Garry Parsons speaks to author Gareth Peter about his recent journey into publishing, his debut picture book and why writing from the heart really matters.

Hi Gareth. In 2018 you were selected as one of ten exceptional finalists to participate in the Penguin Random House 'Write Now' mentoring scheme. Can you tell us about the scheme and how you got involved?

It’s a remarkable project which aims to seek out, mentor and publish new writing talent. They’re looking for under-represented voices, including writers from a socio-economically marginalised background, LGBTQ or BAME writers, and writers with a disability.

Mentees from the WriteNow scheme with Gareth Peter top right

I heard about the scheme from my local writing organisation (W.E.M) and was urged to apply… although at the time I didn’t think I stood a chance. Over 1700 people applied and thankfully I made the long list. 150 of us were invited to attend a workshop where we received a 1-2-1 with an editor (which was incredible). Then it was a waiting game to see if we had been shortlisted. Amazingly I was, and those 40 applicants were requested to submit more work and have a telephone interview. It was like a cross between the X Factor and applying for a job! I honestly thought this was where it would end for me and was grateful to have got some professional feedback on my work,  but when I received the email to say I had been accepted, it was phenomenal. This meant I would be working with a major publisher, improving my writing with the possibility of getting my work published. 

I was thrilled to receive a two book deal with Penguin Random House publishing under Puffin. The scheme has enabled me to start a career as a writer. 

Thumbnail sketches and first roughs for My Daddies!

Your debut picture book publishes in May. Was writing for children something you had previously envisaged or hoped for?

I always wanted to do something creative, but I thought I would be writing musicals for the theatre. I have always been theatrical and love telling stories. But the older I got, the more I enjoyed using words to creature texture, rather than using music. It was about 2001 when I really considered writing for children, mostly chapter books… but these remain gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. It wasn’t until I went on a picture book course in 2018 that I realised it was picture books that I had been longing to write for, where the illustrations would be the music to my words instead, as they shape the world and create the texture of the story. I think I had resisted this genre as I’d read so much about not writing in rhyme and the pitfalls associated with that, but as a song writer this was something I wanted to do. 

The WriteNow experience completely changed my outlook on writing and I haven’t looked back since. I may return to my other writing someday, but having two young children to read picture books with inspires me to stay with this fantastic and poetic genre.  

Your picture book follows a day in the life of a book-loving family which consists of two gay dads and their adopted daughter.  Is drawing on your own life experiences an important writing tool for you and will you be taking this forward into other stories?

Absolutely. Write what you know. I think it was the authentic voice telling this story that Puffin connected with. I think you can successfully write about any subject or point of view, but when a story comes from the heart and has an inherent truth within it, then the story can take you to a another level. The book is about two dads who have adopted and both myself and the illustrator are part of a two-dad family and have adopted. I can’t think of another picture book where this has been the case. With this integrity I hope it makes the story even more exciting to the reader.  But at the end of the day, it’s a book filled with love and adventure with a message of acceptance… what more could you want?

Considering the characters in your picture book, how do you feel about the recent protests outside primary schools arguing against the reading of certain picture books in schools?

I think it’s essential for children to have books that they can see themselves in, including differences within family dynamics, and I feel it’s important for children to see that there are different types of families.

I was deeply saddened about the protests because we need to have a society that connects and supports and tolerates each other. Everyone and every family is different and it is important to know, accept and understand this and each other.

What was your experience of working with an illustrator for the first time?

It was phenomenal. It didn’t quite feel real at first.  It felt like I was looking at a ‘proper’ picture book that someone else had written.  I was amazed that my words could inspire someone else to create such amazing images. It told the story, enhanced it and took the reader off on a visual adventure as well as literal. I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a little tear when I saw it. The picture book art form is so rich and the illustrations enable the reader to get so much more from the story. 

As an illustrator, and having worked on this book with you, I’m interested to know 

what the process was like for you seeing your characters visualised. Were the drawings what you expected and were the characters how you envisaged them? 

