May | 2016 |

Events for adults

I offer talks, workshops or masterclasses on writing and publishing. Sessions can be designed to suit a specific group.

I can speak on:

My books
My writing career
Creative writing, or writing specifically for children – from introductory level for beginners to masterclasses for experienced writers
Publishing and editing, or the publishing industry

I also give masterclasses and workshops for:

The Golden Egg Academy https://www.goldeneggacademy.co.uk

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) http://britishisles.scbwi.org

The Winchester Writers Festival http://writersfestival.co.uk

For more information, contact me here

Guest blogs I’ve written

View from my Desk

Written for Notes from the Slushpile

I’m often asked what I think of the ‘state of publishing’. It all depends on whose prism I’m peering through. More than ever publishing seems divided into the pessimistic and the optimistic – gloom and a mourning of lost times on the one hand, promise and widening opportunity – e-technology and the ease of linking with readers through social media – on the other. Read more

Trust Your Subconscious

Written for Words and Pictures

‘… The issue for us (writers) is not so much learning to tap into our subconscious, but keeping confidence in it; having the courage not to treat it as an unwanted intruder and try to shut it out, but give it nurturing space.’ read more

Discoveries

A small girl playing caves found Ice Age paintings over 17,000 years old.

Radioactivity first revealed itself on a cloudy day in Paris – in a desk drawer.

Peering into rainwater puddles, a curious linen-draper discovered the invisible world of living creatures that surround us.

A feast of weird and wonderful facts about discoveries.

A Science Museum Book of Amazing Facts

Illustrated by Tim Archbold

[published by Hodder Children’s Books]

Inventions

The inventors of the first robot were put on trial for witchcraft.

The first electric light bulbs needed a health warning: ‘Do not try and light with a match.’

The first working television was made from a knitting needle, the lid of a hatbox, an electric fan motor, and torch batteries, all put together on top of an old tea-chest.

A feast of weird and wonderful facts about inventions …

A Science Museum Book of Amazing Facts

Illustrated by Ross Collins

[published by Hodder Children’s Books]

Transport

The first air passengers were a sheep, a duck and a cock, who sailed up in a hot air balloon, watched by the King of France.

An American inventor has designed a bike with 54 speeds, 5 computers, a security system, a speech synthesizer, and a telephone.

In 1838 the fast journey across the Atlantic (by steamship) took 15 days. Nowadays, planes can fly it in a few hours.

A feast of weird and wonderful facts about transport

A Science Museum Book of Amazing Facts

Illustrated by Tim Archbold

[published by Hodder Children’s Books]

Turtle’s Party in the Clouds

Turtle loves parties. She so wants to go the party in the clouds, but how can she get there without wings?

She has a very clever plan … but things don’t go quite the way she wants them …

Inspired by a traditional Brazilian folktale

Illustrated by Christine Jenny

some pages from the book

[published by HarperCollins: Collins Big Cat]

Greedy Anansi and his Three Cunning Plans

Crafty spider Anansi’s greed and cunning don’t always get him what he wants.

Inspired by three traditional tales told in several parts of Africa and the Caribbean.

Illustrated by Alexander Jansson

[published by HarperCollins: Collins Big Cat]

Down the Road to Jamie’s House

Annie wants to go to Jamie’s house

but Mum is feeding Ben – and feeding Ben

takes hours and hours

and days and days

and weeks and weeks

and months and months

and even all the year.

Annie knows where Jamie’s house is.

And she knows she’ll be safe

wearing her explorer’s hat …

But …

Illustrated by Adrian Reynolds

‘A lovely story.’

Early Years Educator

‘The happy marriage that occurs when

authors and illustrators are perfectly matched.’

The Bookseller

some pages from the book

[Down the Road to Jamie’s House published by Hodder Children’s Books]

Suzi, Sam, George and Alice

Seven o’clock on Sunday morning. Parents just want to lie in bed and sleep …

But Suzi, Sam, George and Alice have other ideas about what THEY want to do …

Illustrated by Sally Gardener

Lots of funny things going on and a smart, bouncy text.

