We’re always excited to hear the latest news from our writers and illustrators since their anthology debut! Find out what they’re up to now and check out some of the amazing 405+ titles published since the first Undiscovered Voices!
This list is alphabetical covering all finalists with surnames A to F. The year of the anthology and the finalist’s category is included with each entry.
- Discover our finalists G to M here
- Discover our finalists N to Z here
- Download a free copy of previous anthologies here
Laure Allain (Illustrator – UV 2018)
Laure Allain is a Brussels-based illustrator and author.
She has studied Dutch and English literature and linguistics and – more recently – graphic storytelling.
In the past, she has worked as a researcher, editor and teacher.
When she is not working, she is busy chasing after her toddler and her parakeet.
Anne ML Anderson (Writer – UV 2010)
Anne writes for children and teens about the messy juxtaposition between beauty, fantasy, and gritty reality.
She has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and currently lives in Illinois.
When she’s not writing, she’s happiest working with children, cooking, travelling, and curling up with a good book.
Twitter: @annemleone
Website: Critically Yours Blog
Relly Annett-Baker (Writer – UV 2016)
Relly Annett-Baker lives with a marvellous menagerie of mammals, including a husband and two beautiful boys.
She’s worked as a content strategist, writer and speaker all over the world for government, science labs, environmental charities, but her first love is stories.
Her entry in the Undiscovered Voices 2016 anthology was called The Unwilling Goddess.
Annaliese Avery (Writer – UV 2020)
Annaliese has spent most of her life surrounded by stories, both at work as a library manager and at home writing them.
She holds an MA in Creative Writing and is now the Program Leader for The Golden Egg Academy in Scotland which leads creative writing workshops across the UK.
In January 2020, Annaliese was shortlisted for the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices 2020 anthology. The Nightsilver Promise is her debut middle-grade novel, and the first in a thrilling, new fantasy trilogy.
Books: The Nightsilver Promise (Scholastic, May 2021)
Agent: Helen Boyle, Pickled Ink Agency
Twitter: @AnnalieseAvery
Website: www.annalieseavery.com
Yvonne Banham (Writer – UV 2020)
Yvonne Banham grew up on an island off the Cumbrian coast and spent lots of time huddled on the beach with a scary book.
She can speak Dutch (badly) and believes in ghosts though she’s never met one. She lives in Edinburgh with her husband, and when she’s not writing, she’s hiking or trail running with her very naughty hound.
Her MG debut The Dark and Dangerous Gifts of Delores Mackenzie will be published by Firefly in early 2023.
Books: The Dark and Dangerous Gifts of Delores Mackenzie (Firefly, early 2023)
Twitter: @Eviewriter
Monika Baum (Illustrator – UV 2018)
Monika is an illustrator living and working in Switzerland. Coming from a background in linguistics and corporate accounting, she is passionate about visual storytelling.
She works in watercolours and digital media and is interested in fantasy and adventure, as well as more traditional illustration subjects.
Rosie Best (Writer – UV 2012)
Rosie lives in Cambridge and loves all things nerdy. She is an editor at Working Partners Ltd.
As well as publishing Skulk under her own name she has written under pseudonyms on series published by Usborne, Hot Key Books and HarperCollins.
She is the seventh Erin Hunter, writing books in the Survivors series. When not writing or playing video games she sings with the Crouch End Festival Chorus.
Books: Skulk (Strange Chemistry, Oct 2013)
Agent: Catherine Pellegrino, Catherine Pellegrino and Associates
Twitter: @rosiejbest.
Blog: Skulking Writer Blog
Georgia Bowers (Writer – UV 2016)
Georgia is a YA-reading, Buffy-the-Vampire-Slayer-obsessed librarian.
Working in libraries gave her access to a huge range of books for children and teens, and after reading so many of them, she decided to set herself the challenge of writing one.
Her entry in the Undiscovered Voices 2016 anthology was called Clopwyck River.
Books: Mark of the Wicked (Swoon/Macmillan US, August 2021)
Twitter: @georgia_bowers
Website: www.georgia-bowers.com
Anna Bowles (Writer – UV 2016)
Anna Bowles likes chocolate, cuddly hippos and reading depressing Russian novels in the original language.
