SCBWI FACES Lucy Hope

 

SCBWI Faces goes behind the scenes to meet our volunteers. This month Rebecca Rouillard chats to Lucy Hope, part of the events team for the London network.

Lucy Hope is a children’s author with an eclectic background in business, IT and education. She always dreamt of being an author and often wrote to national newspapers on matters “of great importance” such as the placement of women’s toilets in supermarkets, many of which were published. Her greatest literary achievement in this period was when Top Gear magazine selected her letter about the tribulations of being a young woman driving a bright yellow sports car for their letter of the month.

When her son began his GCSEs, she realised she could no longer resist the urge to write, so sold her website design business and accepted a place on the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. She graduated with a distinction in 2019 and soon afterwards signed with her agent, Joanna Moult from Skylark Literary, and then with her publisher, Nosy Crow, at the start of lockdown. 

She loves to travel, especially around the UK in her ancient Mazda Bongo campervan. Two months ago she bought a clunky, but pretty, old bike on eBay and loves cycling around Bushy Park. She’ll cycle or walk just about anywhere so long as there’s a coffee and a cake at the other end

What do you write?

I write middle grade novels. My first, Fledgling, a gothic mystery set in 1900 in a house on a rock overlooking a forest in Bavaria, was published in 2021 by Nosy Crow and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Writing. My second book, Wren, was published a year later and is set in Anglesey. It’s a Victorian mystery inspired by Welsh folklore and the landscape of North Wales, where I grew up and my family still live. I’m currently working on something new that is set in an alternative, dystopian past.

 

Do you have a ‘day job’ as well as volunteering and writing?

When I’m not writing I teach creative writing at my local arts centre in Teddington.

 

Describe your writing space.

I write at a lovely, old and slightly battered desk which is positioned between my living room and kitchen, and perfectly placed for visits to the snack cupboard and fridge. I bought the desk from an antique shop soon after I got married (nearly 30 years ago!) because my dad had one just like it and it felt like a grown-up thing to own. The leather top is peeling in parts but I love that it has drawers on both sides for all my writing paraphernalia. 

I bought the cat pen holder in a shop in Germany and the feathers were found or given to me when Fledgling was first published. Above my desk is a framed print of a dog that we bought because it looked very much like our dog, Bronte. Shortly afterwards, in a strange incident of life imitating art, Bronte ransacked a table of cupcakes at a local jubilee party and scoffed the lot. I sometimes wonder if the print was her inspiration... 

To the left of my desk is my writing cupboard, which I love just as much as the desk. Inside it I keep all my writing craft books and folders of previous drafts of my books, along with various stationary items. I also keep a scentedd candle in there, so it smells pretty nice too.

 

How long have you been a SCBWI volunteer?

I’ve only been a member of SCBWI for about eight months and became a volunteer at the same time.

 

Describe the main tasks of your role as a SCBWI volunteer.

I help Rebecca Rouillard organise the SCBWI London evening socials.

 

Do you do any other volunteering?

I moved to London from the Cotswolds in late 2022 and am currently applying for part time voluntary roles in the charity sector and am hoping to find something outside the world of writing. When my children were at school, I used to go in once a week to listen to other children reading. I was also on the school PTA and involved in organising all sorts of events from cake sales to charity balls. Last year I was a volunteer on the WriteMentor programme and worked with two wonderful and hugely talented children’s authors, who I hope one day to see in print!

 

Has volunteering influenced your writing in any way?

I don’t think it has specifically, but my years spent reading with children in school certainly gave me a good idea of the books that really made them spark.

 

What are the advantages of being a volunteer?

I think volunteering has had a positive impact on all areas of my life, from meeting other writers in SCBWI to extending my circle of friends and colleagues and gaining life experience. I think it just feels good to be putting something back. I’m lucky to be where I am with my writing, so if I can do something to help even one person achieve their dream, then that’s a huge privilege.

 

How many hours per week do you spend volunteering?

At the moment, not that many, but I hope to do more as I settle into London life.

 

Do the boundaries between volunteering get blurred or do you have clearly demarcated writing/volunteering times/space?

I’m very conscious that as a professional author I should ensure that my work is paid for, so that is always my priority, but I will always grab opportunities to volunteer when they arise. As I often have writing deadlines from my publisher, I will always put these first. However, if I’m struggling to write, it’s great to have something else to jump into for a while that isn’t all about my current writing project. I’m not a routine-based person, so tend to spend my time on whatever has the most pressing deadline!

 

Favourite children’s book?

As a child, I loved the Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton more than any of my other books. Thinking about more recently published books, it’s difficult to pick just one, but I love Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean (but be warned it is harrowing!) and anything by Frances Hardinge.

*Header illustration: Tita Berredo and Ell Rose

*Other images courtesy of Rebecca Rouillard

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Anne Boyere is one of Words & Pictures' Feature Editors and runs the #SCBWIchat on X (formerly Twitter) chat about books for all ages @SCBWI_BI. You can find her on X.

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Ell Rose is a non-binary illustrator & animator based in Edinburgh and Illustration Features Editor for Words & Pictures. Their cats sometimes feature in their work in either comics or illustrations/animation. They are available for editorial, non-fiction and fiction books and commercial work as well as 2D motion graphics. Contact illustrators@britishscbwi.org

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Tita Berredo is Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and the Art Director of Words & Pictures. Follow her on Instagram, X and www.titaberredo.com or contact her at illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org