The Kids Aren’t Always Alright

The Crime Always Pays elves recently took lunch with a woman who wants to write for kids, and spent the entire hour listening to words like ‘demographics’, ‘market slides’ (?) and ‘brand marketability’. Nary a word about a love of writing, nor – arguably more important – kids and what they like to read. Which makes the interview conducted by Nikki Gamble with Siobhan Dowd (right) over at Write Away so fascinating – Siobhan chats specifically about why she writes for the kind of reader that is drawn to her latest, The London Eye Mystery. Quoth Siobhan:

“When I was working on the Readers and Writers Programme, we identified Year 6, Year 7, the transition years between primary and secondary, as years in which children were often lost to reading. I remember my own transition being quite hard, so it is a time of life that I’m drawn to as a writer. If I’ve managed to create a readable book that helps children at that period to stay focused on the joys of reading, then I’ll be a really happy woman.”

Batten down the hatches, Siobhan – there’s a veritable El Nino of happiness heading your way …