Spend an hour with Sinéad and our guest, Victoria Williamson, as we take a stroll through the stories that have shaped one of the most prolific and imaginative children's authors writing today. Victoria's work ranges from emotionally charged stories for older children and young teens, right down to fantastical adventures for younger readers, never failing to enthral and captivate, and it was a pleasure to sit down with her and chat all things story. We talk about the 'hero's journey', her career as a teacher, the many far-flung places her work has brought her to, her commitment to social justice and other causes close to her heart, and what authorly ambitions she has yet to achieve. Come and join us, and find out how Victoria is Storyshaped.
Find Victoria online via her website
Books mentioned in this week's episode include Victoria's own:
The Boy With the Butterfly Mind
The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle
Hagstorm
War of the Wind
The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams
And the stories that shaped her include:
The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien
Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien
The work of Stephen King
The work of Monica Dickens
The Tripods, by John Christopher
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 3/4, by Sue Townsend
The Hardy Boys (and later iterations), originally created and written by Franklin W. Dixon
Maps, atlases, and books about travel
The work of Jane Austen, the Brontes, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens
Harry Potter, by JK Rowling (these books set Victoria on the road to becoming a children's writer)
Treasures of the Snow, by Patricia St John
The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham
The work of MR James
Victorian Gothic Stories and Ghost stories (in general)
Rivet Boy, by Barbara Henderson
Euro Spies, by Lindsay Littleton
Haarville, by Justin Davies
Into the Faerie Hill, by HS Norup
The Silver Road, by Sinéad O'Hart
TV influences include:
Star Trek
Our podcast bookshop in Ireland is Halfway Up the Stairs: www.halfwayupthestairs.ie
In the UK, check out our storefront on: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Storyshaped. Disclaimer: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops.
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