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PODCAST

My Words, My Book

Laura Henry-Allain

My Words, My Book, is an original children"s podcast aimed at supporting children"s love of books and reading. This comes at a time of national decline in children"s reading enjoyment, according to the National Literacy Trust. My Words, My Book features authors" interviews offering children unique insights into the creative process behind some of their most beloved stories and explaining what is it like to be an author. The shows will feature fiction and non-fiction and combines interviews with

kids & family books

All Episodes

46:00

21 - Ramzee - author-creator

My Words, My Book ·

2025/11/09

Ramzee's writing career has been varied and includes creating comics and plays; he is keen to show refugee and asylum children in a positive light in his work. He explains how his ADHD impacts him as an author, and shares the process of being a writer and illustrator in The Cheat Book. Ramzee is a London-based author-illustrator, who debuted with the middle-grade novel The Cheat Book (Hachette Children's, June 2024), winning the 2025 Leeds Book Award and James Reckitt Hull Children's Book Award. He

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57:40

20 - Cressida Cowell MBE, author-illustrator

My Words, My Book ·

2025/11/02

In this episode, Cressida shares her love of reading and why she is so passionate about libraries, especially libraries in schools. She also talks about how the globally loved How to Train your Dragon became a successful film franchise. Laura and Cressida discuss how their neurodiversity impacts them and how this translates in their writing. Cressida also shares an overview of the characters in her new book, Which Way to the Future. Cressida Cowell MBE is the author-illustrator of the How to Train

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37:30

19 - Rob Biddulph - bestselling and multi...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/07/13

Rob shares his belief that everyone is able to draw: some may just need a little help to get started on their drawing journey. Rob talks about his career as an author and illustrator and explains the role of an agent and why they are important to creatives. Rob discusses his book Draw with Rob: Fantastic Food, and why food is a talking point for all. And, most importantly, we find out why Rob always wears his peaked cap! Rob Biddulph is a bestselling and multi award-winning children's author

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33:36

18 - Onyinye Iwu - Black British author, illustrator,...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/07/06

Onyinye talks about her debut book as an author/illustrator, The Best Jollof Rice Ever! and shares how although she has illustrated many books, this is her first published as an author. Onyinye also talks candidly about the racism she faced as a Nigerian child growing up in Italy and being ashamed of her culture and race. She explains why books like The Best Jollof Rice Ever! will help every child to develop a positive sense of self. And of course, there is the question of which rice is best:

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37:02

17 - Chitra Soundar - internationally published,...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/06/30

In this episode, Chitra generously shares her journey from her homeland in India and Tamil culture, to writing children’s books in the UK. Chitra also talks about her career as an author and the importance of positive representation in children’s books. It is wonderful to hear how her Nikhil and Jay series became a children’s TV show on CBeebies and the process of taking a story from book to television. Chitra Soundar is an internationally published, award-winning author of children’s books, and

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39:32

16 - Cathy Reay - disabled writer, journalist and mum...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/06/22

Cathy shares how her work as a journalist led her into writing children’s books and reflects on how many authors do not come from a traditional creative writing background. She also talks about her friendship group, many of whom are neurodivergent, and how Disabled and Proud (or at least kinda sorta okay with it…) covers themes including starting secondary school and puberty. Cathy highlights the importance of amplifying the voices of disabled children and how indeed this is crucial for their sense

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29:32

15 - A. M. Dassu, former World Book Day author &...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/06/16

In this episode, A.M. Dassu shares how she started her journey into writing through observing children and talks about how reading and writing complement each other. Did you know that Spot the Dog was her favourite book as a child? She also talks passionately about how her book Kicked Out shows children how empathy and being there for each other plays out in friendship, and highlights the experience of refugee children. A. M. Dassu is a former World Book Day author and internationally acclaimed

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27:55

14 - Stephanie Taylor, author of 'I’m Going to Be a...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/06/08

Stephanie Taylor Stephanie shares her passion for working with children and talks about her journey to becoming a published author, which she acknowledges may be slightly different to others as she was fortunate to have a few agents to choose from. She also talks about how one of the characters in her book, Ms Copeland in I’m Going to Be a Princess, is based on a Black professional ballet teacher who was an inspiration to her as a child. Stephanie is a mum of two adult children and lives with

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36:51

13 - Simon James Green - multi-award-winning author...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/06/01

Simon James Green Simon reflects on his journey from qualified lawyer to working in theatre, to becoming an author. He talks about self-doubt and how to keep going when starting out and trying to get published. He also shares his belief that non-fiction books are just as important as fiction books. In A Year of Pride and Joy, Simon curates 52 contributions from the LGBTQ+ community, sharing their joy and showcasing their wealth of skill and talent. Simon is a multi-award-winning author of books

