My Career: ‘An ability to entertain a room full of children is all part of the role’

Name: Leona Forde

Age: 46

Lives: Bandon, County Cork

Job title: Children’s author of the Milly McCarthy series, published by Gill Books and illustrated by Karen Harte.

Salary bracket: A salary as such doesn’t exist for a children’s author, advances on books vary among publishers and the type of book being published. Earnings also come from school visits, workshops, festivals and royalties, so every year is different.

Education background: I have an arts degree from University College Cork in English and History. Following this I completed a Higher diploma in Education.

At 35, I received a certificate in Entrepreneurial Education at University College Dublin. At 36, I undertook a postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Management from NUI Maynooth. And aged 40 I received an advanced postgraduate in Educational Law from The Kings Inns, Ireland.

Hobbies: I love crafting, I crochet scarfs, clothes and accessories. I have tried watercolours, screen-printing, card making.

I own far too many art supplies but love to try new things.

I also love to cook, I am vegetarian, so I like to research and try out new recipes, especially ones using unusual veg. And of course reading, I always have at least three books on the go at once.

Describe your job in five words: Varied, collaborative, imaginative, joyful, rewarding.

Describe yourself in five words: Creative, ambitious, resourceful, resilient and fun-loving.

Personality needed for this kind of work? You need to have a love of literature – you will spend most of your time reading and writing, hanging out in libraries, bookshops or at your desk.

I think it’s a benefit to be curious, imaginative and creative; writers are always trying to think up new ideas, or create characters. You also need a good work ethic, there are always deadlines, so you need to be diligent and self-motivated. You need to be resilient; getting published is hard, and you need to be able to get bounce back after a knock back.

As a children’s writer, you do a lot of library and festival events, so an ability to entertain a room full of kids, think on your feet and answer very important questions like, if you had a super power what would it be? is all part of the role.

How long are you doing this job?

I have only been writing professionally since 2022, but I have always loved to write. I had a short story published in Australia and also poetry published in an anthology. But as a teacher I wrote everyday and shared what I knew. It’s such a privilege to be able to teach and write for children now.

How did you get this job? In 2021, I undertook an online course called Writing for Children with Patricia Forde, who is our current Laureate na nÓg, I loved the course and learned so much from Patricia and the other participants. Patricia encouraged me to send some of my work to a publisher. I sent a picture book to Gill Books, and following a meeting they requested to see some more of my work. I sent in a few chapters of a Milly McCarthy story and got offered a three book deal. Book six in the series, Milly McCarthy and the Haunted House HullaBOOloo, has just been published, and next February, there will be a Milly McCarthy for World Book Day.

Do you need particular qualifications or experience?

No, in Ireland you don’t need any specific qualification to be a children’s author. But a love of reading and writing is of course essential.

Describe a day at work:

Every day is different. On weekdays, I get up about seven in the morning and we have breakfast as a family. After the four children go to school, I work for a few hours, replying to emails and other admin. If I’m working on a book, the day can comprise of reading other books in that genre, brainstorming ideas, writing a first draft, editing, giving feedback on illustrations or working on copy for publicity.

I also always schedule Wednesday as a writing night. I write from 6 to 10, which I find really helpful if I have a busy week of visits; I know I will still have my dedicated writing night. Other days I do school visits or library workshops, which are always great fun. In these I introduce the kids to the character of Milly and do readings, quizzes, writing, drawing, acting and dressing unsuspecting teachers up in wigs. I try to get everything done before the kids finish school.

Weekends often involve book festivals and library visits which are amazing fun, as you get to meet lots of readers or other authors and illustrators too.

How many hours do you work a week?

It depends, but I normally work from 10 to 2 every day, and weekends sometimes involve travel to a festival, or bookshop, so it can go quite high.

Is your industry male or female dominated?

I think it’s a very even mix of people.

Does this affect you in any particular way?

I think a positive of having an even mix in the industry is that I have met people from all walks of life, all ages and backgrounds, which is great, as children get to hear from many voices.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10:

Stress levels vary throughout the year. Any deadline leading up to submitting a book can be stressful as you want to submit your best work, but you always feel like if I just had a bit more time I could change that, or add this. Overall though I’d say it’s a 5, not overly stressful.

Do you work with others or on your own?

I work alongside a fantastic team. I work closely with my brilliant editor Venetia. Then there is Karen who is such a talented illustrator. Kristen is a publicist extraordinaire and there are so many more amazing people at Gill Books. I also have a wonderful agent, Sallyanne Sweeney at MMB Creative, who is a huge support. Then of course there are booksellers, librarians, teachers who I am very lucky to get to work with, it’s a huge network.

When do you plan to retire or give up working?

I don’t know, I think when I stop enjoying what I’m doing, which I suspect is a long way off.

Best bits:

Meeting young readers, who are excited to show me their art and stories. Receiving messages from parents to tell me the books have sparked their child’s love of reading. Seeing the books on a bookshelf, or in the library. Seeing pictures of kids dressed up as Milly McCarthy for World Book Day. Being shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards. Thinking up a new idea, there are so many.

Worst bits:

Bestseller lists dominated by big name overseas authors.

Advice to those who want your job?

Read widely, write daily. Join a writers’ group or attend workshops, and don’t be afraid of a blank page, we all started there.

• Leona Forde is shortlisted for the Specsavers Children’s Book of the Year – Senior in this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards. The winners will be announced on November 27. See https://www.irishbookawards.ie/