Emily Barr & Craig Barr-Green on writing YA & children's books
BY Katie Smart
24th Feb 2022
YA and children’s authors Emily Barr and Craig Barr-Green will lead our upcoming Writing YA & Children's Fiction course. Between the two of them, Emily and Craig have written fiction for just about every age group possible; they’ve led many writing courses together – and are also married to each other!
We spoke to them about their writing careers, advice for aspiring authors and what they’re looking forward to about teaching together again...
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
Emily: I always wanted to be an author. My early memories are all about books (laughing at the fox in Rosie’s Walk is, I think, the earliest memory I have). Because my father, a lecturer, often wrote in the evenings I’d hear his typewriter clacking away, and wish that I could do that too. As I got older, the real world crept in and I started to see, thanks to scathing school careers officers and so on, that you can’t really launch yourself into the world and announce that you’d like to be a novelist so I went into journalism instead, wasn’t very good at it, and started writing fiction in earnest in my late 20s, alongside various other jobs.
Craig: I have always always loved to write, but I hadn’t a clue that being an author was a legitimate career choice. Authors were mythical beings to me! They weren’t real people; human beings with hands and faces who one might see in Woolworths or queuing for ham at the Tesco meat counter. To me there was no difference whatsoever between Roald Dahl or the BFG: I was unlikely to ever bump into either. At school I devoured the reading scheme books, particularly anything by Sheila K. McCullagh. The town library was a magical place. I devoured as many books as they would let me have. I have had many many jobs - some hilariously short lived - but writing has been my only career. After dabbling in the real world doing serious grown up jobs I had a couple of great short term contracts as a press officer and as a promotions exec for a radio station. Both jobs needed creativity and some artistic flair. A seed was planted. Could I write for a living? I was good at it. I ventured into website copy, then promotional scripts, and then finally took the plunge and started a publishing company. Being an author was a simple case of committing to be an author and throwing everything at that dream (and having some luck along the way).
Emily, before turning to YA fiction, you wrote 12 adult novels. What would you say are some of the main differences are between writing for adults and writing for teenagers?
Emily: For me, the difference is in character. I feel that YA fiction is all about character, because, whatever the story, there’s so often a coming of age at its centre. In any novel the protagonist is going to be changed by the events that happen to them, but in YA that’s going to be heightened as they navigate the shifting sands between childhood and adulthood. I love the fact that YA has space for huge emotional journeys, and it’s often less cynical than adult fiction.
Your coming-of-age fiction tackles serious and often chilling topics. For example, your title character has amnesia in The One Memory of Flora Banks and your most recent novel Things to do Before the End of the World is set in the lead up to ‘The Creep’ – a permafrost that will cause the end of the world. Where do you get the inspiration for these suspense-filled premises?
Emily: I’m always inspired by the world around us: Things to do Before the End of the World is of course a response to climate change and the world that the current generation of teenagers is going to inherit. I wanted to make it immediate and to find a fictional way of having the thing that’s happening slowly happen all at once. With Flora Banks and amnesia, I was inspired by a place first of all (Svalbard, in the Arctic, my favourite place in the world), and then did a lot of research into amnesia to pull the story together. In my experience, inspiration comes from the most unlikely places, and reality is always a little bit weirder than fiction.
Do you think it’s important for YA novels to treat readers with a certain level of maturity?
Emily: Definitely! If you try to write ‘down’ it will show and there’s nothing a teenager appreciates less than being patronised. Young readers can handle difficult concepts, often a lot better than older people can.
Craig, your awarding-winning children’s books, Captured! and A Christmas in Cornwall, are set in Cornwall. How important is setting when you’re developing a story?
Craig: Very, as the setting feeds character and tone. Settings provide context for your protagonists. They may well be reflected in it. Your setting will be painted in your reader’s minds. It’s the place to where they will be transported. It’s the stage upon which conflict will escalate.
You’ve written about real people, firstly in your fiction novel Captured!, which tells the story of Thomas Pellow (an 18th century author made famous for his capture by pirates and his 23 years in captivity), and most recently in the non-fiction book The Extraordinary Life of Steve Jobs written for Puffin. Do you have any tips on how to make history and real-life figures exciting and engaging for young readers?
Craig: Writing historical and biographical non-fiction (and creative non-fiction) is a rewarding experience. I begin with research: facts, figures, dates, key events etc, and then I find the human stories within them. Thomas Pellow’s story is staggering and sprawls decades, but at the heart of it a simple story: a boy is separated from his mother and tries everything in his power to return against impossible odds (I won’t spoil the ending). Steve Jobs changed the world through innovation and technology, but again, this is a story of a complicated man overcoming obstacles, and a difficult start in life, to eventually achieve his dream to create technology as beautiful as art. Finding the human in the facts reveals the story. Then the conflict resonates on a level that children can connect with. It shows them what’s really possible and shows that adversity can be overcome. Writing fiction after non-fiction is always a gear change! I can make stuff up? Is that allowed?
