In 2014 I decided to create an industry focussed academy for writers of children’s fiction in the same vein as a drama or ballet school. Now it’s flourishing. Talent can’t be taught, but good craft can. Ballet dancers, visual artists, actors all know this.

Enjoyed giving a talk to the @TheGEAcademy yesterday on my path to publication with The Book Guild. I write in the genre of teen historical timeslip, not an easy sell! But thanks to the Book Guild my books are available online and from all good bookshops. #fantasy #History

Re English degrees - as a student Katherine Rundell read Donne's most difficult poem. It gave her an idea for a children's book. Yesterday Disney announced a monster deal for that book. So that English degree will soon create and sustain thousands of highly skilled UK jobs.

A £5 iced-latte? Or gift book packs to 3 pre-school children living in women's refuge centres. Books help overcome disadvantage and nurture a life-long love of reading, but for many they're a luxury families can't afford. Spread joy this Summer with a monthly gift.☀️

Hi kids .. #HandmaidsTale (the book not the series!) has just been banned in #Edmonton…don’t read it, your hair will catch on fire! Get one now before they have public book burnings of it.

My wife has now read the 4th draft of my next novel. The manuscript is sitting in my office. As long as I don’t pick it up and look at what she’s written in the margins, it is perfect… #schrodingersbook

We are very sad to learn of the death of Allan Ahlberg. With his wife Janet & with other leading illustrators, Allan Ahlberg created books loved by generations of readers.Everyone will have their favourite.Full obituary to come, meanwhile from our archives https://t.co/TLku0mwCd2

Always make time to take your kids to libraries & bookshops. Always let them browse freely. These are places of magic & wonder - the places where we find the books that make us readers, and stay with us forever. These places change our lives! #literacy

A fun afternoon at The Royal Society where Boy Like Me won the secondary fiction category at the ‘What Kids are Reading’ awards. Fascinating insights into what kids are actually reading too! Thanks @AccReader 😀

☕A £5 iced-latte? Or gift book packs to 3 pre-school children living in women's refuge centres. Books help overcome disadvantage and nurture a life-long love of reading, but for many they're a luxury families can't afford. Spread joy this Summer with a monthly gift.💫

Tyger is coming to the US in July! I'm blown away by this review, and beyond excited that it's going to be a Kids’ Indie Next List Pick! Huge & heartfelt thanks to Hezekiah Olorode & all the amazing indie booksellers across the US for supporting & championing this book!

Nice to get a mention from The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon on Steve Lemacq’s 6music show - reminiscing about Something for the Weekend. They were exciting times.

It's an emotional moment for me to hold the US edition of TYGER in my hands. I put 9 years of my life into writing it because I believe children's books are the most important books of all. Thank you @penguinkids @WorkshopBooks for bringing it to the US! https://t.co/2M36FmsUrA

COMPETITION TIME! The portholes are open for submissions for the Guppy 2025 Open Submissions Competition - calling all aspiring m-g writers! And you could join the ranks of these wonderful past winners! https://t.co/g2iN32EOsu

From this bleeding shore, we trace your path in the stars. The Madleen is not a ship,it is a poem, written by hands that still believe, that still resist, that still wait. @GretaThunberg @thiagoavilabr @GazaFFlotilla #GazaAwaits

Children's books are seldom taken seriously by adults, yet they're the books that make us readers in the first place. They shape us at the deepest levels, and they stay with us forever. So I think children's books are really THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS OF ALL!

Thanks so much @Booktrust for including Pia in your June roundup. 🤩🐶🐾📚💛 @Usborne @cooliobeanz

An island of strangers? Just imagine what British children's books would be like without the work of migrants & their children – all of these & more! https://t.co/n9YiUjVlrh

It’s publication day! 🐶📚❤️ My heart is already so full from the initial reviews. Librarians, teachers, booksellers and of course dear readers, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 💛 @Usborne @cooliobeanz

KLAXON! It’s competition time! The portholes are open once again - head to the Guppy website for more information about the 2025 Open Submission Competition - this time open to middle-grade authors. Good luck and please spread the news far and wide! https://t.co/IiWWsJjC7W

#publicationday #debutauthor #YA #dystopia #dystopianYA #StopSuperbugs #AMR Thrilled that my debut novel is published today! In world where antibiotics no longer work, what will Maz sacrifice to save her brother from a superbug? Find out more at: https://t.co/c5Ajfon7Yr