Category Archives: Uncategorized

Rachel Griffin talks about her debut novel, out now with Sourcefire Books. Tell us about your new book. The Nature of Witches is a young adult contemporary fantasy set in a world where witches have long maintained the climate but are starting to lose control. It follows Clara Densmore, an Everwitch whose rare magic isContinue reading “Rachel Griffin talks about YA The Nature of Witches”

It’s been raining all week here in Houston, which is to say, I haven’t been sleeping. For most of my life, I loved the sound of a thunderstorm lulling me to sleep. But after surviving more floods, tropical storms, and hurricanes than I can count on both hands, the sound of thunder now triggers anxiety.Continue reading “Weather as Antagonist in Climate Fiction by Sim Kern”

Mary Woodbury interviews Fiona Barker about her new picture book Setsuko and the Song of the Sea, out now. I run Dragonfly.eco, an exploration of world eco-fiction, which includes a database of hundreds of novels about humanity’s impact on our natural world, including the omnipresent climate disruption. Being a mother and aunt, I have oftenContinue reading “Fiona Barker talks about her new picture book”

All art is political – even children’s books. Especially children’s books. Fairy tales cover everything from social satire (The Emperor’s New Clothes) to the politics of adolescence (Little Red Riding Hood). The Gruffalo explores our mistrust of the other. Burglar Bill evinces sympathy for the criminal underclass. And as readers get older, the parallels become even more direct: Philip Pullman’s His DarkContinue reading “Writing about politics for kids – how much can they understand? by Tom Huddleston”

Ele Fountain talks about her new Middle Grade release Melt, which is out now with Pushkin Press. Melt is an Arctic adventure. It’s the story of two teenagers from very different backgrounds. When their worlds collide on the melting ice, friendship, courage, and ancient knowledge are what they must rely on to survive.  How doesContinue reading “Ele Fountain talks about MG novel Melt”

During lockdown, I have revised a story-in-progress to take account of our COVID-19 pandemic, and I know I have not been alone in doing so. I have shifted the setting of my novel to a time, post-pandemic, when my characters are resuming their ‘normal’ lives. The pandemic is still in their thoughts, suppressed for theContinue reading “Where to Place Climate Change in Fiction: Background or Centre Stage? by Anne Charnock”

Anthea Simmons talks about her new release Burning Sunlight, a climate change YA novel out this month with Anderson Press about teenage activists. How do themes of the environment play into your plot and the lives of your protagonists? The environment is absolutely front and centre in Burning Sunlight. It is the issue which bringsContinue reading “Anthea Simmons talks about YA novel BURNING SUNLIGHT”

My first book Where The World Turns Wild came out in February last year, just as the COVID-19 crisis was building. Readers contacted me to say how struck they were by eerie parallels with the dystopian nightmare we were all living through: the virus there wasn’t (then) a vaccine for; the locked down cities; theContinue reading “Rewilding and our connections with the natural world by Nicola Penfold”

Tell us about your new book. How to Save the World with a Chicken and an Egg is narrated by Ivy Pink Floyd, animal communicator, and Nathaniel Breakwell, an animal- and routine-loving boy with Asperger’s who has been brought up by his grandmother. After his grandmother’s death, Nathaniel goes to stay in Southwold, Suffolk, withContinue reading “Emma Shevah talks about her new Middle Grade eco-adventure”

Author Cara Hoffman shares a letter for her climate-anxious children. Dear Creatures, Yesterday I put on my mask and met a friend and we walked together in the National Forest. The leaves had begun to turn yellow and orange and red. The sun was shining through the branches We saw TOADS and chipmunks and blueContinue reading “A Letter to my Children by Cara Hoffman”