a lifetime. This morning I’m setting off for NYC for the
@EdgarAwards
2023 on Thursday! 😃 I’m so excited!
Keep your fingers crossed for me &
@samuelsedgman
& Murder on the Safari Star
18
6
164
Twitch arrived! I can’t talk about this book without getting emotional. It’s full of joy, wonderful children, duplicitous baddies & many magnificent birds. I’m so grateful to
@WalkerBooksUK
&
@paddydonnelly
for making it a thing of beauty. Flying into a bookshop near you June 3rd
11
25
164
I’m on my way to Edinburgh! I’m excited to be returning to the festival person this year.
18
0
162
Your friendly neighbourhood author, giving up Mother’s Day breakfast in bed to go to Sky News & talk about the importance of
#WorldBookDay
when growing numbers of children don’t own 1 book & literacy levels are sinking amongst those struggling in a cost of living crisis. 11.30AM
8
15
163
Oldest had 6th form college interview today & was offered a place. If he has to retake GCSEs they will help him do this alongside his A Level studies. I'm honestly tearful. Impact of the last 12 months on his mental health, ability to concentrate & self-confidence has been awful.
7
0
159
Wishing all children's authors and illustrators luck for the coming World Book Week. We've faced train strikes, snow and covid in the past. Nothing can stop us from bringing joy, mayhem and a love of reading to schools up and down the country!
4
15
161
My mate
@mazevansauthor
is poorly, so I’m here to toot a trumpet and tell you to get this screamer of a book for your kids’ bedside tables so they can giggle themselves to sleep. 😃
⚡ ONE DAY TO GO ⚡
Oh Mummy Mia by
@MazEvansAuthor
is out tomorrow!
We can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on this brilliant middle-grade read - in less than 24 hours, eek!
0
5
14
5
48
161
I’m so chuffed that our book has won the FCBG Younger Readers Award! Wow! Thankyou to all the readers who voted. 🥰🚂📚
Winner of Books for Younger Readers category is The Highland Falcon Thief by
@MGLnrd
@samuelsedgman
@MacmillanKidsUK
Congratulations!
7
20
79
12
19
161
Wrote the 1st chapter of a new book today.
There's a vision in my head of an amazing, gripping, wonderful story.
But only word-poo comes out.
I'm sitting here looking at it.
If I hadn't done a million ugly word poos before I might not know that from it will grow a beautiful story
17
5
159
Today, after many years, I finally got my own Baxter. He has a girlfriend called Beatrice. Check out my chalcasoma Caucasus 😃💚🪲
9
4
158
NEWS! There will be 4 books in The Twitchers series. Each one set in a different season so that if you read all 4 books you’ll experience a year in birding and 4 stand alone mysteries solved by Twitch and Jack. SPARK - the Autumnal adventure - is I. Bookshops NEXT WEEK 😃🦅
14
23
158
A year ago today, The Highland Falcon Thief steamed into bookshops as
@waterstones
book of the month. The delight our book has brought readers, the kind words people have for it, the support booksellers have given it, have buoyed me up through the past 12 months. Thank you.
6
8
158
Feast your eyes on the dramatic beauty of the 4th book in the Adventures on Trains series Danger at Dead Man's Pass.
@elisaupsidedown
and
@MacmillanKidsUK
have outdone themselves! Pre order a signed copy from
@waterstones
NOW!
If you loved our past Children's Book of the Month The Highland Falcon Thief, you'll be thrilled to hear that
@MGLnrd
and
@samuelsedgman
's series continues this autumn with Danger at Dead Man's Pass. Pre-order a signed bookplate edition here:
11
15
97
28
23
157
You want to know what I'm doing next week? I'm going to the Arctic, with
@samuelsedgman
, to do the research for the sixth AdventuresOnTrains book.
Monday: Carnegie nom
Tuesday: Caledonian sleeper to Glasgow for
#COP26
Wednesday: rode UK's 1st hydrogen-powered train & Boris Johnson hijacked my author event.
Thursday: Launch
@BlackwellEdin
Giving Tree
Friday: Appear on Double Booked - podcast from
@AndrewDonkin
&
@EoinColfer
3
2
36
20
2
149
I’ve written a lovesong to birds, nature, children, friendship & kindness. It’s an uplifting, gripping & delightful read that flies into bookshops today. If you’ve enjoyed any of my other books, grab a copy of TWITCH to read this summer - I promise you won’t regret it.
13
38
148