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30:07

12 - Jamel C Campbell - Early Years teacher to author

My Words, My Book ·

2025/05/25

In this episode, Jamel reflects on his background as an Early Years teacher and how this has been important to him as an author. He discusses the lack of representation of men in Early Years, especially Black men who work with children, and how Olu’s Teacher mirrors an Early Years Black male teacher. Jamel reflects on the books that inspired him as a child, in particular those by Trish Cooke. Jamel is an Early Years educator, consultant, radio/ television host, keynote speaker, renowned

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32:45

11 - Rachel Morrisroe, a bestselling author of...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/05/18

Rachel has ADHD, a fact she proudly shares on her travels, especially when engaging with children and young people. She also talks about how in Felix and the Future Agency it was important for Felix to be dyslexic and how the inspiration for her central character was based on a true story. Readers will love the magical places inspired by the London Underground in this book. Rachel’s advice for emerging authors is ‘sometimes getting a no is okay’. Rachel Morrisroe is a bestselling author. She

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16:52

10 - Nikki Saunders, author, creator and executive...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/31

Nikki shares her deep love of reading, which has been with her since childhood. Becoming an author was a natural progression for Nikki: her son is autistic and Nikki was keen to write a book where he and other autistic children could see themselves. Ready Eddie GO! the book series was adapted for television and is now on Sky Kids. The book Ready Eddie Go! Painting celebrates how using paint can be fun and there is no right or wrong way to be creative. Nikki is an author, creator and executive

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19:23

9 - Lydia Bright, star of The Only Way Is Essex

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/27

Lydia talks passionately about the magic of sharing stories that every child can fall in love with, irrespective of their background. She explains that her mum (Mummy Debbie) was a foster carer when she was a child and how Lydia’s family home was full of children and love. Mummy and Me is a story that celebrates the close bond between an elephant and their child, closely mirroring that of Lydia and her daughter. Lydia is keen for children to have conversations and celebrate their family story.

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17:08

8 - Lanisha who published her first book last year.

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/23

Lanisha shares her story of how signing up to an incentive led her to becoming a children’s author. She also talks about how entering competitions, such as the BBC’s 500 Words, can open the door to children becoming authors themselves. Lanisha describes how her book Flower Block has always been in her heart and is a modern-day Jack and the Beanstalk. Flower Block looks positively at social housing and the wonderful working-class community that fill its many homes. Lanisha also shares how magical

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28:41

7 - Louie Stowell writes books about magic, gods and...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/20

In this episode, Louie talks about the career she had before she became an author, which included being an editor for a publishing company – she was Laura’s editor for My Skin, Your Skin! Louie reveals what inspires her to write, her favourite books as an adult and how these have influenced the Loki series. She also reflects on A Bad God’s Guide to Making Enemies and may even share a few spoiler alerts for Loki book five! Louie Stowell writes books about magic, gods and monsters (mostly). She has

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25:36

6 - Richard O’Neill - acclaimed storyteller, author,...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/17

In this podcast episode, Richard reminisces about his Romani heritage and how this is central to his storytelling; he fondly shares how he was one of the last in his family to live in a caravan and travel around the UK. Richard also talks about how his storytelling includes the past, present and future and indeed how storytelling is an art. We hear from Richard about how he was inspired to write The Can Caravan, which highlights the importance of community and teamwork. Richard O’Neill MBE is an

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33:22

5 - Patrice Lawrence

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/13

Patrice passionately shares the importance of diversity in families and communities and how this has influenced her work. She talks about the power of reading a wide range of books and how children learn and appreciate reading books that show characters that are outside their own experience, especially on the issue of creating empathy. Specifically, Patrice talks about how in People Like Stars the grandmother’s character is not a stereotypical representation. Patrice has written books for children

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37:57

4 - Dan Freedman and Daniel Geey

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/10

Dan Freedman and Daniel Geey Dan and Daniel discuss how important it is for children to know and understand there are other careers outside of playing football. Dan also shares the background to the popular Jamie Johnson series. They discuss how their passion for football led them into their current careers - Daniel talks about how he became a football lawyer. We also discuss the importance of libraries as well as the rise in women’s football and how there is an equal balance of stories in 50

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27:23

3 - Kelechi Okafor, Nigerian-born Londoner, writer,...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/08

Kelechi Okafor is a Nigerian-born Londoner – a writer, presenter, social commentator and tour de force in challenging how we think about race, oppression and femininity. Although Kelechi wears many hats, the head those hats are stylishly perched upon is one filled with incisive observations about society, culture and specifically Black womanhood. In this podcast, Kelechi discusses her Nigerian roots and the importance of children owning their identity. She also talks about how our identity is at

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13:19

2 - Camilla Reid, author of the Pip and Posy stories...

My Words, My Book ·

2025/03/05

In this episode, Camilla shares the importance of early reading and how board books are a great example for older children as an inspiration for them to create their own books. Camilla also talks about how she engages with illustrators in the process of creating her books and discusses how her book Is Dot in the House? provokes awe and wonder in children. Camilla has written more than 200 books, including the Pip and Posy stories and the Peekaboo series. As a passionate campaigner for shared

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22 results

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