Children's Writers & Illustrators Festival 2026: MASTERCLASS+

Dean Atta is an award-winning Black British writer from London known for his heartfelt storytelling rooted in his Greek Cypriot and Jamaican heritage. He writes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction for all ages.

For adult readers, his poetry collection, I Am Nobody's Nigger, was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, and his memoir, Person Unlimited: An Ode to My Black Queer Body, received praise from Michael Rosen as "wonderfully original".

His young adult verse novels are The Black Flamingo, Only on the Weekends, and I Can't Even Think Straight. 

The Black Flamingo won the Stonewall Book Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and Jhalak Prize. Malorie Blackman praised the book, saying, "I loved every word."

Dean has also contributed to middle-grade anthologies like Happy Here: 10 stories from Black British authors & illustrators and the Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood. 

His picture book, Confetti, illustrated by Alea Marley, is a colourful celebration of love and life. 

Additionally, Dean is a screenwriter and executive producer of the animated short film "Two Black Boys in Paradise", which was selected for the BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival and numerous others worldwide.

Camilla Chester received a distinction in a Diploma for Creative Writing and Literacy, and went on to self-publish three children’s novels. She was a finalist in the National Literacy Trust New Author Award 2016 and Mslexia Children’s Novel Award 2019. 

Camilla’s children’s novel, Call Me Lion (Firefly Press, 2022), centres around a boy with Selective Mutism (SM). Call Me Lion was shortlisted for the Oxfordshire and Portsmouth Awards in 2023, won the SCBWI 2023 Crystal Kite Award, was shortlisted in the 2024 UKLA Award, is part of the Books for Topics selection, and was selected in the 2023 Read For Empathy List and 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. It is widely used in UK schools, increasing understanding, compassion and awareness around SM and has been selected by the Reading Teachers = Reading Pupils list for lower KS2. 

Camilla’s second book, Project Pony, delves into tricky friendships, step-dads and late bed-wetting, and is set during an own your own pony adventure holiday. It was published by Firefly Press in May 2025.

Camilla has a long history of supporting emerging writers of all ages both voluntary and through her freelance work. She has a very practical eye and likes nothing more than helping writers find their voice.

Nikita Gill is an Irish-Indian poet, playwright, writer, actor and illustrator living in the south of England. She has published eight collections of poetry. She has also published a novel in verse for Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary called The Angel of Redemption and her children's audiobook Animal Tales From India won Highly Commended in the Week Junior Kids Awards. Her latest book, Hekate, the first novel in a loosely connected trilogy about the Greek goddesses of the Underworld, was published in autumn 2025 by Simon & Schuster in the UK and Little, Brown in US and went on to become a Sunday Times Bestseller, a no. 1 New York Times Bestseller and a Waterstones Book of the Month. Her one woman show Maidens, Myths and Monsters was launched at Omnibus Clapham, and her play Hekate was launched at the British Library. Her work has been nominated for the Carnegie medal, shortlisted for the CLIPPA and longlisted for the Jhalak Prize.

A.F. Harrold is an English poet and children's author. Some of the things he makes (books, poems, faces) are funny, some are strange, some are sad, and many of them involve the privilege of working with amazing illustrators. He often visits schools, reading poems and running workshops and juggling ideas.

He is the owner of many books, a handful of hats, a few good ideas and one beard. He lives in Reading with a stand-up comedian and two cats. His latest title with Bloomsbury Education is Pocket Book of Pocket Poems, a laugh-out-loud collection of over 200 short poems.

Karen Inglis is an internationally bestselling children’s author of picture books, chapter books and middle grade novels. Her time travel adventure, The Secret Lake, has sold over 600,000 print copies in English and is in translation in 14 languages. Her other titles have all sold in their thousands. Beyond the Secret Lake, Book 3 in the series, won the 2025 UK Selfies Children’s Book Award for best independently published children’s book in 2024. The award is announced each year at London Book Fair.

