In this special mini-sode of Storyshaped, I (Sinéad) sat down with Ruth Ennis (writer, book-expert, book reviewer, general Queen of Irish children's and YA literature and legend in her own lifetime) to discuss something close to both our hearts: the situation in Palestine.

Nobody will be unaware of the reality; the situation in Palestine, and in particular in Gaza, has been described as 'genocide' by bodies such as Médecins sans Frontieres, the United Nations, and Amnesty International. Innocent civilians have been mercilessly killed, day and night, for almost the past two years, and the onslaught has had a particularly horrific impact on Palestinian children.

As authors for children and young people, Ruth and I couldn't stand by and do nothing. So, we set up the Irish KidLit for Palestine Fundraiser, which runs between August 4th and 17th, 2025.

Our chosen charity is Medical Aid for Palestinians, who can be found HERE

And the link to the Irish KidLit for Palestine Fundraiser, where you can help us to raise money AND get yourself some snazzy kidlit-related goodies, is HERE

Our sincere thanks to the 30+ authors, illustrators, artists and creatives who made this Fundraiser possible by donating their work and their time. Míle buíochas!

Stay tuned for more Storyshaped in the autumn.

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So, if we sound a bit giddy on this week's episode, that's because we were! Head-whirlingly, we got to speak to Patrice Actual Lawrence, who is one of the most accomplished authors around. Patrice has written for all age groups, from picturebooks right up to YA (with equal aplomb), and her journey to creating this masterful body of work is an interesting one. Come with us as she takes us through her Storyshaped life.

Books mentioned in this week's episode include Patrice's own:

Orangeboy

Indigo Donut

Eight Pieces of Silva

Needle

Rose, Interrupted

Is That Your Mama? illustrated by Diane Ewen

Elemental Detectives

People Like Stars

And the stories which shaped her include:

Pig-Heart Boy, by Malorie Blackman

Malory Towers, by Enid Blyton (and Patrice's own New Class At Malory Towers)

Rainbow Magic, by 'Daisy Meadows'

The work of John Agard

The work of Grace Nicols

The work of Julia Donaldson

The work of Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Stephen King

The work of Jenny Downham, especially Before I Die

The story of Jonathan Strong, an enslaved man in 18thC London

The Rivers of London (series), by Ben Aaronovitch

Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Dr Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting

The Railway Children, by E Nesbit

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Diddakoi, by Rumer Godden

Our Beautiful Darkness, by Onjaki, ill. Antonio Jorge Goncalves, trans. Lyn Miller-Lachman

A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll

100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Cafe, by Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada

Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - the book Sinéad was trying to recall!

Tsunami Girl, by Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada

The Pigman, by Paul Zindel

Rumblefish, by SE Hinton

The Body, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Pet Sematary, all by Stephen King

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we were honoured to speak to an undisputable Queen of Children's Literature - Julie Sykes! Julie is the author of well over a hundred books, many of them co-written with the equally excellent Linda Chapman. Her bestselling series include the Netflix-adapted The Unicorn Academy, but throughout Julie's almost thirty year career she has written for the youngest children right up to teens. Come with us for a brilliant insight into Julie's life, career, work - and just how she keeps her creative flame lit, even after all these years.

Find Julie online at her website: www.juliesykes.co.uk

Find out more about International Literature Festival Dublin at www.ilfdublin.com

Tickets for the LIVE Storyshaped event are available here: LIVE STORYSHAPED PODCAST EVENT

Tickets for Susan's solo event are available here: DISCOVER THE MAGICAL WORLD BETWEEN THE RAIN

Tickets for Sinéad's solo event are available here: THE SUN, THE MOON, AND TWO STARS

Books mentioned in this week's episode include some of Julie's own:

The Unicorn Academy series (co-written with Linda Chapman; illustrated by Lucy Truman)

The Mermaid Academy series (co-written with Linda Chapman; illustrated by Lucy Truman)

The Woodland Magic series (illustrated by Katy Riddell)

The Perfect Puppies series

The Princess Ponies series

And the stories that shaped her include:

The work of Enid Blyton

Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome

The Punchbowl series, by Monica Edwards

The Romney Marsh series, by Monica Edwards

Carbonel: The King of the Cats, by Barbara Sleigh

Diary of an Accidental Witch, by Honor and Perdita Cargill

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner

The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien

Goodnight Mister Tom, by Michelle Magorian

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross

The work of Dominique Valente

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door, by Pari Thompson

The Hedgewitch series, by Skye McKenna

The Wycherleys, by Annaliese Avery

The work of Harriet Muncaster

esp. Diary of Whisker Wildflower, by Harriet Muncaster

The work of Hilary McKay

esp. Rosa by Starlight, Saffy's Angel, and Indigo Star (all by Hilary McKay)

Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie. You might also like to check out www.kennys.ie for free shipping within the Republic of Ireland!

In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.