Pippa is a prize-winning children's writer and teacher with a passion for creating quality books for children, for connecting children with books, and for developing new writers. Throughout a career spanning 30 years, she's had a hundred and fifty books published. In 2015 she was awarded an honorary degree by De Montfort University, becoming a Doctor of Letters.
Currently for ICE, Pippa teaches a seven week online course 'An Introduction To Writing For Children', teaches a one week writing for children course for the Summer School, and gives visiting lectures on writing for children.
Pippa began her career in books with a Saturday job at Heffers bookshop in Cambridge, later becoming manager of their Children's Bookshop. She began writing books when she was at home with young children and has been shortlisted for numerous awards. Since her first children's novel, Flow came out in 1994, she's had further novels, early reader books and picture books published, as well as a novel for adults. They include the two million plus best seller picture book You Choose series of books, illustrated by Nick Sharratt and Winnie the Witch storybooks, written under the name Laura Owen and illustrated by Korky Paul. She has also written a historical adventure novel set in Cambridge, The Great Sea Dragon Discovery, winner of the 2019 Young Quills award for best historical children’s middle grade novel that year. She also writes for reading book series, some specifically designed for readers with dyslexia, others written to fit the phonic method of teaching reading.
She has taught writing for children at degree level at Nottingham Trent and De Montfort Universities, and she has run evening classes and taken part in literary festival sessions, including at the Edinburgh Book festival. She has critiqued stories for the Arts Council and for Jericho Writers and continues to work extensively with primary school age children as a visiting author.
Her current writing projects include working on new You Choose board books and on an anthropomorphic middle grade novel.
Pippa's teaching mixes lecturing using lots of example books, discussion, group brainstorming of ideas, setting writing tasks, and workshopping students' individual work.
