Committee Highlight Louise Corcoran What’s your role on the CBN committee, and what excites you most about it? I’m the social butterfly, looking after Twitter and Instagram. What excites me most about my role is sharing all the exciting things that are happening in publishing in the North and Scotland, and helping to connect people. What's your day job outside of CBN? My day job outside of CBN is Key Account Manager and Northern Sales Rep at Bounce Sales and Marketing. Bounce looks after sales and distribution for approx. 40 independent children’s publishers, encompassing ever ..read more

   Bookshop of the Month (April) The Edinburgh Bookshop Interviewee: Fiona (children's specialist) Can you tell us more about the Edinburgh Bookshop, and what drew you to work there?  The Edinburgh Bookshop is a small-but-stuffed, award-winning, independent bookshop based in the Bruntsfield area of the city. Besides being across the road from one of the best ice cream parlours in town (!), the shop's community spirit and focus on young readers was a real draw to work there, as well as the wonderful close-knit team of passionate booksellers, led by the inimitable Marie Moser ..read more

Children's Books North 2024 Mentor Scheme Meet the Mentors! Children’s Books North’s annual mentor scheme for aspiring publishers is back for 2024! Aiming to demystify the publishing industry to those wishing to pursue a career in the sector, the CBN Mentor Scheme offers selected mentees four remote mentoring sessions with an established publishing professional. Applications are now open! Doubling last year’s offering, this year we welcome twelve mentors from a variety of roles across the publishing sector, including experts from editorial, marketing, sales, design, production and agen ..read more

   Northern Highlight Trish Cooke Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I am based in Yorkshire. Picturesque. Family. Home. What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing about it? It’s special when I read my story to a child and it connects. My favourite part of the process is reading the final draft after putting all the work in. You're an actress and a scriptwriter as well as a writer - how has that impacted your writing career and how you tell stories? From a very young age, I enjoyed crea ..read more

   Northern Highlight Catherine Jacob Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I live in York. In three words: historic, vibrant, creative! What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing about it? The whole process is special. I came up with many of my picture book stories for my own children and some of the characters are based on my kids when they were very little, so that’s very special and personal. I often write in rhyme and there’s nothing more satisfying than coming up with a super origina ..read more

   Northern Highlight Kate Pankhurst Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I’ve made my home in Leeds (I’m originally from Liverpool way) and I work from a studio space in an old Spinning Mill at a mill site which is now home to an array of creative businesses (Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley). Three words – surprising, buzzy and … pigeons! (If you leave a window open overnight the mill pigeons like to come inside and make themselves comfortable.) What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing ..read more

Children’s Books North We Are Four! Children's Books North is four today! We have grown so much since our first social event in Manchester, and it has been an incredible journey – connecting publishing professionals in the North and Scotland, promoting regional diversity and championing the creativity of our members. Take a look at some of our highlights from last year! Launching Looking North: the CBN Directory In 2023 we successfully launched our Directory of Members, which lists published children’s authors, illustrators and publishing professionals based in the North and S ..read more

   Bookshop of the Month (February) Pritchards Bookshop Interviewee: Amy Wright (owner) Can you tell us more about Pritchards Bookshop? Pritchards has been in Crosby village since 1975, and I bought it in 2021 once original owner Steve Pritchard retired. We have recently moved to a bigger premises and are going from strength to strength. I have been able to build on this local institution and bring new customers in on top of our very loyal existing customer base. What, for you, is so special about children's books?  I love children’s books and have fond memories of my favour ..read more

   Northern Highlight Clare Mackie Where are you based, and how would you sum up the place in three words?  I’m based halfway up a hill in a pretty cottage near Kinross and my studio looks out onto trees and my garden, and not a wall with a hint of sky which was my previous view. In 3 words: squirrels, verdant, peace. What is special to you about working with children's books, and what is your favourite thing about it? I love it when the pencils are done and the book is visually making sense. Prepping the paper for the paintings in anticipation of bringing all the hard work ..read more

  Bookshop of the Month The Children's Bookshop (Lindley, Huddersfield) Interviewee: Nicola Lee (Owner) Can you tell us more about The Children's Bookshop? The Children’s Bookshop recently moved property (just down the road) so we have a lovely bright colourful space full of books for children of all ages. We also sell some games and toys. Our aim is to provide the best quality books for children and young people in a safe and fun environment, and encourage children to read for pleasure. We consider ourselves a welcoming space for all people and wish to be a friendly presence in Lindle ..read more