She’s a professional editor but thinks writing is a lot more fun.
Her entry in the UV 2016 anthology was called Steel Tanya.
Books: Rapids (ZunTold, May 2021)
Agent: Jenny Savill, Andrew Nurnberg Associates.
Twitter: @anna_bowles
Website: www.annabowles.co.uk
Sharon Boyle (Writer – UV 2020)
Sharon writes YA novels, short stories and flash fiction.
She has won Writers’ Forum, HISSAC and Exeter Writers’ short story competitions, and was longlisted in the 2020 Bath Children’s Novel Award.
Agent: Jo Williamson, Antony Harwood Ltd
Twitter: @SharonBoyle50
Anna Brooke (Writer – UV 2020)
Anna lives in Paris where she’s simultaneously a freelance travel writer for The Times, a voice actor, a scriptwriter and a mum.
She is represented by Sam Copeland at Rogers Coleridge and White.
When she’s not reading or writing, she’s composing songs. Anna never picks her nose.
Agent: Sam Copeland, Rogers, Coleridge and White Literary
Twitter: @AE_Brooke
James Brown (Illustrator – UV 2014)
James is obsessed with illustration and would love to see his picture books, Marlon’s Amazing Moustache and Mum’s Having a Monster, on bookshelves.
James illustrates for Baby London’s Diary of a Mum.
He has also designed promotional material for the Games Makers Choir 2012 as well as educational illustrations for Nottinghamshire Fire Service.
James came third in the Illustrate It 2013 picture book competition.
Susan Brownrigg (Writer – UV 2016)
Susan is a Lancashire lass who loves writing middle-grade historical fiction.
She has worked as a journalist, sub-editor and in education roles at historical houses, a farm, a mill, a zoo and a former priory.
Susan was awarded the Margaret Carey scholarship in 2015.
Books: Gracie Fairshaw and the Mysterious Guest (Uclan Publishing, 2020), and Kintana and the Captain’s Curse (Uclan Publishing, July 2021). A sequel to Gracie Fairshaw is scheduled for October 2021.
Twitter: @suebmuseum
Website: www.susanbrownrigg.com
Patti Buff (Writer – UV 2016)
The tenth out of eleven kids in a family who took in hundreds of foster kids, Patti Buff found solitude in reading at a young age and hasn’t stopped.
She lives in disgustingly beautiful Bavaria with her husband and two teenagers.
Her entry in the UV 2016 anthology was called Requiem
Agent: Hannah Sheppard, D H H Literary Agency
Twitter: @pattibuff
Website: pattibuff.wordpress.com
Sophie Cameron (Writer – UV 2016)
Sophie Cameron is a YA writer from Scotland, now based in Spain.
Her debut novel, Out of the Blue, was published by Macmillan Children’s Books and Roaring Brook Press and was named one of the best books of 2018 by Kirkus Reviews.
Her second book, Last Bus to Everland, will be published in May 2019.
Agent: Hellie Ogden, Janklow & Nesbit.
Books: Out of The Blue (Macmillan Children’s Books / Roaring Brook Press, 2018) and Last Bus to Everland (Macmillan Children’s Books / Roaring Brook Press, May 2019)
Awards: Out of the Blue was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Grampian Children’s Book Award.
Twitter: @toomanysophies
Website: www.sophie-cameron.com
Kerry Cassidy (Writer – UV 2016)
Working in the City lost its appeal, long hours making me miss bedtime with my boys.
Who wouldn’t rather be reading Room on the Broom than sitting in a meeting? My love of children’s books reborn, I started to write.
Writing is my time – squeezed in between the boys’ football, tennis, cricket…
Agent: Kate Shaw, The Shaw Agency.
Margaret Carey (Writer – UV 2008)
Margaret studied at Liverpool College of Art before moving to London with a suitcase stuffed with dreams. Years of office work later, she rediscovered the suitcase, travelled a bit then settled to work.
