'The new master of books for children' The Times
Very proud and excited to be announced today as one of the judges of this year’s #Nibbies, or British Book Awards, run by The Bookseller magazine.
I will be judging the Best Book, Children’s Fiction, alongside writer and performer (and so much more) Sir Lenny Henry and bookseller Katie Clapham.
Can’t wait to reveal the book we choose!
You can see a full list of all the judges here
Lockdown time means Storytime is back!
I will be reading The Dark Wild, the second book in The Last Wild trilogy, out aloud at 2.30pm every weekday from Weds 6th Jan, a chapter a day, live on Instagram, or catch up later on my YouTube channel, until we’re out.
Hope to see some of you there.
Delighted to announce that, eight years later, there will be a prequel to THE LAST WILD.
THE WILD BEFORE will be published on August 19th 2021 with Hachette Children’s.
Drawing on themes of climate change, hope and friendship, The Wild Before returns the reader to the world of the beloved The Last Wild series, before the redeye virus has taken hold of every animal in the land, years before the events of The Last Wild have unfolded. The Wild Before tells the story of a young hare who is the world’s only hope of saving the legendary Mooncalf and avoiding certain disaster.
And I can’t wait for you all to read it!
Artwork: Thomas Flintham
ANNOUNCEMENT 
There are just TWO DAYS left to enter Wild About Writing! So this week, my final writing tip for you all is on how to give your story a FANTASTIC FINISH!
These tips are for anyone entering my Wild About Writing creative writing competition which I’m bringing to you in partnership with Blackwell’s Bookshop and Hachette Children’s Group.
It’s open to 7-12 year olds and the first prize is £500 worth of books for the winning child’s school or public library. The winner will also receive a virtual visit to the school by me (as well as a selection of my books), a printed version of the wining story with a designed cover, and an invitation to a virtual prize-giving ceremony. 19 runners-up will receive a signed copy of ‘The Last Wild’ and a £10 Blackwell’s Gift Card.
Just take a look at the story starter paragraph introduced in this video from me, and then write a fictional short story of no more than 1,000 words. Submit your entry by 13th September 2020.
Happy writing and good luck! The winner will be announced in October..
For full details of this competition, please visit the competition website: www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/wildaboutwriting
Just two weeks left to enter Wild About Writing! This penultimate week my tip is about how to write a longer story than you might normally…how to write a SUPER STORY!
These tips are for anyone entering my Wild About Writing creative writing competition which I’m bringing to you in partnership with Blackwell’s Bookshop and Hachette Children’s Group.
It’s open to 7-12 year olds and the first prize is £500 worth of books for the winning child’s school or public library. The winner will also receive a virtual visit to the school by me (as well as a selection of my books), a printed version of the wining story with a designed cover, and an invitation to a virtual prize-giving ceremony. 19 runners-up will receive a signed copy of ‘The Last Wild’ and a £10 Blackwell’s Gift Card.
Just take a look at the story starter paragraph introduced in this video from me, and then write a fictional short story of no more than 1,000 words. Submit your entry by 13th September 2020.
Happy writing and good luck!
For full details of this competition, please visit the competition website: www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/wildaboutwriting
Thank you for all your brilliant story entries for my National Writing Day challenge!
It was very hard to choose a winner, but one story stood out, for its super creative response to the brief, and that was by Oliver Klumpler, who receives a full set of signed books AND £100 Book Token.
Congratulations Oli!
In the meantime, it’s still not too late to enter my Wild About Writing competition, details here:
www.hachettechildrens.co.uk/wildaboutwriting
It’s Week 2 of my #WildAboutWriting competition with Blackwell’s and Hachette Children’s. Here’s my second writing tip for every 7-12 year old trying to win £500 of books for their school library. Today I’m giving some advice on how to create Cool Characters – that spring to life on the page, keep you reading and linger in the memory after you’ve finished..
Each week of my #Wildaboutwriting competition with Blackwell’s Bookshop and Hachette Children’s I’m going to be sharing a different creative writing tip. This week, how to let your imagination really run wild!
Do you know a budding writer? I’ve teamed up with Blackwell’s to invite children aged 7 – 12 years across the UK to get creative in a new summer writing competition. The young entrants will need to write a story of up to 1,000 words using the following line from me to get them started: “It was midnight, and far beyond my window, a wolf in the darkness was calling my name …” This is their opportunity to show off their creativity and be in with a chance to win £500 worth of books for their school library along with a school event with Piers Torday, a £50 Blackwell’s voucher, signed copies of Piers Torday’s books and a small number of exclusive printed copies of their very own story for their personal enjoyment. This competition is only available to those in the UK and Republic of Ireland. All entries must be submitted before midnight on Sunday 13th September 2020. ENTER HERE: bit.ly/3ii4Bdz