Julia Green

Julia Green lives in Bath with her two sons. She is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and Course Director for the specialist MA in Writing for Young People. She's written several novels for young adults, including Bringing the Summer (Bloomsbury), as well as novels and short stories for younger children. She runs writing workshops for children and adults in schools and at literature festivals and for special projects such as Young Cultural Creators in London. Find Julia on Facebook.

We chatted to Julia about her writing.

Bringing the Summer is your latest book, can you tell our readers a bit about it?

Bringing the Summer is a realistic story for teenagers /young adults. It’s the lazy end of summer, just before everything changes. Freya is sixteen, the age her brother was when he died three years ago, and her life has moved on. But Freya’s sense of what’s missing from her life still affects the decisions and choices she makes: she is searching for the sense of ‘family’ she feels has gone forever. An accident on a train has big repercussions. Freya starts wondering about the girl involved: who was she, and why did she do this? The incident catapults Freya into the heart of another family, the Fieldings, and she meets the gorgeous, artistic Gabes. She seems to be falling in love – with a boy, a place, and a family. But things get complicated: Gabe’s older brother Theo is a magnetic, dark presence, pulling Freya in another direction. Freya is growing up, on the cusp of adulthood. She has to make some important decisions and discoveries about love, friendship, family. She’s asking the big questions: how do you live a life that has meaning and significance? What is really important? How do you make sure you never take life and love and real friendship for granted?

How long have you been writing books for teenagers? Was it something you always wanted to do?

My first novel for teenagers was Blue Moon, published in 2003 by Puffin. That’s nine years ago! I’ve wanted to write stories for as long as I can remember, but I thought they’d be for adults. When the character of Mia and her story came to me I realized she was 15, and the real audience for the story would be young people.

Do you think it’s important for authors who write for young people to address a moral message?

No. I think my job is to tell a story, honestly and truthfully. I do feel a responsibility to my audience to offer hope: but that is how I view the world in any case: with optimism. I don’t like cynicism in books for young people: I think that’s an adult failing and I don’t want to put that world view onto young people.

What are you working on at the moment, and how’s it going?

Right now I’m immersed in a new novel for teenagers, about a 15 year old girl called Kate. It’s set on a remote hebridean island. I’m nearly at the end, now, and loving it. Sometimes it’s hard to drag myself away to do all the other things I have to do – my ‘day job’ for example.

Are there writers who have particularly inspired you, and the way you write? Are there any new teen writers you admire?

I’ve been inspired and influenced by many writers: I’ve always read a lot, throughout my life – from childhood favourites by Philippa Pearce and Laura Ingalls Wilder to Thomas Hardy or Emily and Charlotte Bronte, Dodie Smith, Anne Tyler and Carol Shields. I admire David Almond’s work. I thought Margo Lanagan’s novel Tender Morsels was extraordinary. New teenage writers: Lucy Christopher (Stolen) is one to watch.

Can you describe your writing environment and practice – do you have a particular place where you write, or time of day, number of words, for example?

I have to fit writing into my busy working life as a Senior Lecturer and Course Director for the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. On my writing days, I try to write at least 1000 words. I begin my day by editing what I wrote the day before, as a way of immersing myself back into the world of the story. If I’m at home alone, I love to work at the kitchen table with the door wide open to the garden; otherwise, I write in my attic room with a view of hills and sky. Mornings are my best time for writing.

When you have the germ of an idea for a piece of writing, how do you begin to plan for the writing stage? Do you map events in advance, for example, or do you simply begin?

I write notes in my notebook. I sketch out characters, or try out voices, and I ‘mind map’ ideas over a double page spread, using an exercise I learned from David Almond. I think and dream and walk around a lot. At some point I know I have to start – I need to have a really clear picture of the first scene before I can begin. Some of the story develops as I write. At some point, I start listing what happens in each chapter, so I can see the structure of the story and work out the time frame. I may have to revisit places, or do research.

Do you intend to continue to write for teenagers, or does an adult audience appeal to you?

I have found myself thinking of characters and situations which would work for an adult readership and at some point I’d like to try this. I’m also writing for younger children (Tilly’s Moonlight Fox is coming out in June, published by Oxford University Press). But I love writing for teenagers: it’s such an exciting time of life, when you are doing things for the first time, thinking about so many important things. I love the contact with readers and their enthusiasm and passion. There is nothing more important than books for young people, in my opinion.

Do you have any advice for our readers who may wish to see their work published?

My advice would be to take your time, and not try to publish work before it is ready. Read widely, so you have a sense of the contemporary publishing scene and can see where your work might fit. Read the Writers and Artists Yearbook ( there’s a separate one for children’s writers) from cover to cover. Join a writing group or course, so you get experience of sharing, workshopping and editing your own manuscript. Re- writing and re-visioning a novel is crucial – it’s where you do the really hard graft of shaping and honing and crafting the story. Understand how professional you have to be. Most of us need an agent. Go to literary festivals (Hay, Cheltenham, Bath, Edinburgh, Oxford) to listen to writers. Make the most of the excellent advice available online.

Thank you Julia!

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