Books for Children

The stars of this story …

… were my real cats, who were really called George and Alice and my real children when they were small, who weren’t called Sam and Suzi. I borrowed those names from two of their friends. The story is based on real things that happened at home …

Alice was small, dainty and very bossy. She thought she was in charge. George was large, lazy and loved just sleeping in the middle of the chaos around him.

[Suzi, Sam, George and Alice published by The Bodley Head & Red Fox, Random House]

Rift

In a vast African landscape four teenagers and a journalist vanish without trace from a camp below a steep rock ridge, ‘Chomlaya’.

Ella, the young sister of the journalist, helps Inspector Murothi piece together what’s happened as the search helicopters continue their constant hum over the rock ridge. But Ella and Murothi begin to wonder whether they are already too late …

MARCUS SEDGWICK, GUARDIAN

‘That delightful thing, a book which holds you from the first page. It's a fine book, with heroes to cheer and baddies to hiss at, with a satisfying ending and yet resisting the desire to tie up every single detail … an intelligent piece of writing, which brought back happy memories of Peter Dickinson's superb archaeological adventure A Bone from a Dry Sea.’

DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘A fragmented enigma, the story of a school trip gone mysteriously wrong, with not only several students but also a journalist gone missing in a wild, rocky region. There are layers within layers, and sinister events that unfold at Chomlaya Ridge … the lurking sense of threat is real. Stylised, sophisticated and richly atmospheric.’

DAILY EXPRESS

‘Compelling reading.’

LANCASHIRE BOOK OF THE YEAR

'The mystery of it all hooks you to the story like a lion to its prey.

SCHOOL LIBRARIAN

‘A tightly written, highly entertaining novel. Vibrant and haunting, Rift will hold readers’ attention well after they’ve finished reading the last page.’

YOUNG REVIEWER, EVENING ECHO

'I liked this book because of the suspense and the interesting characters. This suspense is very good. I just wanted to sit there and keep flicking the pages.’

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, U.S.

‘A suspenseful mystery. Birch does a fine job of describing the mysticism of this fictional locale where human life began.’

LANCASHIRE BOOK OF THE YEAR

'A fantastic read that keeps you hooked from the very first word. The unravelling of clues adds to the thrill and keeps you clinging on.

WRITE AWAY

‘The reader becomes hooked into the story and the investigation. I couldn’t put it down.’

TEENAGE FICTION FOR ALL AGES: audio

‘I loved, loved, loved this one … a mystery that completely holds the attention. The sense of place is amazing. Ella is a likeable and strong character. I would love to see Inspector Murothi return in another novel, teenage or adult. Clare Corbett narrates Rift exquisitely, I can’t recommend this audio book highly enough.’

CANDY GOURLAY, TIMES ONLINE

‘I also much enjoyed Rift, with Africa lovingly painted, a mystery, and a cast of sympathetic characters – especially the wonderful Inspector Murothi.’

HACKWRITERS.COM

‘A great, tense, vivid investigation novel with extraordinary characters in a beautiful, remote setting – a powerful, compelling read.’

THE EYE

‘A tense mystery. This gripped me throughout.’

What inspired RIFT?

‘It’s night-time; I’m stepping into a dark tent. The only light is the beam from my torch. My feet touch something warm, soft and sticky. Swing the torchbeam down. Something’s squelching over my sandals – wet, glistening. It takes a moment to recognise the innards of a decapitated snake spewed across the groundsheet. …

Fascination with the atmosphere of places. And with the search for human beginnings in Africa, where I grew up. I thought ‘what if people disappeared in peculiar, unexplained ways? What if it happened in the place we think was the cradle of humankind?

Then there’s the raw wildness of mountains and plains, animals and birds … I imagined being lost there. Coming face to face with an elephant or rhino. Or a leopard …

[RIFT published by Egmont Press, audio by W.F. Howes, Film optioned by Hanthum Films]