Karen has received traditional publishing offers over the years, including in 2021 from a major UK children’s publisher, but has preferred to retain creative control over her work. Her non-fiction title How to Self-publish and Market a Children’s Book is now in its second edition alongside a companion title, How to Market a Children’s Book. A third edition is due out in early 2026.

Karen is Children’s Advisor at the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Jennifer Killick is the author of several series for middle-grade readers, including Dread Wood and Crater Lake, and most recently Serial Chillers. She loves visiting schools and libraries and has won multiple awards voted for by her readers. In 2024 she was an official World Book Day author. Jennifer lives in West London in a house full of animals, craft supplies and chaos. When she isn't writing Jennifer loves to bake, paint and sew, and watch scary movies to help her prepare for the zombie apocalypse.

Tamara Macfarlane is a children’s author and founder of the multi award-winning Moon Lane bookshops. A former teacher, she writes fiction and non-fiction, champions inclusion in children’s literature, and has been recognised with the Cambridge Social Innovation Prize for her work promoting equality in publishing.

With a career that has spanned publishing, literary charities and bookselling, Carolyn McGlone founded May Literary Agency in 2024 with a focus on the power of creativity to change the world.

As an award-winning publicist-turned-agent, she understands what makes the book trade sit up and listen, how to capture readers’ attention and, crucially, how to best support authors through their publishing journey.

In past roles she has been lucky enough to work with some of the UK’s most renowned children’s and YA authors, including Philip Pullman, Michael Morpurgo, Phil Earle, Jenny Downham, Lisa Williamson and Michelle Paver.

She holds two MAs with Distinction in both Children’s Literature and Publishing, as well as a Publishers’ Publicity Circle Award.

Carolyn is keen to see children’s and YA fiction and picture books that encourage empathy and hope, which inspire and/or champion new and diverse perspectives, and which speak to your heart and soul.

Clare Povey is a middle grade author. Her debut, The Unexpected Tale of Bastien Bonlivre (2021, Usborne) was selected as a Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month. She has since published three more middle grade books, The Bad Brothers, The Wanderdays: Journey to Fantome Island and The Midnight Sweet Factory.

Clare was also a judge for the 2023 and 2024 Sadie Massey Portico Prize and wrote the mystery play, The Book of Eternity, for the Northern Opera Group which toured venues across Yorkshire.

Clare joined the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook team in 2016 at Bloomsbury Publishing. She is the Content & Partnerships Manager at writersandartists.co.uk and established the Writers' & Artists' Working-Class Writers' Prize, providing writers with author mentoring and publishing opportunities and support. 

Adeola Sokunbi is an award-winning author and illustrator from London with a passion for doodling and anything fantasy. She studied Computer Animation at University, and has been working in the animation industry as a Senior Lighting and Compositing Artist. Outside of animation and publishing, she loves to play all kinds of games, whether its sports, computer games or board games.

Ashley Thorpe is an author and editor living in Manchester with his partner and a greedy cat. His fantasy adventures The Boy to Beat the Gods and Spirit Warriors put a compelling spin on West African and Caribbean mythology and folklore.

His debut The Boy to Beat the Gods was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize, the Branford Boase Award and The Week Junior Award for Breakthrough Book.

When he isn’t writing or reading, Ashley enjoys making music, gaming, anime, and being out in nature.

Ellie Wharton is Senior Editor of children’s non-fiction at Bloomsbury and an author of over 20 children’s books, including the bestselling picture book series Michael Recycle. With over two decades of experience in the publishing industry, Ellie has held roles as diverse as International Rights Manager, Literary Agent, and Digital Publisher. This breadth of experience gives her a unique 360° perspective on publishing and a sharp eye for spotting authentic commercial gems.

When she’s not doodling ideas, you can find her walking her goldendoodle, Daisy, in the Ashdown Forest she calls home – also the home of a rather famous children’s bear too!