As well as writing and teaching, you are the creator of Clickety Books an award-winning independent press that focuses on speech and language development for children. What first ignited your passion in children’s literacy?
Craig: I simply wanted to create resources for children who process differently, without patronising anyone along the way – the children, or their parents, carers, teachers or guardians. I am very proud of what we achieved. It began as an idea and expanded to a team. I have a deep respect for publishers (and authors and illustrators) who endeavour to remove barriers. Barrington Stoke, for example, produce the most wonderful books that are dyslexia friendly without any noticeable difference to content or appearance. The love they put into their work is inspirational.
We are in a golden era of children’s and YA literature. Things are being shaken up. The CLPE Reflecting Realities report offers real scrutiny. Non-fiction is expanding into some fascinating places, particularly the statement beautiful hardbacks; graphic novels are booming into the mainstream, brimming with invention; picture books are an explosion of joy swerving from the anarchic (The Dragon with the Blazing Bottom) to the deeply empathetic (When Sadness Comes to Call). It’s a brilliant time. Cressida Cowell’s Children’s Laureate Charter is a call to action that I wholeheartedly endorse.
What are some of your favourite recent YA and children’s books?
Emily: There’s some amazing writing out there for children at the moment. I’ve recently loved The Cats We Meet Along the Way by Nadia Mikail (a family trip in Malaysia set against the backdrop of an impending apocalypse), The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James, Dead Lucky by Andreina Cordani, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, and anything by Lisa Thompson. Manjeet Mann’s The Crossing is a brilliant and horrible read. Boy, Everywhere by AM Dassu, the story of a previously privileged Syrian boy coming to Manchester as a refugee, is empathic and gripping and everyone should read it. Children’s writing is telling some incredible stories right now.
Craig: Gustavo, the Shy Ghost written and illustrated by Flavia Z. Drago is fabulous and the illustrations are sublime. In a similar spooky vein, There's a Ghost In This House written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers is a gem. Jeffers’ inventive use of mixed media transforms the picture book into an interactive experience. When I See Red, written and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup is a cathartic meditation on anger with stunningly emotive artwork. The Rock from the Sky, written and illustrated Jon Klassen is by turns hilarious, gripping, unpredictable and psychedelic. Sharna Jackson’s High Rise Mystery is a superb addition to the middle grade murder mystery canon. Funny, twisty, profound and prescient. Lark by Anthony McGowan is an extraordinary novella in which two brothers and their Jack Russell are caught on the moors in a blizzard. Brutal and beautiful. Julia and the Shark, written Kiran Millwood Hargrave and illustrated by Tom de Freston, is a middle grade modern classic. A powerful and lyrical essay on relationships and mental health, plus it features a four-hundred-year-old shark, so what more do you need? Wain: LGBT Reimaginings of Scottish Folktales by Rachel Plummer is a sublime poetry collection for Young Adults and does exactly what the title suggests. I can’t not mention Emily Barr’s Things to do Before the End of the World. It’s a thrilling emotional rollercoaster. Her latest, Ghosted, may well be her best work yet! It’s immense.
What’s your favourite part of teaching creative writing? And are you looking forward to teaching together again?
Emily: I love it when things fall into place, and you see someone’s story taking shape in their head. When, somehow, the block falls away and they start writing — for me that’s the most inspiring thing in the world. And yes, I’m hugely looking forward to teaching with Craig! We work together very closely on our writing, and are always each other’s first readers, so teaching together again is going to be wonderful.
Craig: It’s such a privilege to work with emerging talent. Sharing one’s writing is act of bravery. I utterly appreciate that. I love being able to read, listen, give feedback and play a small role in helping a writer realise their full potential. I’ve taught every possible age group and its everyone has offered something different. That’s the beauty of writing! Only we can write like us. Our voice is unique! Teaching with Emily is a genuine joy. She is perceptive and wise and generous. We are a tight writing unit and are as passionate as each other about storytelling. We have run bootcamps and worked in schools, universities, festivals and prisons and it’s always a blast.
If you could only pass on one piece of advice to aspiring novelists, what would you say?
Emily: Just keep writing. Write some words every day, and you’ll end up with a draft. First drafts are meant to be bad: after that everything you do makes it better. Don’t let it intimidate you: if you write 500 words a day, you’ll have a draft in around 140 days, and that’s nothing. That time will pass anyway so you might as well have a book at the end of it.
Craig: Work hard and commit to it. Write every day. Be bold and passionate. Allow time for your writing to settle and then edit with precision. Research without short cuts. Listen to your gut. Embrace feedback and the collaborative process. Expect it to be tough, because it is, then keep going.
Apply for our Writing YA & Children's Fiction course with weekly Zoom teaching led by Emily and Craig.