From the author of Thirteen Ways of Looking and TransAtlantic, a compassionate series of letters to young writers embarking on their careers, which grew out of the weekly advice McCann posts on his website.

Allow yourself to be enchanted in this magical story of Sophy, the young girl whose extraordinary adventure with a real wolf helps her discover her inner confidence. Sophy is a shy girl who struggles to fit in in the outside world. She is happiest at home, playing in her wolf suit in her den. It makes her feel strong like a wolf, fierce like a wolf, and maybe even a little bit brave like a wolf. She loves her suit so much she decides to wear it to school one day, but it doesn't go well. She tries to talk at school but the words get stuck in her throat and everyone laughs and whispers behind her back. But one day, an extraordinary thing happens… Sophy is whisked away to a magical snowy land where she meets a wolf and her cub. The unlikely trio roll, run and howl together, playing happily in the snow. Sophy has found friends and nothing can ruin her day… until a big, angry bear appears. But Sophyfinally finds her voiceand finds the courage she's been looking for all along. This beautifully told and enchantingly illustrated story carries important themes of overcoming the isolating feeling of being shy, finding friends and most importantly, finding your voice, and will delight readers young and old. Praise for Jo Loring-Fisher's other books: Taking Time (Lantana Publishing) ‘A soothing balm in book form’ – The Observer Picture Book Review ‘Children from around the world marvel at small wonders of nature in this dreamy story in verse.’ – The Bookseller Maisie's Scrapbook (Lantana Publishing) – Winner of the Northern Lights Book Award

The Nobel Prize–winning author’s classic on the craft of novel writing “distills [the great works] brilliantly, revealing an architecture to their greatness” (The Washington Post Book World). In Letters to a Young Novelist, Mario Vargas Llosa condenses a lifetime of writing, reading, and thought into an essential manual for aspiring writers. Drawing on the stories and novels of writers from around the globe—including Borges, Bierce, Céline, Cortázar, Faulkner, Kafka, Robbe-Grillet and others—he lays bare the inner workings of fiction, all the while urging young novelists not to lose touch with the elemental urge to create. Conversational, eloquent, and effortlessly erudite, this little book is destined to be read and re-read by young writers, old writers, would-be writers, and all those with a stake in the world of letters.

A Young Writer's World is a book about creating environments and opportunities that foster children's engagement with print, writing, and literacy.

Get your creative juices flowing with this collection of smart, funny, and thought-provoking writing prompts. Open to any page to be inspired, to express yourself, and to jump-start your literary genius.

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Los Angeles Times • The Boston Globe • The Seattle Times • The Independent In such acclaimed novels as Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic, National Book Award–winning author Colum McCann has transfixed readers with his precision, tenderness, and authority. Now, in his first collection of short fiction in more than a decade, McCann charts the territory of chance, and the profound and intimate consequences of even our smallest moments. “As it was, it was like being set down in the best of poems, carried into a cold landscape, blindfolded, turned around, unblindfolded, forced, then, to invent new ways of seeing.” In the exuberant title novella, a retired judge reflects on his life’s work, unaware as he goes about his daily routines that this particular morning will be his last. In “Sh’khol,” a mother spending Christmas alone with her son confronts the unthinkable when he disappears while swimming off the coast near their home in Ireland. In “Treaty,” an elderly nun catches a snippet of a news report in which it is revealed that the man who once kidnapped and brutalized her is alive, masquerading as an agent of peace. And in “What Time Is It Now, Where You Are?” a writer constructs a story about a Marine in Afghanistan calling home on New Year’s Eve. Deeply personal, subtly subversive, at times harrowing, and indeed funny, yet also full of comfort, Thirteen Ways of Looking is a striking achievement. With unsurpassed empathy for his characters and their inner lives, Colum McCann forges from their stories a profound tribute to our search for meaning and grace. The collection is a rumination on the power of storytelling in a world where language and memory can sometimes falter, but in the end do not fail us, and a contemplation of the healing power of literature. Praise for Thirteen Ways of Looking “Extraordinary . . . incandescent.”—Chicago Tribune “The irreducible mystery of human experience ties this small collection together, and in each of these stories McCann explores that theme in some strikingly effective ways. . . . [The first story] is as fascinating as it is poignant. . . . [The second] captures the mundane and mysterious aspects of shaping characters from the gray clay of words, placing them in realistic settings and breathing life into their lungs. . . . That he makes the story so emotionally compelling is a sign of his genius. . . . The most remarkable [piece] is Sh’khol. . . . Caught in the rushing currents of this drama, you know you’re reading a little masterpiece.”—The Washington Post “McCann is a writer of power and subtlety and beauty. . . . The powerful title story loiters in the mind long after you’ve read it.”—Sarah Lyall, The New York Times “[McCann] unspools complex and unforgettable stories in this, his first collection in more than a decade.”—The Boston Globe “McCann is a passionate writer whose impulse is always toward a generous understanding of his diverse characters.”—The Wall Street Journal “Powerful, profound, and deeply empathetic, McCann’s beautifully wrought writing in Thirteen Ways of Looking glides off the page.”—BuzzFeed “McCann weaves the magic that made Let the Great World Spin so acclaimed.”—The Huffington Post

This is an authoritative book from the word experts at Oxford to get budding writers crafting brilliant stories. It will help you think about how to develop an idea into a gripping and powerful story, with examples and tips from the best known authors to show you how it's done. For childrenaged 11 and over, it covers all the key elements of plot, characterization, building a believable world, thinking about tone and style, weaving description into stories, through to endings and editing your work. Practical tips will get any struggling writer to beat the fear of the blank page andinspirational advice will help young authors to achieve their creative writing goals. It includes information on sharing stories and how to get people reading your work.