‘Publishing is like any other industry where trends change over time, genres come in and out of fashion and kids are looking for different kinds of stories…most importantly, it is writing books which kids love to read.’

‘It can be difficult to disentangle ourselves from our own stories, or stories we’ve heard from those close to us. I always find it useful when writing something inspired by real life, to focus on the feelings involved; that means using my lived experience as a jumping-off point.’

‘Some people use the term gatekeepers to describe publishers, but in my experience, publishers are eager for great stories that will connect with readers.’

‘All you need to write funny stories is to work out what makes you laugh. There are so many varieties of comedy, so once you discover what kind you enjoy, then you can use that as a springboard to write your own.’

“The most common mistake, by far, is not reading enough contemporary short fiction and equal first place with that is not reading the journal you’re submitting your work to…If you don’t read much contemporary short fiction, your work will likely have a kind of stale air to it; it will draw on work that was popular decades ago.”

“Myths are the foundations of all storytelling. They are the DNA of what we do as writers…From myth we see not just how we as humans interacted with the natural world, or the hierarchies of men, but how we communicated to each other. Without myth there would be no societies, no literature, no art.”