DEBUT JOURNEYS Jack Jackman
Where are you now and where did you write your book?
Scotland and Scotland. I used to wander around the world, writing as I went, but Maisie vs Antarctica was written entirely on an obsolete laptop at my local café. I need the grey noise and the lack of WiFi. The steady supply of caffeine also helps.
What’s it all about? (Your book, that is!)
Maisie and her dad crash-land in Antarctica. Then Maisie starts to realise there's definitely something very strange about her dad. It’s an MG adventure with a touch of the supernatural.
Tell us about your route to publication.
Maisie vs Antarctica was the sixth novel I wrote but the first to get published. It's been a long journey! I started writing novels when I lived in Argentina, back in the 1990s. I tried to get the first ones published but it didn't happen. Then I stopped writing novels and wrote plays instead which were performed in Edinburgh and London. The pandemic derailed that particular train. After the last lockdown I sat down with one of my daughters, who was eleven at the time, and together we started working on a story which became Maisie vs Antarctica.
That’s the short version. The long version is too tedious to recount and involves a lot of rejection and gnashing of teeth.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I'm a primary school teacher. I also love woodwork. My classroom is full of castles, wooden spaceships and a giant wooden robot which gets in everyone's way.
What was the biggest bump in the road when it came to getting your book out into the world and how did you overcome it?
My first books weren't good enough. It was so hard to see that at the time. I joined a writing group and I (slowly) learned how to bare my soul and accept critique. Being able to edit the same paragraph fifteen times and then abruptly delete it altogether is a tough but necessary part of the process. Some of my favourite ideas have been quietly laid to rest in a folder on my laptop. I still visit them occasionally.
Any tips for budding writers hoping to follow in your footsteps?
Can you sum up your idea in one impactful sentence? Some beautifully written stories will never get published because they can't persuade anyone to pick them up and read them. Also, have you tried being lucky? Being lucky really helps. But mostly, keep reading, keep writing, keep learning. If your concept is interesting and your writing is strong, luck is less important.
What surprised you most about your launch?
I was overwhelmed by just how many people had been following my journey and waiting for my dream to become a reality! That's what happens when you bang on about it for a quarter of a century. I invited loads of people to my launch thinking half wouldn’t turn up and then had to scrabble around frantically when everyone did. And it was a fantastic night.
What’s next for you?
I’ve been doing loads of school visits, which I absolutely love. Book 2 – Maisie vs the Himalayas – comes out in September 2025 so there’s lots to get ready for that. And I'm sketching out Book 3 (for the third time), still in the same café, still with the same obsolete laptop.
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Jack Jackman is a father of three who works as a teacher in Scotland. Before settling in Scotland, he spent his time wandering the world, including a time in Argentina where he was, for years, the most southerly English teacher in the world. Jack used to be a tour guide in a prison, a pianist in a punk rock band and even a waiter in Antarctica (penguins do not tip well).
Follow him on Instagram/Threads, X, or BlueSky.
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