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Joanne Owen - Editorial Expert

Joanne Owen is a writer, reviewer and workshop presenter whose lifelong love of books began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, Wales. An early passion for culture, story and folklore led her to read archaeology and anthropology at St John’s, Cambridge, after which she led the UK children’s book team for a major international retailer, going on to market books for Bloomsbury, Macmillan, Walker Books, Nosy Crow and Rough Guides. She now divides her time between writing, travel writing, reviewing and hosting writing workshops.

Joanne is the author of several books for children and young adults, among them the Martha Mayhem series, the Carnegie Medal-nominated Puppet Master, and You Can Write Awesome Stories, a how-to guide to creative writing. She’s also worked on a major community story project for the National Literacy Trust (Story Quest), and a number of travel guides, including The Rough Guide to Responsible Wales and guidebooks to the Caribbean region. In additional, she’s an occasional chair of LoveReading LitFest events, and judge for the 2023 Branford Boase Award.

Latest Features By Joanne Owen

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Latest Reviews By Joanne Owen

The Nightmares of Finnegan Quick
A sure-fire reminder that books shouldn’t be solely judged by their cover, at first glance Larry Hayes’ The Nightmares of Finnegan Quick had me thinking I was in for a rollercoaster ride of zany spooky fiction for younger readers. While it definitely is a thrilling ride of scary fiction, the arresting narrative voice sets an older, 10/11+ context from the terrifically tense opening pages, when Finnegan shares his big secret: “my dreams don’t just stay in my head. They change the world. They leave wounds and scars”.   Among the ... View Full Review
Kids Vs Adults
Boasting an introduction from quiz queen Sandi Toksvig, bold full-colour illustrations, and smart design, Kids Vs Adults is a cracking Christmas gift to crack open for post-lunch family fun on the big day.    That said, Kids Vs Adults is also a boredom-busting book that’ll keep giving around the year — it’s sure to keep folk entertained during long journeys and rainy holiday afternoons.   With twelve rounds of categories covering nature and wildlife, film and TV, art and literature, festivals and celebrations, sport, science, space, and more, ... View Full Review
Waiting for The Dawn
Written and illustrated by Fabiola Anchorena, Waiting for the Dawn tells a poignant tale of forest fires and renewal that will cast a stirring spell over swathes of readers, adults included. It’s a wonderful conversation-starting book to share at home, or in a classroom context. The story is powerfully poetic, and told from the perspective of animals whose Amazonian habitats have been rendered sunless, moonless and rainless. In these pages, as the spectacular illustrations shift from darkness to burnished orange, we witness creatures of both day and night — creatures that swim, soar, roar and scuttle — ponder ... View Full Review
Together
Timeless and philosophical, Together is one of those special picture books that speaks to all ages. Exploring the joy of friendship, and the infinite quest to find answers to big questions, Daphne Deckers’ text is at once beautifully evocative and compellingly measured, while Joey Holthaus’ illustrations conjure emotional states quite exquisitely. While Lev loves witnessing the fiery sunrise, he wishes he had someone to share the experience with: “If you couldn’t share it with someone, how could you know it wasn’t all just in your mind?” He tries to share the moment ... View Full Review
Dying to Ask
The result of an international project that invited children from around the globe to ask questions about death, Dying to Ask is an enlightening, thought-provoking work. Written by Ellen Duthie and Anna Juan Cantavella, whose honest, marvellously child-centred words take the form of wonderfully considered replies to children’s questions, Andrea Antinori’s elegantly bold illustrations add to the book’s special value. Thirty-eight questions are addressed in all, ranging from metaphysical and philosophical matters (“What is there after death?”; “Before I was born, where was I? Was I dead?”), to the physicality ... View Full Review
Witchspark
Opening a magical Middle Grade series in spellbinding style, Dominique Valente’s Witchspark really does sparkle with witchy wonder, adventure and invention.   London, 1883, and a mysterious advertisement for Miss Hegotty’s Course for Aspiring Witches appears in newspapers across the Magic Isles. Despite being prohibited, “It was always the same after one of Miss Hegotty’s advertisements appeared — children were the only ones brave enough to apply for something that was banned”.    At the same time, above a Suffolk village, a “once-grand gothic house” by the name ... View Full Review
Maggie Blue and the Lost Child
Bristling with emotion, peril, longing and love, Maggie Blue and the Lost Child is the fabulously thrilling finale to Anna Goodall’s acclaimed Maggie Blue trilogy. It begins with Maggie finding herself in the Dark World, with a baby in her arms and a “terrible ache in her chest, a longing that she didn’t understand, until she realised with a jolt that it was a longing for her mum…She had never had that feeling before, or not that she could remember”. With guidance from the Professor, Maggie realises the baby is the Great ... View Full Review
The Night I Met Father Christmas
Marrying Elisa Paganelli’s richly atmospheric illustrations with text that’s been pared down perfectly for 3+-year-olds, this picture book adaptation of Ben Miller’s debut novel for children might just become part of many a household’s Christmas Eve traditions. While other children are asleep “dreaming of the big day to come”, Jackson was determined to “STAY awake until Father Christmas came”. But, when he manages to do exactly that, Jackson finds himself playing a major role in making sure everyone’s Christmas dreams can come true this year… ... View Full Review
The Dragon With the Blazing Bottom at Christmas!
Hot on the blasting bum of the popular Dragon with the Blazing Bottom series, this zany take on Clement C. Moore's 'The Night Before Christmas' classic is rip-roaringly good fun to read aloud. While its infectious energy is unlikely to settle little ones down for the night, it will certainly super-charge them with seasonal excitement! While all the grownups are asleep on Christmas Eve, one little girl spies something that doesn’t seem right — “how come that Santa looks more like a knight?” she wonders. Turns out, Santa has been detained in Spain and Sir ... View Full Review
For She Is Wrath
While YA romantasy is having a moment, Emily Varga's For She is Wrath debut will surely stand the test of time and maintain its place on shelves — and in readers’ hearts — for the long-haul. An inventive gender-flipped Pakistani re-telling of The Count of Monte Cristo, it’s propelled by furious drama from the off, and never lets up as it tells a thrilling story of revenge, betrayal and relentlessly passionate love that shimmers with dark magic and devastating dilemmas. As a result of being betrayed by someone she loved and trusted, Dania has been ... View Full Review
Electric Life
First in a trilogy (huzzah!), Rachel Delahaye’s Electric Life deserves to be held up as a paragon of YA dystopian fiction. Fronted by a character to root for — a young woman whose every decision, dilemma, danger, doubt and desire cuts to the core of what it means to feel alive — it’s set in future versions of London that feel freakily familiar.   Alara lives in Estrella, the hyper-sanitised “Star City” in which everything is digitally monitored, and everything is safe. A place in which no one can be ... View Full Review
The Others
Set in 1902, and inspired by a real science prize that promised 100,000 francs to anyone who could communicate with life on another planet and receive a response back, Sarah Merrett’s The Others tells a rather splendid story of family secrets, friendship, and a race against time to save a blue-glowing alien lifeform from the clutches of an evil professor. While Reuben longs to be “normal”, he’s anything but. He lives in an observatory with his astronomer grandma who’s determined to win the Guzman Prize: “Since the competition was announced two years ago, ... View Full Review