Margaret was a brilliant writer and illustrator. Sadly she passed away in 2011.
Sarwat Chadda (Writer – UV 2008)
Sarwat writes EPIC stories. The latest is SHADOW MAGIC, about a beautiful princess who rules a kingdom of undead and an outlaw boy who flies a giant vampire bat, because bats are cool.
He has written the ASH MISTRY trilogy, featuring a British-Asian hero and before that, he wrote the DEVIL’S KISS series, starring the only female Knight Templar.
When not writing novels, Sarwat’s busy writing comic strips, such as 18 Days, the sci-fi adaptation of the Indian Mahabharata.
Books: Devil’s Kiss (Disney-Hyperion and others, 2009), Dark Goddess (Disney-Hyperion and others, 2010), Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress (HarperCollins and others, 2012), Ash Mistry and the City of Death (HarperCollins and others, 2013), Ash Mistry and the World of Darkness (HarperCollins and others, 2013), Shadow Magic (Disney-Hyperion and others, writing under the pseudonym Joshua Khan, 2016), Burning Magic (Disney-Hyperion, 2018), Double-cross (Scholastic, 2016), and Spirit Animals (Scholastic, 2018).
Awards: Shortlisted: Brandford Boase (2010), Barnes and Nobles Best YA Novels (2009), Spellbinding Award (2009), and USBBY 2013 Outstanding International Books (Grades 6-8). Longlisted: Lone Star book award (2012, 2013), Hillingdon Book of the Year shortlist (2013), Stockton Book of the Year shortlist (2013), and Junior Library Guild Selection (Fall 2012).
Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency.
Twitter: @sarwatchadda, and @writerjoshkhan
Website: www.sarwatchadda.com and www.joshuakhan.com
Katrina Charman (Writer – UV 2014)
Katrina lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband and three daughters.
In 2013 she was a recipient of the SCBWI BI Margaret Carey scholarship and is lucky enough to be represented by super-agent Gemma Cooper at The Bent Agency.
Books: The Ninjabread Man (Franklin Watts, 2015); Poppy’s Place series: The Home Made Cat Cafe (Stripes, 2016), Trouble at the Cat Cafe (Stripes, 2016), The Great Cat Cafe Rescue (Stripes, March 2017), and Secrets at the Cat Cafe (Stripes, July 2017); The Last Firehawk early chapter book series: The Ember Stone (Scholastic US, 2017), The Crystal Caverns (Scholastic US, 2017), The Whispering Oak (Scholastic US, 2018), Lullaby Lake (Scholastic US, 2018), The Shadowlands (Scholastic US, 2019) and Battle for Perodia (Scholastic Us, 2019) with four more books to come in the series; Picture book series: Car, Car, Truck, Jeep (Bloomsbury, 2018) and Go, Go, Pirate Boat (Bloomsbury, 2019) with two more books to come in the series; Survival Tails MG series: Survival Tails: Titanic (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2018), Survival Tails: Endurance in Antarctica (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2019), and Survival Tails: World War II (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2019) with another to come in 2020.
Awards: Shortlisted: SSYR Jr Awards 2019
Agent: Gemma Cooper, The Bent Agency
Twitter: @Katrina_Charman
Christian Colussi (Writer – UV 2014)
Christian lives in south-east London.
He is currently rewriting while fending off a pair of very needy cats.
Agent: Gemma Cooper, The Bent Agency
Twitter: @ChrisColussi
Adam Connors (Writer – UV 2020)
Adam is a former physicist and former child who now manages teams of engineers and research scientists for a large tech company which isn’t called Grapesoft.
He has an MA in Creative Writing from City University and wrote The Genius Machine as part of the Golden Egg Academy.
Agent: Kate Shaw, The Shaw Agency
Veronica Cossanteli (Writer – UV 2012)
Veronica notched up her first rejection slip early, for a ‘novel’ written at boarding school as a distraction from homesickness.
Decades later, now published in over a dozen countries, she is re-working that story – never throw anything away!
She currently lives in Hampshire, with a houseful of fauna and flora.
