Writing for Children with Ann Burnett

Last Tuesday, we were very pleased to welcome Ann Burnett back to Erskine Writers to talk about writing for children. Ann also writes short stories, articles and novels but she is well remembered for being the author of several episodes of popular children's stories such as Postman Pat and the Moomins. Ann has also written scripts for radio.

We had a most enjoyable afternoon being reminded of what makes a good picture book for children and getting the chance to skim through Ann's large collection of picture books form different eras, including the hugely successful Gruffalo and several modern classics.

One important point that was evident from Ann's talk was the necessity to aim a children's book at the correct age group as they all have different requirements. We were given a very useful list of websites for information, including the Scottish Book Trust.

Ann will be adjudicating our children's story competition: a Christmas story for Under 7s, up to 750 words to be in for Tuesday 8th December.