When did you start writing/drawing and why? I loved drawing pictures and I used to get my mum to write the words to describe them. As soon as I could write I took over and that was it – I was addic…

When did you start writing and why? At primary school first of all, because you had to. I enjoyed writing my own poems in class, and also longer stories too. In fact, I count my first published suc…

When did you start writing and why? I started writing picture books when I was five, and my first chapter book at aged 11, but I sadly abandoned writing around aged 13 until 40. This was the longes…

When did you start writing and why? I had always, AWAYS wanted to be an author It took a New Year’s resolution to finally get me started in 2011. What is your favourite book that you’ve written or …

Photo credit: Andrew TM When did you start drawing and why? I always loved drawing as a child, particularly highly decorated cats sitting on fences! What is your favourite book that you’ve written …

When did you start writing and why? In the ‘90s I worked at teen mag Just 17 and used to review books. I’d read great novels which inspired me to write one too, but then again, I’d also read not-so…

When did you start writing and why? As soon as I was able to, so all my life. I use writing to explore my thoughts and help me process things that have happened or are happening. Writing has been m…

When did you start writing and why? I had always wanted to write but more often than not, my stories remained in my head not on paper. A daydreamer all my life, stories were never in short supply b…

When did you start writing and why? I wrote my first published book when I was 22, but I began writing and drawing long before that. I still have picture books that I wrote and illustrated at prima…

When did you start writing and why? I started writing poems when I was about six, I think, usually about nature and animals. I remember writing one called Don’t Badger the Badger because I was obse…

When did you start writing and why? I started writing for leisure at junior school, thanks to a teacher called Miss Morphew. Once a week the class spent an hour writing a story. All the other child…

When did you start writing and why? Having dabbled for many years for fun, I started writing my first novel Zinc over ten years ago as an exciting challenge. I had had a lightbulb moment on the way…

When did you start writing and why? I was an avid reader and wrote stories from about the age of 8. I wrote my stories while hiding under the kitchen table, as I didn’t want to share my writing wit…

When did you start writing/drawing and why? I started writing when I was about eight years old. My stories were mostly about the adventures of my teddy bear. I hand wrote them and drew pictures to …

When did you start writing and why? I joined a creative writing group. Somehow I became an author! I still attend that very same writers group! What is your favourite book that you’ve written? Alie…

Photo credit: Philip Formby When did you start writing and why? As much as I’ve always loved reading, I didn’t start writing seriously until my late twenties. I was looking for a way to get creativ…

When did you start writing and why? My first novel, The Doomspell, came out in 2000. I wrote it for my daughter, Rachel, but I was lucky – it got picked up by an agent and published in 26 languages…

When did you start writing and why? We’ve always loved writing and have written stories since we were in Key Stage 1. We started writing together almost by accident. We were already friends when Ja…

A spine-tingling workshop with Fleur Hitchcock. Discover how inspiration for murder can come from the everyday, how ordinary lives can become extraordinary, and how to weave it all into your own incre...

When did you start writing and why? I loved writing stories at school and I journalled all through my teens and twenties, but it wasn’t until New Year’s Day 2000 that I finally promised myself I’d …

When did you start writing and drawing and why? I had always drawn since being a toddler. My mother taught me to read and write when I was about 5 and I began adding words to the pictures and they …

This workshop is for you if you are writing children’s books. During the workshop you will take turns to share work and will develop your work-in-progress with constructive feedback from tutor and cla...

When did you start writing and why? I wrote my first poem when I was about five or six years old. You can actually see a selection of my old school work on my website. Some of my spelling is not ve…

When did you start writing and why? I used to write a lot as a child, but really got stuck into trying to write a book about ten years ago. Now I have six books and four pantomimes published! What …

When did you start writing and why? I couldn’t not!  I’ve always just made stuff up. My first poem – The Electrified Spiders – came when I was 8. By 15 I was writing songs (VERY bad ones) and …

When did you start writing and why? When I was six years old, 1965 (‘Roman times’, as I tell the children during my school visits). I already had a thirst for poetry as I loved Dr Seuss…