Who I am

I have worked as an editor and editorial consultant for fifteen years. In that time, I’ve helped many writers refine their manuscripts to readiness, and move on to the excitement of submission, representation and publication. I’ve also helped clients deal with the painful realisation that their current book may be a training effort, and enabled them to get the maximum of useful experience and knowledge from the process.

With my other hat on, I’m a children’s literature critic, reviewing children’s and young adult books for The Guardian. I also review for other publications, including Books for Keeps, the UK’s leading independent children’s magazine, The Times Literary Supplement and The Metro. This means my understanding of the market is always current, and I have comprehensive knowledge of both classic and contemporary children’s literature to draw on (I sometimes review adult titles too, particularly memoir, horror, thrillers and literary fiction.)  

Until December 2020, I was part of Team Down the Rabbit Hole, a radio show about children’s books broadcast monthly on Resonance FM – you can listen to episodes here: http://dtrhradio.com/episodes/. Other broadcast experience includes Women’s Hour, The Today Programme and Sky News.

I have chaired panels at literary festivals including Oxford, Cheltenham, Greenwich and YALC, and judged prizes including the YA Book Prize, the CLiPPA Poetry Award, the British Book Awards, the Branford Boase, the Costa children’s book award, The Week Junior Award and the Wainwright Prize.

I have written several non-fiction books for children, two collections of poetry for adults, and am the co-author of Kitty & Mary, a Pride and Prejudice sequel for adults and teenagers, publishing September 2026 from Andersen Press. You can pre-order it here!

For more about my books, please have a look at My Own Writing.