Helena Coggan is only 15, and yet her debut novel has all the assurance of a writer in mid-stride. If young writers can overcome the stare of the blank page – and take care with characterisation – they can stand as an inspiration to allHelena Coggan’s debut, The Catalyst, is an accomplished first novel: a fantasy-dystopia featuring strong characterisation and sophisticated world-building. The plot might be somewhat event-saturated, especially towards the end, but to me, the book has the assurance of a writer in mid-stride, rather than the occasional fumbles and missteps of a first attempt. This would be unusual in most debut novels; in a 15-year-old’s, it’s nearly unparalleled.This is not to say that teenagers can’t or shouldn’t write. Young writers can be both prolific and self-critical – and story-sharing sites such as Wattpad and Movellas make it easy to invite outside scrutiny. Many teenagers start out wearing fan-fiction water-wings, before plunging into the creation of characters and settings from scratch. But few of even the most popular teen authors are ready to make the leap into the exposed format of the traditionally published book. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
Past winners of the The Sunday Times/Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writers of the Year Award share their writing tips and their favourite books written by writers aged 35 and under. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Reading charity Scottish Book Trust today launched What’s Your Story?, a new programme to increase opportunities for young writers in Scotland. Funded by Time to Shine, Creative Scotland’s arts strategy for young people, the programme will connect young writers using writer groups, workshops,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Book Doctor goes right back to beginnings of YA and teen fiction in the 1950s and 1960s to investigate whether author age has anything to do with reader experienceI saw several really young writers at the Young Adult Literature Convention (Yalc) who seem to know just what their readers are... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Scottish Book Trust has been awarded £95,000 for a new national programme for young writers, from Time To Shine, Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy. The Young Writers programme will include a conference, development of writers groups across Scotland, and an online platform to showcase... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Helena Coggan is only 15, and yet her debut novel has all the assurance of a writer in mid-stride. If young writers can overcome the stare of the blank page – and take care with characterisation – they can stand as an inspiration to allHelena Coggan’s debut, The Catalyst, is an accomplished... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An online community for young writers, Figment aims to let users steer the conversations while connecting them to the larger world of literature.NEW YORK — It started with a story for a magazine. In 2008, during a trip to Japan, New Yorker staff writer Dana Goodyear decided to write about... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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