The Writing for Young People Research Group

This research group brings together our staff team who are all published writers for young people (from picture book age to teenage/young adult).  The group's staff include:

• Julia Green is Programme Leader for the MA Writing for Young People. She writes for both teenagers and younger children and has a particular research interest in realist fiction for teenagers and young adults dealing with family relationships. She runs writing workshops in schools and at festivals, and has been a speaker at events such as the YLG conference (Youth Librarians); AWP Conference (New York) a tutor for the Arvon Foundation and a writer for the Young Cultural Creators programme funded by MLA London working with young people at the Children's Society Archives.
• Steve May writes fiction for children and teenagers.
• Jonathan Neale writes fiction for children (9-12 years).
• Mimi Thebo writes fiction for children and teenagers.
• Steve Voake leads the undergraduate programme for Writing for Young People. He writes for both teenagers and younger children, and has recently been guest speaker for the annual Booktrust Conference. He is part of the 2010 Book Selection Panel for Letterbox. He runs writing workshops for schools, at festivals, and is a regular tutor for the Arvon Foundation. He is a short-listed author for numerous book awards in 2010 (Manchester, Concorde, Leeds, Staffordshire, Cheshire Schools).

Research Student

• Lucy Christopher is a PhD student with research interests in: Australian fiction for young people; relationships between young people and the land.  Her published novels include: Stolen (Chicken House, 2009); Flyaway (Chicken House, 2010). She has been short-listed for many book awards including: Waterstone's; Lancashire Book Award; Coventry Book Award.

Writer in Residence

• Marcus Sedgwick: An author and illustrator as well as a musician. He has published novels such as Floodland (Orion Children's Books, 2000. Winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2001) and The Dark Horse (Orion Children's Books. Shortlisted for The Guardian Children's Book Award 2002).

Visiting Professionals

Visiting professionals from the children's publishing industry in 2010:

• John McLay: International children's book scout; Artistic Director, Bath Festival of Children's Literature.
• Rosemary Canter: Children's Agent, United Agents.
• Imogen Cooper: Publisher, Chicken House.
• Liz Cross: Publisher, Children's Fiction, Poetry and Picture Books at Oxford University Press.

We have close links with the Bath Festival of Children's Literature. Students from the MA Writing for Young People are involved in shadowing authors at events and as part of the education programme, as volunteers and as part of the current Write Team Project (led by Emma Metcalfe, sponsored by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation).