NEW RELEASE:
Jump Into The New
AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK, PUBLISHED BY HARPER COLLINS
When Cody's adventurous summer plans were suddenly cancelled, the looming school holidays felt like a bleak emptiness, with nothing to do, nowhere to go. Until someone, new and unexpected, changed all that.
Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Book banded for guided and independent reading, there are reading notes in the back, comprehensive teaching and assessment support and ebooks available.
MY BOOKS
CREATIVE WRITING COURSES
One Year Novel Writing Course 2023
Join me as I open the doors for a new session of my One Year Novel Writing course in 2023. With space limited to 12 people, this intimate course offers a very rich, stimulating, creative, gently challenging and supportive environment, where you will feel welcome as part of a community of writers.
HELLO FROM JANIS - WELCOME TO MY SITE
Photo: Anna Wir
Here you’ll find out about my books, creative writing workshops and storytelling sessions. You’ll also find out about my work as a creative writing teacher, and how I used to live by the sea in the far north of Scotland and now am back by the sea in my home town of Edinburgh. Since winning the Kelpies prize in 2009 with my novel – Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest – I have been on a wonderful sea, shore and seal adventure. I have visited over two hundred primary schools talking about being a writer and – more importantly – guiding pupils in imaginative writing workshops so they can write their own stories.
I now have three Magnus Fin books, all published by Floris books, Edinburgh (florisbooks.co.uk) and my book, The Accidental Time Traveller, won the Scottish Children’s Book Awards!!! Click here to see a short promotional film. Hope you enjoy it! The sequel to this book – The Reluctant Time Traveller sees Saul journeys back to 1914….to save the den and find out about WW1! And in the third and final in the Time Travel Trilogy, The Unlikely Time Traveller, Saul journeys 100 years into the future.
Another of my books, Wild Song, published by Piccadilly Press, has been translated in French and published here by L’Editions Fleuris. Thrilled too that The Accidental Time Traveller is now out in French and it’s called ‘Agatha Black.’ And Magnus Fin and the Ocean Quest is now out in Estonian! It’s called Magnus Vesse and is published by Hea Lugo.
I am delighted to have a couple of new books to introduce you to also – The Fairy Song has been published by Floris as part of their Traditional Tales series, and features beautiful illustrations by Ruchi Masane. And JUST OUT, as of July, is Jump Into The New - which has been published by Harper Collins as part of their Big Cat series. I love going into schools, sharing my books and aiming to inspire pupils in the wonderful world of reading and writing.
Summer of 2022 has been busy. Donald Scott (musician) and I created a show from my books The Wee Seal and The Selkie Girl. The show - Wee Seals & Selkies - earned itself a 4 and a half star review! I was also delighted to be a part of the Edinburgh International Book Festival with my new book for little ones - The Fairy Song. The event took place in a large and beautiful yurt and we raised the canvas roof -singing along to the fairy song!
It's not all stories for little ones though! I am busy writing a novel for adults that is shaping up to be a Celtic-Gothic-Love story! Watch this space.
Wishing you all inspiration in writing, storymaking, and reading! Janis x