The editor and I worked on the text over a few months but we hadn’t discussed the visual appearance of the book other than I wanted the couple in the book to be of mixed race. Then there was a big gap while the illustrations were worked on. When I first saw the rough drawings they were set in the layout with the text and it was then that I was asked my opinion and to give feedback.

The illustrations gave the words context in a way I hadn’t imagined and with all the texture and movement they really brought the story to life.

Rough for the Life Story Book spread

You mentioned that one of your favourite spreads from the book is the Life Story Book scene. Can you tell us about that?

Every adopter understands the importance of a Life Story Book. Through words, pictures, photographs, certificates and other ‘little treasures’ a Life Story Book provides a detailed account of the child’s early history and a chronology of their life in a simple fun format. New adopters are encouraged to use the Life Story Book to promote a sense of permanency for the child and encourage attachments in the adoptive family. In my book, the family are set off on incredible adventures as the stories they read together burst into life, so to include the life story book as part of this adventure felt just right.

Your writing is represented by Mandy Suhr at Miles Scott Literary Agency. Can you tell us how you met Mandy and joined the agency?

Luck. A chance meeting.  Cheekiness. 

I nervously went to a book launch… on my own.  I sat in the corner, eating biscuits and happened to catch someone’s eye. I only knew the author (it was author Jonathan Emmett’s book launch) so it was nice to chat to someone else, who I later found out was a writer. It didn’t register with me initially, but I almost choked on my cookie when I realised who they were and that her books were on my bookshelves at home. That friendly writer was Caryl Hart and we got on like a house on fire... so much so that I cheekily bit the bullet and asked her to read one of my stories. I was aware she gets asked this a lot. I, however, asked for a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to if I stood a chance. 

This story nearly ended there as I lost my initial confidence and didn’t send any work to her. She is an amazing writer and I didn’t want to send my trash over. However, two weeks later, an email pinged over asking if I was still sending some texts? I was in shock, not because I hadn’t given my email address to Caryl, but because a professional author wanted to see my work. I nervously sent some over and she replied with some lovely, detailed and thorough advice. It was way more than I hoped for. I will forever be thankful to her.  

Over the next four weeks we worked on those texts before she asked if she could send it to someone. “Goodness yes… send it to the world,” I said. Bizarrely enough, I never asked who. But to end this long story, later that day she called me and casually said her agent loved my work and was interested in representing me. Once I got up off the floor I thanked her and it dawned on me how lucky I was and how it is important to seize an opportunity.  

I almost didn’t go to that book launch.  I am so glad I did. 

As well as being cheeky and taking chances, what advice would you give aspiring authors?

I’d say take every opportunity you can to do with books, do the courses, attend the launches and enter competitions and don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. Believe in yourself and do what you enjoy. Take risks!

With the coronavirus lockdown in operation can you tell us how it has affected your writing and the launch of you first picture book, My Daddies!

Massively actually. I don’t have much time to write any more.  Even at night, I can’t get much done as I am quite tired… and to be honest I never really function at night. I know this isn’t forever and I am thankful to be surround by my family. I do worry that I will lose my spark and that my completed texts won’t sell and publishers won’t buy as many stories. It’s quite worrying. But then I remind myself to take the risks, believe in myself and I’m back to writing again.

In terms of the launch of my book, “My Daddies!”, all the physical events have been cancelled and everything will now be done on line.  Maybe with more people at home this will be a successful strategy, who knows? So currently I am more eating biscuits than writing, but ideas are always popping into my head, so that writing spark is still burning. I’m also looking forward to going into schools and doing events even more once the lockdown is over, particularly to talk about diverse families and inclusion.

At the time of posting this piece, it is looking likely that the launch of My Daddies! will be delayed by potentially up to a year due to the coronavirus lockdown. How do you feel about that?

It’s heart-breaking, especially as it’s my debut book, but we are in very uncertain times. Let’s all keep smiling and writing when we can.  

Gareth's YouTube channel on all things picture book

You have been very active in promoting your writing through social media and by launching a YouTube channel. Can you tell us why you wanted to do this and what the experience has been so far?

