S.J. Poyton always wanted to be a writer and was making up stories from a very young age. She started to believe she could chase her dream when her children were small, and began writing seriously, with the aim of pursuing publication.

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In the following years she honed her craft, learnt grammar and spelling, and wrote eight completed novels, a chapter book, a novella, and numerous picture books, blog posts, articles, and book reviews.

Along the way she was longlisted for The Times/Chicken House New Children’s Writers’ Competition – twice, received an Honourable Mention in the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices Anthology, and achieved numerous other competition successes before finally signing with her agent and finding a home for her novel Mammoth Rider with Simon & Schuster Kids UK.

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Her children are no longer so small and are both adults, so this is a story about the art of NOT GIVING UP (or stubbornness!).

Writing Journey