Books: The Extincts (Chicken House, 2013), The Halloweeds (Chicken House, 2016) and The Marvellous Land of Snergs (Chicken House, 2020).
Awards: Carnegie (nominated), James Reckitt Hull Libraries Award (shortlisted), BASH (Books at St Helen’s – shortlisted), and Lancashire Fantastic Books Award (longlisted).
Agent: Jenny Savill, Andrew Nurnberg Associates
Twitter: @vcossanteli
Website: Doublecluck.com/Veronica Cossanteli
Dave Cousins (Writer – UV 2010)
Dave Cousins’ writing has been described as “teen realism with action, humour and heart.”
His YA novels were both nominated for the Carnegie Medal, and have won awards worldwide.
Dave also writes and illustrates the Charlie Merrick series for slightly younger readers.
He tours extensively, visiting schools, libraries and festivals.
Books: 15 Days Without a Head (Oxford University Press, 2012), Waiting for Gonzo (Oxford University Press, March 2013), One Short (Collins Big Cat, May 2013), Goodbye To All That (Collins Big Cat, May 2013), Charlie Merrick’s Misfits in Fouls, Friends and Football (Oxford University Press, May 2014), Charlie Merrick’s Misfits in I’m a Nobody, Get Me Out of Here! (Oxford University Press, June 2015), My Babysitter is a Robot (Stripes, July 2019), Is My Teacher a Robot? (Stripes, Feb 2020), A Robot Ate My Grandma (Stripes, Aug 2020) and My Robot’s Gone Wild (Stripes, Feb 2021).
Awards: 2013 SCBWI Crystal Kite for UK & Europe (15 Days without a Head), Premio Andersen, Italy (15 Days without a Head, Italian edition), and Grampian Children’s Book Award 2014 (Waiting for Gonzo)
Also shortlisted for: Carnegie Medal, Branford Boase, Brilliant Book Award, Coventry Best Book, Essex Book Award, Hounslow Teen Book Award, James Reckitt Hull Children’s Book Award, Lancashire Book of the Year Award, Llanelli Schools Best Read of the Year, North East Teenage Book Award, Nottingham Brilliant Book Award, Redbridge Teen Book Award (2nd place), Rib Valley Book Award, St Helens Book Award, Wirral Paperback of the Year and Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2017.
Agent: Jenny Savill, Andrew Nurnberg Associates
Twitter: @DaveCousins9000
Website: Davecousins.net
Blog: Dave Cousins Blogspot
James Crosland-Mills (Illustrator – UV 2018)
James currently works as a natural history video editor and has always wanted to pursue a career in illustration.
He builds his portfolio in his free time, focusing on the natural world and science communication inspired by his degree in Zoology, and a strong affinity with animals and education.
Nick Cross (Writer – UV 2010)
Nick is a writer and illustrator with more than ten short stories published in children’s magazines – these were hailed by an editor as “miniature marvels.”
An irreverent sense of humour infuses all of Nick’s work, and he enjoys combining words, images and design to create uniquely engaging fiction.
Awards: Honours winner of the 2015 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for fiction.
Agent: Heather Cashman, Storm Literary Agency
Twitter: @nick_w_cross
Website: www.nickcross.co.uk
Instagram: @nick_w_cross
Katie Dale (Writer – UV 2008)
A writer and an actress, Katie likes nothing more than creating characters – both on the page and on stage.
She loves to write for all ages, and is currently working furiously on a variety of projects, from YA novels to picture books – whilst playing the odd princess/assassin/zombie in between…
Books: Since being chosen as a winner of Undiscovered Voices, Katie has had 100 children’s books published in 8 countries around the world.
Awards: Someone Else’s Life: Stockport Mad About Books Award, Oldham Brilliant Books Award, and nominated for the Anobii First Book Award. Little White Lies: UKYA Blogger Award for “Best Ending”.
Twitter: @katiedaleuk
Website: katiedaleuk.blogspot.co.uk
Sarah Dalkin (Writer – UV 2014)
Sarah co-runs and co-owns a broadcast talent agency and in an earlier life worked in TV production. She loves history, politics, travelling, adventure, big cities, big countryside, gardening, reading and writing. Raised in County Durham, she now lives and works in London.
