April Artist of the Month – Sarah Ann Juckes

Our April ‘Artist of the Month’ is author Sarah Ann Juckes

About Sarah Ann Juckes

Sarah Ann Juckes is the author of five books for young people. THE NIGHT ANIMALS (Jan 2023) was awarded Waterstones Book of the Month and The Times Children’s Book of the Week. Her other books for this age group are, THE HUNT FOR THE NIGHTINGALE, and STORM SEAL. Her YA novels include OUTSIDE (nominated for the Carnegie Medal Awards 2020) and THE WORLD BETWEEN US. Sarah’s books have been translated into thirteen languages and have received a coveted Kirkus star in the USA.

Sarah is a writing tutor and also works for Oxford University. She lives opposite a graveyard on the edge of the Cotswolds with her husband and cat.

What a visit from Sarah entails

Sarah has a great range of talks and workshops for pupils from KS2-KS5.

You can see details on her visits here

Testimonials from previous visits.

"It was an absolute pleasure having Sarah to visit. She was warm and welcoming and really engaged with the students. Her three ‘assembly’ style presentations were really interesting and covered both her own books as well as how books are made. Our year 10 students enjoyed her creative writing workshop very much. I would highly recommend Sarah to other schools. She was really easy to get on with and very flexible in terms of helping fulfil the brief."

Tor Bridge High School

“Yesterday's visit with Sarah went really well thank you, I think she is one of the best author's we have had in for a while. She really clicked with year 7. Workshop for KS3 was fantastic, we have had loads of really nice feedback from students since saying how much they enjoyed and several took their work home to continue after working on it with Sarah. The year 7 talk went really well, they were entranced by her talk listened in silence which for this group is quite rare. I'd highly recommend Sarah to any school, she was brilliant.”

Oxford Spires School

Interview with Sarah Ann Juckes

What career did you have before becoming a writer?

I’ve had a few exciting jobs in my time, from being a public librarian, through to a wedding registrar. Mainly though, my jobs have been in and around the publishing industry – especially in that exciting digital space that offers readers opportunity to access stories in a variety of accessible formats.

Where do you find your inspiration from?

This is the question I get asked most often on school visits and one I always enjoy answering, because – honestly – I find inspiration from anywhere and everywhere! Documentaries, film and TV, dreams and snatched conversations. When children ask where they can find an idea for a story, my advice is to engage with art in all its forms. Learning about the lives of other people through books, visual art and music is a sure-fire way to spark an idea (or at least learn something interesting!)

Your books cover some serious topics. How do you find balance between writing age appropriate fiction and sharing such things?

I used to be a volunteer for the NSPCC, which involved travelling around schools and speaking to children about serious topics that concern them – such as how they can keep themselves safe. The NSPCC are masters of balancing big topics in a way that’s accessible and fun. I’ve taken a lot of this on board in my writing – especially with the inclusion of hope and the joys of the natural world. Hard topics don’t have to be hard to read, and books offer children and adults a safe way to have these important conversations.

What impact can a love of reading have on a person?

Reading can open up whole worlds that people of all ages can glimpse, and one day perhaps even step into. They offer us means to escape – whether that be a from waiting room, or a larger challenge we’re facing. For young people, stories are essential for building empathy, which is such an important skill for everyone to learn.

It’s important for children to discover reading outside of the curriculum and have space to explore the stories that appeal to them. That’s why I’m such an advocate for accessible reading – whether that be via a paperback book borrowed from a library, or an audiobook that helps someone who struggles with reading find their way into reading for pleasure.

Why is it so important to protect libraries – both public and in schools?

One of the best jobs I ever had was being a Group Library Assistant for Leicestershire Public Libraries. These libraries are where I discovered my own love of reading. Coming from a working class background, I didn’t own many books growing up. But with my library card – it felt like the world was still open to me. Having libraries in schools is absolutely essential and I’ve seen first-hand in my travels around schools just what a difference a passionate school librarian can do to change children’s lives.

Even above books, libraries offer people a space they can go to be warm, access a digital world that might otherwise be closed off to them, and even have the only conversation they will have that week. In my view, libraries are not a “nice-to-have”. They are essential.

What subjects do you enjoy writing about most?

I love writing about nature and animals – especially those found right outside our window. I tend to focus on “real-world” stories, but there are creatures out there in the world that we wouldn’t even think could be real! It’s my favourite part of a school visit – sharing facts about something children see every day, that they didn’t realise had secret superpowers.

Does a lot of research still go into writing fiction?

I spend a huge amount of time and energy on researching. It’s something I take incredibly seriously when I’m writing about difficult topics such as PTSD and grief. More than that though, I like to go out and experience a story’s setting for myself, so I can draw on this when writing my books. To date, my book research has taken me into cow fields, on fishing boats and even into the sky!

Do you think there is enough representation in publishing yet?

