Why I love feminist author Maggie Stiefvater
Kiersten White wants to lick the brain of author who doesn’t apologise for her existence or her success, but owns it
Top 10 teen books for summer
As school begins to wind up, we’ve got the whole heady summer ahead of us. Here are Liz Flanagan’s recommended YA summery reads, from Meg Rosoff’s How I live Now to Kevin Brooks’ Black Rabbit Summer
Keeping up with Magic by Carolina Munhóz – review
Pedro: ‘funny, controversial and educational’
The View from the Cheap Seats review – wisest of worldviews
Neil Gaiman’s enthusiasm rings out from this thoughtful collection of cultural essays
How to write rollicking rhyming stories
Squishy McFluff author Pip Jones with the best advice on writing stories that rhyme – and the golden rule is never, ever sacrifice a story for a rhyme!
Spread the Light: donate to charity in the spirit of Harry Potter
More than 20 Harry Potter fan sites have come together under ‘Spread the Light’ to raise funds for The Anne Rowling Clinic, set up in memory of JK Rowling’s mother. Here one of the campaign’s teenage founders explains why they set it up, how to get involved and what prizes contributors could win...
Stories have the power to create a more hopeful world
In the wake of the Brexit vote, children’s author Sita Brahmachari on the sustaining stories that will help young people find hope and strength in these unsettled times
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – review
Wanderer378: ‘written in such a mesmerising way and it keeps you turning the page consistently’
The brilliance of writing poetry on napkins
Brazilian poet Pedro Gabriel started writing poems on napkins when he ran out of paper - now, two books and millions of online followers later, his breathtaking designs are set for international recognition, writes children’s books site member Pedro
Taran Matharu: ‘I think writing is like reading a story that you can decide’
The author of the Summoner fantasy series talks to teenagers from DGReaders book group about his hero Darren Shan, bullying and the wonders of Wattpad
Sarah Crossan wins the Carnegie medal with verse novel One
A novel written in free verse takes the Carnegie for the first time in the medal’s illustrious history
Why books are a love magnet
Research from a new dating app suggests that users with shared reading tags make better matches. I didn’t use an app, but the trick worked for me
The books world is a massive diversity fail – here’s how we change it
Many people are fed up of talking about diversity in children’s books – we all know the arguments, so why isn’t it happening? Author Catherine Johnson takes stock of recent progress and what’s still required at an Inclusive Minds event
Why music is the beating heart of my poetry
CLiPPA nominated poet John Lyons grew up in Trinidad in the 1930s and 40s where singing and telling stories were as natural a part of his life as breathing. Now in his 80s, here’s why music still helps him go with the flow and might help you too
Eighty years of children’s books: the best Carnegie medal winners
Julia Eccleshare looks back at the incredible roll-call of past Carnegie medal winners since the children’s book prize began in 1936, and wonders if any have been unjustly forgotten