Comment from the book world in January 2023

‘I tried to get the seat at the front of the bus on the top deck - there's a shelf where you can put your coat and bag, and then you can open your laptop properly. So I had two hours a day when I could write, and it proved to me that my hunger to do it was there. I didn't have the luxury of a day a week where I could do it. That was the time I had, so I had to make it work for me...

There isn't always a correlation between the greatest works of fiction and the biggest sellers. If that was the case, David Almond would be selling a million copies. Sometimes it's a happy coincidence that something you're working on seems to be doing well elsewhere. But I try not to join the dots, because the single most important thing is writing the book that you want. That's what I try and do, first and foremost...

I'm obsessed with underdogs. The kids I was working with had been written off, and they had experienced horrific things that the vast majority of the population won't go through as long as they live. That is something that fundamentally really drives my writing. With a lot of these books, it's about empathy, trying to work out how someone who's been abandoned would feel, for example. It's about writing to make sense.'

Phil Earle, author of When the Sky Falls, While the Storm Rages, Demolition Dad and 16 other books for children, and 6 for older readers, in Bookbrunch

https://www.philearle.com/

'Stories stay with us: tales of bravery visit us when fear peeps round the corner, comedies sprinkle us in smiles on a train ride to work. Characters become our friends and our confidantes, and worlds explored through the imagination, incredibly, share space with our memories. A story shared transports reader and listeners alike on a joint adventure never to be forgotten. When we open a book there's no telling where it may take us or the profound impact it may have on our lives, and so, it is an honour to mark World Book Day by talking to Her Majesty about the meaning and memories of stories, and a love of reading.'

Joseph Coelho, UK Children's Laureate and author of Werewolf Club Rules, the Luna Loves series Overheard in a Tower Block and How To Write Poems, after a conversation with Queen Camilla on World Book Day, in Bookbrunch

‘At their core, cosy crimes are very character-driven stories about unlikely and everyday heroes, and the tone of them is very humorous. The detectives are people who are underestimated - older characters or slightly bumbling eccentrics who make mistakes along the way and get themselves into trouble. The sense of rooting for an underdog and seeing them triumph through setbacks in their investigations is an aspect people seem to have really responded to, and they have a real focus on the communities in which they live as well, something which I think is appealing.'

Siân Heap, editor at Canelo, in Bookbrunch

‘The level of talent and success we're seeing from self-published authors speaks for itself, so publishers have definitely had to take notice and adapt. I'm sure it's shifted attitudes towards self-publishing but I also think it's shifting attitudes towards our own work: when you're approaching an author who has already had huge success on their own, you have to be very clear and confident about what extra value you're bringing to the table. I've found it makes for very collaborative partnerships with authors who have incredible hands-on publishing experience and a forensic understanding of what works for their audience.'

Celia Killen, commissioning editor at Orion Fiction in London, who signed 10 books by Jessa Hastings in October, including her initially self-published Magnolia Parks romance series which went viral on TikTok earlier in 2022, in the Bookseller

‘It's a big part of the job. Being able to put yourself in their shoes is really important. I'm not a writer, but I watch a lot of author content online and I read a lot of stuff from authors. Having that perspective is really important for me to be able to give my authors context. Their emotions are important. If they're disappointed we didn't sell, so am I. Being able to sit in that space is important, but my job as an agent is to move the author from despair to strategy, asking questions like: what are we doing to do next? What do we learn from this? It's a skill to sit in the darkness with them, and to get ourselves out into what's next...

Although it's common sense, when you're a young agent and every deal feels like make or break for your career, it's important to be aware that there will always be more avenues, and there will be always more opportunities. You can't just say yes or get into something that is not actually going to serve the author.'

Hannah Schofield, literary agent at LBA in London in Bookbrunch