People are so wonderfully diverse and interesting that there will never be a time when all books represent all people. I think it’s incredibly important that all of us continue to do what we can to ensure everyone’s voices are heard. There have been some fantastic initiatives in the past few years, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with and volunteering for charities and companies spearheading these. However, funding and resources continue to be an issue, and more needs to be done at every level to ensure writers receive the support they need to flourish in this industry.

What impact do you hope to leave with the young people after you have been in their school?

The key message in all my visits is that children can do anything. When I was young, I didn’t think publishing was open to me. I wasn’t the best in my class, and I was painfully shy. My family didn’t read, and the idea of working in the arts felt impossible.

It was thanks to very special teachers that I built the confidence to write for a living, and I try to pass these messages on wherever I can. Whatever children want to do – they can do it. It will take a lot of work, and a lot of failure along the way, but they can absolutely get there if they put their mind to it.

What can a school do to ensure they get the most out of an author visit?

Connecting with the author in advance with information on the classes is really helpful. For instance, I find Year 8 classes particularly can be completely different from school to school! For one class, they might love an exciting talk on selkies, or birds. But for another, they might enjoy a more grown-up discussion on writing in first person that they can apply to their own work.

Many authors (including myself) have a presentation for pretty much every occasion ready to go! The more information we get about what would be useful for where students are right now – the better we can create a session that the children will love.

How would you encourage a reluctant reader or writer to get involved?

I love an interactive session, so I always start my school visits with an energy-boosting “getting to know you” round. After we’ve debated the best pizza topping, I find most children are ready to engage in whatever I throw at them. I try to balance the content of my sessions between useful tips for writing and reading, as well as fun stuff around the books (such as cool bird facts, or videos of seals). That way, there’s something for everyone.

What career advice would you give to someone who would like to be a writer?

Read, read, read. It’s been said before, but reading is the best way to learn how to write. Above that, I would suggest accessing learning materials in any way you’re able to afford, whether that’s a Creative Writing Degree, or the free content on sites such as Jericho Writers.

The most difficult thing to learn as a writer (and the most important) is perseverance. Writing a book is both a joyful and difficult process – and getting that book published can be the same! I received over sixty rejections over twelve years before I got a publishing deal, and that’s okay. Treat every rejection as another step towards your goal, and keep learning. You’ll get there!

Which authors/genres do you enjoy reading?

I will read anything that Katya Balan writes (and thankfully, she’s writing a lot). I’m very lucky to have friends who write amazing books and I love reading all of them. Struan Murray has a new book coming out this May called DRAGONBORN that I was lucky enough to read in draft form. It’s absolutely fantastic.

Otherwise, I love listening to audiobooks via my local library, so I will listen to everything and anything on there, from non-fiction about fungi, to thriller novels.

Which children’s authors do you admire?

I admire any children’s author who continues to be able to make a career from writing books, whilst remaining endlessly kind and helpful to new voices coming into the industry. Jenny Pearson, Robin Stevens and Emma Carroll spring to mind, as well as Ross Montgomery. What a joy it is to see nice people doing well!

Why are stories important?

Stories give us a space to explore elements of ourselves, as well as discover things about people different to us. The news tends to focus on people and politics that are fuelled by hate. Stories offer us an escape from this, a space to learn about this, as well as a system where we can ensure the next generation has the empathy skills to choose kindness instead.

Authors Abroad have already sent you to Malta, Switzerland and Sweden. Do you enjoy the travel? What is it like getting to talk about your books in other countries?

I love travelling to other countries to visit schools and every visit I’ve had abroad so far has been an absolute joy. My books have been translated into thirteen languages now, so I’m aware that my books reach children all over the world. It’s so important that children from all walks of life can hear from authors, both for their writing at school, as well as thinking about their future career. Any time I’m able to give children that – I’m there!

How was your first UK World Book Week with Authors Abroad?

Busy! Partly because my husband turned 40 in the middle of it, which was very inconvenient of him. But no – it was lovely to visit so many schools, and I spoke to hundreds of children about the thing I love most in the world. I visited schools from Plymouth to Oxford – what could be better than that?!

You got married relatively recently, are you happy to share about your amazing wedding cake?

Oh, absolutely. I’m very lucky to have married a man who is an even bigger nerd than I am – although his speciality is 3D-printing! When thinking about what we wanted for a cake, we decided that it must be suitable for everyone to eat, so it was gluten free, dairy free and vegan. And – of course – that it have fire-breathing dragons on it. So, he printed some dragons, created a lighting system and BOOM! Best cake ever.

Where do you find inspiration for what to read next?

I get most of my recommendations from people I know – especially other writers. I follow a lot of reviewers and booksellers on Instagram too, and they’re always useful for reading recommendations! Mainly though, as an author I get a lot of books in the post from publishers, asking for a quote for the cover, so a lot of my reading time goes there. It’s quite the perk of the job!

What are you your next goals?

In the future, I’m all about diversification. Having written for both YA and Middle Grade, I can cover all years in secondary schools, so I would like to add a series of chapter books, so I can cover younger years in primary schools. I’m also a massive advocate for continuing learning, so I’m actually planning on completing an MA in Creative Writing in the next few years, which I’m very excited about.