In the fourth of a series of articles about authors appearing at Marlborough LitFest who have a local connection, Marlborough.news has been speaking to the children’s author Carrie Sellon.
Children’s author Carrie Sellon lives just over the border in Hampshire and has written a trilogy of books aimed at 6 to 10 year olds (Key Stage 2 – Years 3-6). In common with many of the LitFest authors Marlborough.news has spoken to, the Pizza Pete series grew out of lockdown. Carrie told Marlborough.news, “During Covid we built a pizza oven in the garden and started making lots of pizza every day for months.” Carrie and her three children, then aged 12,9 and 7, experimented with different toppings. Then came the ideas for the books. What if the toppings were magical potions that gave out super powers such as the ability to fly, to have an amazing voice, or to be turned into an animal?
In the first Pizza Pete book, Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions, 12 year-old Pete lives above a pizza shop owned by his father. A new pizza place has stolen all their customers so something must be done or they will have to move out. At this point Pete discovers an old briefcase in the attic full of special potions. Can Pete and the potions save the day? Pizza Pete and the Perilous Potions became Winner of the Week Junior Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year: Younger Fiction and was also winner of the InspiRead Book Awards as well as being shortlisted for many other awards.
In the second book of the trilogy, Pizza Pete and the Missing Magic, the potions have fallen into the wrong hands and in order to save the world Pete and his friends must act. And in the third book, Pizza Pete and the Peculiar Professor, due to be published in October, Pete must find the person who developed the potions in order to save his friend. The books are packed with colourful illustrations by Sarah Horne.
Carrie will be appearing at Marlborough LitFest and will be bringing her briefcase full of magical potions with her. In a fun and interactive session children (aimed at 5+) will be asked to design their own magical pizza. She will also be reading from her books and holding a quiz.
Before giving up fulltime work to look after three small children, Carrie worked for the BBC making wildlife films, travelling the world and writing scripts for these films as well as for science and history documentaries. She also wrote picture book stories for her children when they were small but not for publication.
Carrie gives talks and writing workshops in schools and can be contacted through her website here. Her session at Marlborough LitFest is on Sunday September 28 at 11.30 am in The White Horse Bookshop. To book tickets click here.
Closure of Postern Hill campsite – part of a wider strategy by Forestry England?
