I make stories, truetales, poems, games, music & mischief.
Children's author, poet and workshop leader. Fantasy novels, true stories for Oxford University Press, songs, and now a whole arcade of games.
STORIES Live & loud Music Songs, bands and poems with drums underneath. For schools & families Workshops & visits Poetry as play and story building across Edinburgh, the Central Belt and the North of England.
New · poetry · 2025
Press Start to Play
★ Shortlisted for the CLiPPA Poetry AwardA poetry collection for gamers and word lovers: video games, board games, card games, word games and playground games, with puzzle poems, choose-your-own poems and a flicker book.
“If you're looking for a book that will get kids excited about what words can do — this is it.”Rashmi Sirdeshpande
The Chicken of Inspiration
Let's Make a Monster
Why Oh Why Do I Never Say UNO?
The Three Year Olds Are Having a Match!
One of My Keyboard Keys Is Broken
Getting Ready for SchoolThe Novels
TRUESTORIES
True stories from history and science, written for Oxford University Press. I’ve also written for lots of other OUP series, including Granphibian, Hero Academy, Adventure Mouse and more.
Bat-men on the Moon!A Hoax from History · 2024
Doctor SnowDisease Detective · 2024
Scientists, Assemble!How Penicillin Changed the World · 2026Music
Songs, bands, and poems set to punk drums. Watch out for Got Got Need Got at a school near you.
Watch me perform poems over video-game soundtracks on Instagram.
Top Trump Time
My free activity sheet for classrooms and kitchen tables. Pupils pick four categories, choose who or what goes on their cards (monsters, heroes, family, breakfast food…), draw them, and score them out of 10. Then let the battles begin!
Download the sheet (PDF) ▶ Want the full session? Make Your Own Top Trumps is one of my drop-in workshops.Let's play with words
School visits, library events and family workshops where poetry is a game, stories start with “what if?”, and everyone leaves with something they made.
Book a visit
Tell me a little about your school and I'll get back to you within two working days with dates and prices.
Visiting schools, libraries and festivals across Edinburgh, the Central Belt, the North of England and beyond! No school is too far - I've visited students in Vietnam, the UAE, Russia, and more.