In Depth
Cracking ahead
18.09.08 Caroline Horn
Many a headline has been devoted to record-breaking advances for a new children's book but, as authors know, making a living from writing for children is hard and, for most, impossible.
To become a bestselling literary author in the children's book world, therefore, takes a rare talent and David Almond is one of the few writers to achieve this. Moreover, he did so with his very first published novel, Skellig, which went on to become required reading in schools and which is about to be staged as an opera, commissioned by The Sage Gateshead. There will also be an exhibition of his work by Seven Stories, the Centre for Children's Books in Newcastle upon Tyne.
When he first heard about the exhibition plans, Almond, a Geordie through and through, responded, "But I'm not dead yet!" He chuckles quietly, still seemingly surprised at the turn his life has taken.
Triple celebration
Almond was in his early forties and celebrating the recent birth of his first child when Skellig first hit the headlines, winning both the Whitbread and Carnegie children's book awards in 1998.
Until Skellig, he had been writing short stories for adults and had had a novel "rejected by every publisher", he says. He turned to writing for children almost by accident with Skellig. "It was about a boy so it seemed natural to make it a children's book." Although he wonders why he didn't move into children's writing earlier, he also feels it would not have worked for him. "Everything I did in the 10 years leading up to that was in preparation for it."
Soon the demands of his writing schedule meant he just "didn't have the time" to go to work and he left part-time teaching to become a full- time writer. Each of his new titles, including The Fire-eaters, Clay and Kit's Wilderness, has achieved critical acclaim.
Most of his books are tied to the Tyne & Wear landscape he grew up in, so much so that he describes his new title, Jackdaw Summer (Hodder, November, £10.99), as "very different" because it is set in the neighbouring landscape of Northumberland where he now lives with his wife and daughter.
Almond's books are rooted in the world around him and provide a glimpse into his views on a range of subjects from history and politics to creativity. Jackdaw Summer, in which the main character, Liam, recklessly seeks out danger and almost creates a tragedy, is steeped in death —adders lurk in the grass, the sound of gunfire is ever-present and boys make videos of decapitation—and in the midst of this arrives a teenager from Liberia, a former "child soldier" who has confronted many terrifying incidents that the English boys in the story can barely imagine.
"Northumberland has a terrible history, full of battles and wars, which is kind of celebrated now but in some parts of the world that savagery is still going on," says Almond. "The world seems a dangerous place again."
Despite the depth that his local knowledge gives his writing, Almond has a "love-hate" relationship with being a regional writer. "It is in your blood. It forces you to write, and you have to work with it to achieve something. I do feel like a regional writer but that doesn't mean I'm inward-looking, it is more about feeling a responsibility to get it right."
Duty bound
He describes himself as "evangelical" about writing and particularly how it is taught in schools. As a children's writer, he feels he is "writing for people who are learning how to become writers themselves" and almost sees it as a duty to show something about the process of writing and creating to help young people become involved in the writing process. Almond reminisces, proudly, that his views were attacked by both David Blunkett and Chris Woodhead in the same week after he used his Carnegie acceptance speech for Skellig to demand more "time and space" for creativity in schools.
Ironically, many of his books are now required reading in schools, something he has mixed feelings about. "There is a danger of books being used mechanically and being made boring," he admits, but adds, "I am optimistic about teachers and education and children. A lot of schools will use Skellig as core for art, for example, and those children write to me about William Blake."
He believes it is a great time to be a children's writer—and points to the number of adult writers trying to move into the children's market. "Things are changing for children's writing. It is taken more seriously and the whole culture is becoming lighter and more playful," he says. "There's more willingness to experiment and more time for collaboration." He points to Skellig's transformation into an opera, for which he has written a libretto.
Almond has also written his first illustrated children's book, My Dad's a Birdman, with Polly Dunbar, and an illustrated title, The Savage, with Dave McKean, who illustrated Neil Gaiman's The Wolves in the Wall.
"I moved away from fiction to do these books because I read critics saying things like, ‘David Almond does x again' and I did not want to be categorised like that. You have to keep re-inventing yourself and trying different things."
He is also engaged with the current debates in children's publishing, an early supporter of Alan Gibbons' campaign against public and school library closures, and an opponent of including age guidance on children's books. "I don't want age-banding put on my books; what would you put on a book like Savage?"
He also argues that the Publishers Association was naïve in not preparing the ground well enough before the introduction of age guidance. Unfortunately, he says, it has meant that "at times, the debate has appeared to put publishers on one side of the fence and authors on the other, when really we are all fighting for the same thing".
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