Liz Kessler

Liz Kessler says:

“I was born in Southport. I went to Roslyn House Nursery School, then Farnborough Road Juniors, then Merchant Taylors in Crosby, and then Abbotsholme School in Staffordshire. When I was little I used to love writing poems. When I was nine, my poem 'Jinx's Shop' was published in the Manchester Evening News. (You can read this on my website.)

After leaving school, I did an English degree at Loughborough University, and then I did a PGCE, which is a teaching qualification. Over the next few years, I did a bit of teaching but then got into journalism and worked on a few weekly and regional newspapers. Then I was offered a job teaching Media Studies at a sixth form college in Manchester, which felt like it combined a bit of everything. I worked there for five years and left to do an MA in Novel Writing whilst doing some part time jobs at the same time - a bit of teaching and a bit of freelance editorial work.

During this time, I'd started writing The Tail of Emily Windsnap. Through my editorial work I came into contact with a wonderful literary agent called Catherine Clarke. She liked the sound of my book and insisted that I send it to her, even though I was a bit nervous about it and not sure it was finished! Fortunately, she liked what she read and she got me my book deal with the brilliant Orion Children's Books, who publish all my books.

After my second book was published I went full time as a writer, and that's what I'm still doing now! I've got four books published at the moment - the three Emily Windsnap books and Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister. The second Philippa Fisher book comes out next March and I'm currently working on a fourth Emily Windsnap book.”

Website: http://www.lizkessler.co.uk/