We're off to Barnes ... for a Children's Lit Festival!

Jo Hardacre and the amazing team who run the now in its 11th year Barnes Literature Festival have supported Armadillo (me) in bringing you this fantastic Blog. I asked three of the attending authors five questions about their specific work, I added a fifth identical one for them all, asking them to provide an elevator pitch for their book(s). I hope you will agree, their answers are brilliant.

Want to know more about the festival? It runs on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June and has another packed programme, read all about it and have all your questions answered here: https://www.barneskidslitfest.org/

Firstly, do read more from Janice Hallett and her debut crime novel for middle grade readers, Chie Kutsuwada a Manga creator and The Brothers McLeod a pair of incredibly talented story creators. My thanks to them all for their fantastic answers and to the Barnes team. I hope many of you will have a chance to visit and be inspired this year!

Janice Hallett

This is your debut as an author of a children’s book – will this audience be more of a challenge than adults?

I’m expecting it be a different challenge, that’s for sure, rather like the writing process itself. I adapted my usual style to make it not only appropriate but also exciting and inspirational for young readers, and in doing so I discovered a new level of creativity and imagination myself. This audience is savvy and they have a plethora of amazing books at their disposal, so I’m happy to work hard to meet those high expectations.

What prompted you to write for children, what challenges did it pose?

It was 2022 and I was speaking at an event in Leeds. A reader told me that her 10-year-old son, who was the world’s most reluctant reader, had found her copy of The Appeal and read it from cover to cover – but only reading the text messages between the two student lawyers. She was thrilled he’d finally read a book and engaged with characters and asked if I’d consider writing in a similar style for children. That’s what gave me the idea to apply my multi-media epistolary style to a younger audience. The main challenge was adapting my usual tone, but as I immersed myself in the story, my tone developed accordingly.

Why did you decide to be a crime writer?

I came to novel writing from screen writing, where almost all my scripts were crime dramas. I’ve always been interested in, and a big consumer of, true crime, so it felt like a natural progression. There’s something about crime that compels us to solve it. I like that level of engagement and interaction myself, so hope to recreate it for my readers.

Do your public appearances ever involve interactive crime solving with the audience?

They don’t, I’m afraid, although that sounds like fun.

Chie Kutsuwada

You are described as a professional Manga artist/illustrator, is there a key difference?

I say manga artist sometimes, but it is more like a Manga creator to be precise! And when I describe myself in this way, it means I create Manga pages/stories, sometimes with my own stories or collaborating with authors. And sometimes I do take illustration (no manga/comic aspects such as panelling) commissions.

Why did you choose to dedicate your career to Manga?

I have been loving manga as a reader for a long time, but I did not create my own until I got much older. I created my first manga work for fun, not as a college project, when I was doing my MA in Printmaking. When I graduated from the course, I started thinking who I wanted to communicate with my creations. I choose Manga as a medium because I thought, and still think, that I want to communicate with a younger generation who might need some escape pods from harsh reality to survive troublesome teenage time, like I did when I was young.

What do you believe has driven the rise in popularity of Manga?

I think its variation is one of the reasons. It covers so many themes and genres, such as sports, love, romance, horror, cooking, and so much more. Sometimes a mixture of a few genres creating sparkle and chemistry. Because of this kind of variation, you can find at least one you interested in no matter how old you are, which gender you identify as, and what kind of background you are from.

Can you give our readers a sense of what happens during one of your public events?

You can learn what is special about Manga and deepen your knowledge of this fascinating art form. Also, you will learn the basic skill of how to draw a manga style character as you can enjoy the draw along with me session.

Brothers McLeod (answered by Myles on behalf of himself and Greg)

Brothers and incredibly talented creators, are you competitive and how do you balance family and work?

Thank you for saying so. And yes, of course we regularly have massive arguments, sometimes leading to epic sword fights while riding on horseback. Er… that would be a more exciting answer than the truth which is… we’ve always got on very well and very rarely fall out.

You both work in animation, film and books. Was this always part of the grand plan? Do you have a favourite?

We are terribly fidgety people! Some people are good at picking one thing to work at and just do that. We’ve never been like that. We’re like two magpies that have found a nest of shiny trinkets: we like to try out different things… writing books, writing for TV, illustrating, voice acting, directing, and for Greg, there’s drumming too! My favourite of these activities would have to be writing books and poems. Greg loves making short, animated films.

Of all the age groups you could write for, and already do, which is the biggest challenge and why?

In some ways the youngest children are the hardest, the 0- to 3-year-olds. That’s because you must tell stories that are very simple but very clear and also interesting! It turns out that being simple isn’t always that simple.

Have you ever been outshone by an audience member at an event, with a better joke/illustration …?

Myles: We’ve often been surprised by our audience at festivals or in schools and that is a big part of the joy of those events. You just don’t know what people are going to invent! We’ve had all sorts… and baddy burger, an evil toaster, a rogue caterpillar that flew everywhere on a piece of bread!

If you were only given enough time to give an elevator pitch for your book, what would you say?

JH      Brother and sister, Luke and Ava, must live apart when their parents separate, but they’re given smartphones for being good about the change. On the day Ava and Mum move out, Luke is in the loft with Dad when he finds a mysterious box. He secretly brings it down and looks inside. It contains a stack of documents relating to a scout camp in 1983, where a murder took place. Luke photographs each document, sends it to Ava, and together they solve a 40-year mystery. A Box Full of Murders is a book full of fun!

CK      For Tsunami Girl and 100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Café:

Both books have the great mixture of prose/manga and reality/fantasy, so your imagination will be stimulated by exploring both sides. For 10 Step series: The best and easiest way to learn how to draw manga/kawaii!

BM     If it was a short elevator ride from the ground floor to floor one, I’d say…

Knights-Wizards-Robots-Nonsense-Fun-Friends-Adventure-Laughs-Dragons-Slime-Snowballs-Witches-Pictures!