New Year; New Team ... Part 1

Claire Watts @evangelinecluck

As 2017 begins, Words & Pictures welcomes a huge surge of new talent to the team. So many new faces, in fact, that it’s going to take two posts to do them all justice! First up, new co-editor, Claire Watts, introduces the new editors on the team.

There’s nothing like starting something brand-spanking new at the beginning of a new year! Here we are in January 2017 and my co-editor, Ellie Brough, and I are raring to go with our editorship. We’re very excited to be getting to know our fabulous team and look forward to working with them on all the things that W&P already does so well, as well as introducing some new ideas (watch this space!).

But first, some introductions:

Claire Watts 

@evangelinecluck

I’ve been a freelance writer and editor of non-fiction for children for the past twenty-five years, though secretly I was always messing around with fiction too. About six years ago, I decided to concentrate on the fiction. I’ve self-published three YA novels and I'm in the process of redrafting a fourth. Meanwhile, one of my other novels is doing the rounds of agents and was longlisted in this year’s Mslexia competition. I’m a member of two face-to-face crit groups and one online one, because I love talking about writing. I moved from London to rural Scotland twenty years ago and yearn for the city when I’m at home and the country when I’m in the city. My house is full to bursting with all sorts of books but children’s books are my passion.

I’m thrilled at becoming co-editor of Words & Pictures with Ellie. The magazine is a reflection of the strongly supportive SCBWI community and has the potential to be the go-to place for information and inspiration about the craft and business of creating books for children.

Ellie Brough 

@EllieBrough

I love everything children’s books and have successfully managed to fill every hour of my week with them. After writing a young adult short story for my dissertation at the University of Southampton, I was hooked and once I graduated I threw classics aside and started catching up on the three years of YA I had missed out on. I started my editorial career with Maverick Arts Publishing where I was the gatekeeper on the other side of the slush pile searching for the next big story amongst thousands of hopeful submissions then crafting them into the beautiful, quirky picture books that only Maverick can make. In December 2016, I moved on from Maverick, joining the team at Quarto Children's where I still work on wonderful picture books but have also entered the exciting world of children's non-fiction. Add the role of co-editor of Words & Pictures magazine to this mix and I've achieved my dream: my life officially revolves around children’s books. It’s marvellous.

Ellie says: “I’m thrilled to be taking on the role of co-editor of Words & Pictures with Claire Watts as my partner. I can’t wait to work with the wonderful and inspiring members of SCBWI to takes Words & Pictures to the next level and make a magazine that everyone can continue to be proud of.”

If you have any ideas or comments you would like to share, you can contact Ellie and me at editor@britishscbwi.org

We have two more new editors to welcome to the team:

Louisa Glancy 

@louisaglancy

Louisa is very excited to be taking on the role of Wednesday Features Editor for W&P. She comes from a fine art and English Language teaching background. She lived in Madrid for eight years, where she taught English and worked for a magazine. Her day job is writing and editing for English language teaching publishers. She is the organiser of the Canterbury Coffee and Chat SCBWI group and is currently writing a middle grade book.

If you have ideas for features in W&P, you can contact Louisa and the other feature editors at writers@britishscbwi.org

 AM Dassu 

@a_reflective

A M Dassu is our new Events Editor and a member of the Words & Pictures editorial team. She will collaborate with event organisers and speakers to produce promotional pieces where required and will also be commissioning reports from event attendees who can write up reports for W&P.

A M Dassu became an SCBWI member in 2015 and has since written five picture books and a contemporary teen novel. She loves planning school workshops and, as a lover of hats, she spends a lot of her time choosing which hat to wear.

If you are interested in reporting on an SCBWI event for W&P, you can contact A M Dassu at: events@britishscbwi.org


We’re thrilled also to be able to welcome Nick Cross back to W&P. His regular Ten-Minute Blog Break has been sorely missed. He’ll be back every other Tuesday. Watch out for his first post on January 10th!

And lastly, we’d like to thank Viv Dacosta who is stepping down from her role as Events Ed to take up a brand new SCBWI_BI project. It’s all a bit hush-hush at the moment, but we promise it’s VERY exciting! News coming very soon…

Phew! That’s it for this post. More new faces next Sunday.

Have a creative week!

Claire