When I started my writing journey, I struggled to find videos that offered writing advice from UK authors. There were several about self-publishing, but not many that depicted the traditional publishing route.  So, I thought I’d make my own.  I guess I’ve always dreamed about being a talk show host also!  But If I launched my own channel then I could also meet other authors and learn things along the way. I am still new to this industry so any help and tips are greatly appreciated. I hope others will get something from my videos, whether established or aspiring story tellers. It’s been tremendous fun so far and I’ve learnt a great deal. I am so thankful to the picture book world for being so welcoming and taking time to let me interview them. 

Thank you Gareth. So what else is in the planning for the future?

I'm delighted to have written for the The Puffin Book of Big Dreams, (an anthology of short stories celebrating Puffin's 80th birthday which comes out later this year) and my second picture book with Puffin is a family story set in space and is being illustrated now. I’m also thrilled to be writing for other publishers. Watch this space!

Gareth Peter

Gareth Peter lives in Nottingham with his partner, two huskies and their two children. Gareth has written musicals, produced albums of his music, and had a song played on Radio Two! It was the arrival of his own children that inspired Gareth to begin writing picture books.

Gareth's debut picture book MyDaddies! is illustrated by Garry Parsons and is available to pre-order and is published by Puffin.

Find out more about Gareth Peter here and for links to his YouTube channel "Gareth's Story Planet".

For information about the WriteNow scheme click  here.  The deadline for applicants is Sunday 31st May.

Read more on the protests outside schools from Den member Juliet Clare Bell  here  

My Daddies! Soon to be published by Puffin

This Blog Post Is Gay - Garry Parsons

The title of this post is respectfully borrowed and adjusted from Juno Dawson’s witty and frank manual “This Book Is Gay” first published in 2014, an important book for anyone to read, not just the LGBT* community. This book is not only informative, it is wholly accepting and basically gives the message that, whoever you are or whoever you are not, it is ok to be you. And that is a message I couldn’t agree with more and one I would hope to pass to my kids.

This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson - Hot Key Books 2014

Apparently, the market for young adult fiction featuring characters identifying as LGBT is growing. Authors like Amy Rose Capetta, Amber Smith, Christina Lauren, Tim Federle and  Juno Dawson, who also writes YA fiction, are appreciated by readers who are looking for a broader diversity of protagonists and storylines with positive reflections of who they feel themselves to be.

Representation in books is so important not only for young people who are themselves LGBT, but for everyone finding themselves in a minority community, and also for those who are not, in order to feel empathy and gain understanding. 

The recent wave of diverse characters in young adult fiction appears to be slowly making its way as subject matter for picture books. There are and have been books alluding to gay characters or featuring same-sex parents, but, by comparison to the plethora of picture books out there, these are very few and can sometimes be lacking in subtlety or quality. 

As an illustrator, parent and member of the LGBT community myself, this is an area I feel is overlooked and in need of representation and encouragement.

This could all be about to change.

In February this year CBeebies’ Bedtime Story featured singer Will Young reading Carolyn Robertson’s picture book “Two Dads”, illustrated by Sophie Humphreys, about a boy who has been adopted and brought up happily by two fathers. This episode was shown to coincide with LGBT History Month.

Will Young  reading Two Dads by Carolyn Roberson illustrated by Sophie Humpreys

“Children’s books are one of the first ways we learn about the world around us so I’m overjoyed to be reading a story to mark LGBT History Month,” said Young.

I wholeheartedly agree. Children need to be able to see the world around them, and themselves reflected in it, no matter who they are and picture books have proven to be remarkable vehicles for this. When the subject matter sits on the periphery of our daily lives or the story concerns something we know very little about, picture books are a good way to start a conversation about them for both adults and children. 

Here are a few stunning picture books that I feel deal with complex issues in clever, subtle and thoughtful ways:

The challenges of a refugee family in "The Journey" by Francesca Sanna, tolerance in "Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School" by David Mackintosh, losing a loved one in "Grandad’s Island" by Benji Davies and the dangers of lies skewing reality in "The New Neighbours" by Sarah McIntyre, for example.  

