#WriteMentor 2021
I’m really excited that I will be
mentoring again this summer with the #WriteMentor programme. Here’s a
little bit about me and what sort of submissions I’d like to see this year…
I am represented by Veronique
Baxter at David Higham Associates. My writing is featured in many different
magazines, anthologies and online, and my chapter book for 5-8 year olds,
Autumn Moonbeam: Dance Magic, will be released in the summer of 2022 from UCLan publishing.
I won the Urban Retreats six month
novel writing course scholarship in 2018, ‘Off the Page’ co-writing competition with Carolyn Ward and judged by
Hodder & Stoughton, honourable mentions and placing in other competitions
including being a Mslexia Children's Novel Award longlistee in 2019 for an
upper MG Coming of Age Thriller.
Living in Wolverhampton, gives me
the perfect mix of rural and urban landscapes to influence my writing. I live
with my husband, stepson, three boys, one daughter, two mischievous kitties and
the youngest family members, Matilda, Mavis, and Malcolm, our chickens. My
background is in Fine Art, and later working with children in variety of jobs.
Now I’m also an editor and mentor and one half of Word
Witches with Carolyn Ward, and I am creator and host of a writerly chat on
Twitter called #ukteenchat.
I write picture books, chapter
books and Middle Grade novels for ages 5-8 and 8-12, and Teen and YA. I’m also a writer of flash fiction and short stories, with
some of these winning competitions or being published. I’ve written
contemporary novels, Fantasy, Humour and Thriller, with a strong focus on
friendship and family relationships, usually, though not exclusively, with
strong female main characters who are neurodivergent, working class and LGBTQ+.
I’m keen to mentor a writer of
either a chapter book or Middle Grade story. The genres I’d like to see are
quite a broad range: Contemporary, Humour, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror especially Folk Horror, or
Fantasy. It could be laugh out loud or making my hair stand on end, I’m happy
to see all sorts of stories.
Some of my favourite books are:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (anything he’s written really!); The Truth
Pixie by Matt Haig (again, all of Matt’s books); the Amelia Fang series by
Laura Ellen Anderson; Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison;
Instructions for a Second-Hand Heart by Tamsyn Murray; Orangeboy by Patrice
Lawrence; Ready, Player, One by Ernest Cline; Dear Charlie by N.D. Gomes; Noah
Can’t Even by Simon James Green; To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny
Han; The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy; The Pug Who Wanted to be a Unicorn by Bella Swift; The Other Alice by Michelle Harrison; The Goldfish Boy by Lisa
Thompson; The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder by Sarah J. Harris; Goth Girl and
the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell; Vampirates by Justin Somper;
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven; The Perks of Being a Wallflower by
Stephen Chbosky; Blood Moon by Lucy Cuthew; the Lottie Luna series by Vivian French; Small Spaces by Katherine Arden; The Rest of Us Just Live Here by
Patrick Ness, to name but a few 😊
I absolutely love being a mentor
and having the opportunity to work with the writers and support them and offer
advice and encouragement. I am currently a mentor with the #WriteMentor Spark
programme, and independently as an Editor and Mentor. I was a mentor for the
first #WriteMentor summer mentoring programme in 2018, which I absolutely loved
and had the opportunity to work with fantastic writers that year and each year since. It's lovely that we are all still in touch
and support each other’s writing journey, and I’m looking to do the same this
year.
My main reason for being part of
this #WriteMentor programme is that I love being with other writers and the
fantastic kidlit writing community. I’ve been very fortunate over the years to
have had support via mentoring and from amazing writing groups and individuals
and want to share that passion for words and the support and encouragement,
with lots of positivity (think Joy from Inside Out) and gifs along the way! I’d
love to work with someone who is keen to learn and share their writing with me
and have fun along the way.
There will be Q&As ahead of
the application window to ask me questions, but do feel free to send me a
message on Twitter if you have anything you’d like to ask.
So do apply to me if you feel we
would be a good fit.😊
For further updates please follow
me on Twitter @FinlaysonPalmer
