Multi-Award winning novelist Danielle Jawondo spoke to students at The Northern School of Writing on March 11th 2026. As an author from Manchester with a working-class background, Danielle inspired students studying Introduction to Children’s Literature with conversation about the vitality of YA publishing, its social influence on generations of readers and her own experience from working class Wythenshawe girl to full-time YA author published by international publishing giant Simon & Schuster. Danielle’s books tackle the hard themes of bullying, grief, suicide, as well as the YA staples of romance and friendship.
Students studying our Introduction to Children’s Literature module learn to take writing for children seriously, and often combine the module with our Teaching Masterclass. Many have ambitions to both write for children and young people, as well as an eye on careers in teaching. Danielle shared how her own life as a teacher inspired her writing.
