Welcome to my site!

I write books for all ages, for young children to teenage and adults. I have also written a book on writing - Writing for Children - for both aspiring and newly published authors.

While I spend quite a lot of time visiting libraries, schools and festivals talking about my books and running creative writing workshops, I do manage to find time to write, too!

Latest News:

Hamish McHaggis is supporting the NLT One-in-Six Run!

On next Monday 3rd October I will be at St John’s RC Primary School, Edinburgh reading Hamish McHaggis to P1-3 at the very start of this amazing journey.

Hamish McHaggis, himself will be there to cheer Jack and Jim off on their first run!

One in six run | National Literacy Trust

www.literacytrust.org.uk

The National Literacy Trust is a UK charity that changes lives through literacy. We have a vision of a society in which everyone has the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills that they need to fulfil their own and, ultimately, the nation’s potential.

Jack Sallabank and Jim Sells will run 160 miles, over 10 days, during October 2011.Each day Jack and Jim will run 16 miles in a different region of Britain. The 15th mile of each leg will take them to a primary school where they will deliver a fun literacy session and lead the children, and a local or national celebrity, on the final mile of the day. Schools can use this as an opportunity to raise funds for the National Literacy Trust.

The run will commence on Monday 3 October 2011 and will take 10 days. You can sponsor Jack and Jim through a Justgiving page – www.justgiving.com/1in6/, or though JustTextGiving, by texting READ16 to 70070.

Why not come along with the family and meet Hamish!!

On 21st October I will be at Turnberry Resort for an exciting, energetic and fun day for children of all ages!

There will be a chance to hear Hamish McHaggis stories and meet Hamish himself and there are lots of other fun activities. Three other authors will be there, too Franzeska Ewart, Maggi Gibson and Frank Rodgers and we will all be reading from our books and taking part in interactive events. There are also Bookbug sessions for tinies and other fun things going on, too. You can visit Little Turnberry Farm and go on a Woodland Treasure Hunt – in what looks like being a great day out!

‘In partnership with The Herald and Scottish Book Trust, four of Scotland’s renowned children’s authors will be offering interactive sessions and readings from a selection of their books. The event will also feature four Book Bug sessions, supported by Scottish Book Trust. Books by each author will be available for sale.’

more information can be found here –

Children’s family book day at Turnberry

The singing beetle – First copies delivered this morning!

It’s always lovely to see the first actual copies of a new book because it is invariably a long time since it was first written so it feels very new, and shiny!

This very morning the first copies of my latest book, a Collins Big Cat Phonics book arrived.

This is what it looks like!

It is the story of a little beetle who likes to sing (but is not very good at it!) When the other little beetles send her away she is almost eaten by Harry the mouse. But Poppy does something very brave and rescues him from sneaky Jake the snake. So they become friends instead and share their love of singing- even though neither of them can sing very well!

You can find out more about the book or buy it- here