 

The Journey by Francesca Sanna. Marshall Armstrong Is New To Our School by David Mackintosh. Grandad's Island by Benji Davis and The New Neighbours by Sarah McIntyre

So what about picture books dealing with the difference a child might feel who might later identify as LGBT? Most LGBT adults can recall the sense of being ‘different’ at a very early age. These books were not around when I was six years old, but they are titles I wish I had seen and ones that offer something else.

Something Else by Kathryn Cave illustrated by Chris Riddell - Puffin 1994

“Something Else” by Kathryn Cave, illustrated by Chris Riddell, first published in 1994 and boasting over a quarter of a million copies sold, is the story of a creature who is told he does not belong and is unjustly excluded, and also about how you can befriend a person who is finding fitting in difficult.

Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival - Bloomsbury 2017

"Perfectly Norman" by Tom Percival, published by Bloomsbury in 2017, is about a little boy who realises that being bold enough to embrace being different is what leads to his happiness.

Hello Sailor by Andre Sollie illustrated by Ingrid Godon - Macmillan 2000

My personal favourite, “Hello Sailor” by Andre Sollie and illustrated by Ingrid Godon, tells the story of Matt, who lives in a lighthouse and spends his time watching the sea for his friend Sailor to return to him. “A beautiful book…it makes – just as it should – the love between two men as natural and as deep as any other,” says the Observer.

Julian Is A Mermaid - Jessica Love - Walker Books 2018

"Julian Is A Mermaid" by Jessica Love, published in 2018 to high acclaim, The Sunday Times calling it “celebratory and ground-breaking”, is the story of a little boy who is mesmerized by the sight of three women in flamboyant dresses he sees while travelling on the subway with his Nana. He leads us, unashamedly, on a journey towards love and acceptance. Who wouldn’t want this freedom of expression for children?

Interior illustration from Julian Is A Mermaid - Jessica Love 

Whilst these four books don’t explicitly speak about same-sex relationships, gender stereotypes or being LGBT, the themes of feeling different, the need for acceptance and the exploration of self-identity can be appreciated without them being preachy. 

This is what Tom Percival says about Perfectly Norman :

“the wings are symbolic—of freedom—once you allow yourself to be open and honest about who you really are, you can fly free.”

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell illustrated by Henry Cole  - Simon & Schuster 2007

 And then there is the popular, and at the same time controversially unpopular, “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole.

“And Tango Makes Three” tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together, based on the true story of two male penguins that hatched an egg in the New York City Zoo.

Roy and Silo's adopted egg hatches - from And Tango Makes Three - illustrated by Henry Cole

The story explores the universal way families form around love and shows that some families who can't have children of their own adopt, in this case with the help of the zookeeper, Mr. Gramsay, who gives them an extra egg from another penguin couple at the zoo.

“And Tango Makes Three” has been at the centre of many censorship debates on same-sex marriage, adoption, and homosexuality in animals and periodically banned in public libraries in certain states in America. In Singapore, the National Library Board were persuaded to file the book in the adult section.  

At the same time “And Tango Makes Three” has been used in schools as a teaching aid and has won multiple awards, including being on The American Library Association’s Notable Children's Book list in 2006.

Undoubtedly, picture books can be powerful starting points for provoking thought, leading to empathy or letting the reader know that “It’s ok to be me”. 

I know I would have enjoyed and valued the story of "Julian Is A Mermaid" when I was six and I certainly would have benefitted from the frankness of Juno Dawson’s "This Book Is Gay" as a young adult. 

Illustration by Spike Gerrell from This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson

For me, these books give hope, especially in a time when the world is struggling to tackle discrimination and hatred in all its myriad forms. We need to be able to give our children a moment where they can feel confident and safe to explore the people they feel themselves to be, whatever that might be, whoever and whatever they grow up to be, even if it is to be a mermaid.

Garry is proud to have recently been asked to illustrate a picture book with an 

“It’s ok to be you” theme and which was the prompt for this post.


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* LGBT - lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.