Agent: Jenny Savill, Andrew Nurnberg Associate
Rose Margaret Deniz (Writer – UV 2016)
Farm-girl turned ex-pat Rose Margaret Deniz lives in a neighbourhood full of roses and tea gardens.
When she is not writing, she plotting an escape to a Turkish village to raise chickens.
Her entry in the UV 2016 anthology was called The Evolution Of You And Me.
Agent: Jo Williamson, Antony Harwood Literary Agency
Twitter: @rosedeniz
Website: www.rosedeniz.com
Emma Dowson (Writer – UV 2016)
Emma Dowson works as a book publicist. After working with authors on their books, she realised that she wanted to write her own!
She lives in London with her two children and two rabbits. She likes Chinese food, holidays, baking and reading, and hopes to have a dog one day.
Her entry in the UV 2016 anthology was called The Chinatown Cat.
Najoud Ensaff (Writer – UV 2010)
Jude grew up abroad before attending secondary school and university in the United Kingdom and developing her career in education.
She completed her Masters in Writing for Children, gaining a Distinction in 2011.
Jude continues to enjoy writing whilst combining this with her work in education.
Books: Mervyn the Magic Martian Visits Earth (Chatten House, 2021), Mary and Operation Whistle (Chatten House, 2021) and another book due out later in 2021. She has also been published in an anthology entitled Paper Mirrors (Crocus Books) and Jude has published over twenty educational books, solely and in collaboration, with publishers such as Collins, Pearsons and Hodder….
Awards: Shortlisted: Waterstones Wow Factor Competition 2006, Adventures in Fiction Competition 2006 (Commended Writer). Finalist/Winner: Guildford Arts Poetry Slam 2008, South Hill Park Halloweenfest Competition 2011, Commonword Children’s Diversity Writing Prize 2012, Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Competition 2013.
Website: www.judeensaff.com
Blog: Judes Writing Blogspot
Twitter: @JudeEnsaff
Instagram: @jude_ensaff
Lucy Farfort (Illustrator – UV 2016)
Lucy is an illustrator and aspiring writer of picture books.
She’s been freelance for around ten years and has undertaken a variety of commissions from many different clients such as greeting cards, illustrations for apps, magazine illustrations and picture books written by self-publishing authors.
Recent work has been with Little Tiger Press, the Environment Agency and Newcastle University.
Awards: First prize for illustration, in Faber’s 2017 FAB Prize competition.
Agent: Alice Sutherland-Hawes from Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency
Website: www.lucyfarfort.co.uk
Claire Fayers (Writer – UV 2014)
Claire used to work in a library before Undiscovered Voices turned her into a full-time author.
She now spends her days happily writing about pirates and magic.
Books: The Accidental Pirates: Voyage to Magical North (Macmillan, 2016), The Accidental Pirates: Journey to Dragon Island (Macmillan, 2017), Mirror Magic (Macmillan, 2018), Storm Hound (Macmillan, 2019) and Welsh Fairytales, Myths and Legends (Scholastic 2021)
Awards: Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month, Tir na n-Og award 2020. Shortlisted: FCBG Children’s Book Award.
Agent: Gemma Cooper, The Bent Agency
Twitter: @clairefayers
Website: www.clairefayers.com
P.M. Freestone (Writer – UV 2018)
P. M. Freestone has a mailing address in Scotland but spends most days immersed in epic fantasy worlds.
Her debut YA novel, Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom was published by Scholastic in the UK and US, and has since been translated into seven other languages.
Books: Shadowscent: The Darkest Bloom (Scholastic and others, 2019) and Shadowscent: Crown of Smoke (Scholastic and others, 2020).
Awards: Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award, Aurealis Award (Finalist)
Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary (US); Caroline Walsh, David Higham Associates (UK)
Website: www.pmfreestone.com
Instagram: @p.m.freestone
Why not check out other previous Undiscovered Voices?
- Discover our finalists G to M here
- Discover our finalists N to Z here
- Download free digital editions of previous UV anthologies here