Meet Angela McAllister
Author of more than 50 books, Angela McAllister is a very talented and versatile writer of work for all ages. Her series of ‘Full of’ books- collections on different themes- are very popular and it was when ‘A Year Full of Stories’ was shortlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Awards Quality Fiction Category in 2017 that I met Angela. I was delighted when she agreed to join me on the Bookshelf today.
Photo: Emily Beale Photography
1. What three things would you like your readers to know about you and what one secret are you prepared to share?
When I was young, I didn’t have many books of my own, but I was often taken to the library. It was a great excitement to carry home a pile of adventures in my arms. Opening the cover of each book felt like opening a door into a new world and I’ve never lost that thrill of anticipation – where will a book take me, who will I meet, what will happen?
We didn’t have computers when I grew up, or lovely notebooks to write in, but I was so keen to capture the stories in my head that I’d scribble them down on anything I could find - bus tickets, paper bags, old envelopes - and when I had nothing else, I’d take one of my parents’ books from the shelf and write on the blank pages at the end of that!
My greatest passion outside writing is archaeology. I’m fascinated by the past and get involved with local surveys and excavations. I have a precious collection of prehistoric artefacts, one of which – a flint arrowhead - appears in my new book, ‘Once Upon a Hillside’. My happy place is a muddy hole with a trowel in hand.
The secret I’ll share is that I wrote a novel called ‘The Tide Turner’, which is set beneath the ocean - but when I swim I never put my head under the water! That shows where imagination can take you.
2. Leon and the Place Between and Winter’s Child are two of my favourite picture books. What was the inspiration for ‘Leon’?
Although I’ve written about many subjects, I’d always kept away from magic because it seemed tricky - if you have magic you can do whatever you want in a story so you have to use it with great care. Eventually, however, I couldn’t resist, but I had to find my own way of approaching it. As a writer I’m interested in the edge of things, in boundaries where you meet the limit of what you know, because that’s the place where you can look beyond and discover something new about yourself or about the world, so I started to think about the edge of magic…the boundary between reality and what lies beyond…and that gave me the idea for the Place Between.
3. Your ‘Full of’ series is incredibly popular. Are there going to be more titles in the series?
Yes, I’ve written seven so far and now I’m working on ‘A World Full of Winter Stories’. All through the hot summer I was lost in the icy realms of the Frost King with polar bears, snow maidens, winter witches and Christmas trees! It’s a privilege to share these ancient folktales, which still speak their wisdom and wit to us today. I love the fact that we’re creating a library of stories for families to enjoy and like to encourage everyone to learn one or two and tell them on.
4. Each of these collections must be a massive undertaking. How long does it take to choose the contents, research the stories and then write your own versions?
A long time! It takes several months to find 50 stories for each collection that sit well together and are a good spread geographically. I read hundreds of stories to make each selection. I have to consider the theme of the collection and the age range, ensure a variety of styles and story lengths and avoid repetition of plot or character from a previous book. The shaping of a collection has become intuitive over time. I have to consider how well a story will ‘translate’ into a re-telling and weed out actions and attitudes that aren’t acceptable today. Some of the old tales are very brutal! The ‘spooky’ collection was particularly challenging on this account - I needed to offer that frisson of fear without terrifying the reader! There are choices to make about vocabulary too as I’m aware that some families read these stories with children of mixed ages together - I try to keep vocabulary simple even when the subject of a particular story is complex so that everyone can grasp the sense of it. The books are sold all over the world and it’s important to include a good balance of cultures. Fortunately, I have an extensive library of folk tales to draw on.
5. Your books have been illustrated by some amazing artists- Grahame Baker-Smith, Christopher Corr, Nathan Reed to name a few. Is there anyone who you would love to illustrated one of your books?
Yes - the masterful Lisbeth Zwerger, who has illustrated many classics. Her draughtsmanship is sublime and her unique vision is always striking. I can’t imagine it would ever be possible but I would love to write for her. It was also a great delight to have ‘The Ice Palace’ illustrated by Angela Barrett and it would be wonderful to work with her again.
6. What are you working on at the moment?
I’ve just finished a collection of my own stories called ‘Once Upon a Hillside’, which has been a dream to write. I lived for 30 years on the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase, with a fabulous nature reserve for a back garden. One day, before the pandemic, an editor who has been a friend for many years, came to visit and walk with me there and we talked about the stories of that landscape, the skylarks, the wildflowers, ancient barrows and ditches and the evidence of the past beneath our feet. Something of that walk and that place must have stayed with her because a few months later she rang and asked if I’d like to write about it. I must say she opened a door to my heart – it was the most marvellous commission and I was thrilled that she’d been moved by the magic of that place. It also seemed a timely book to write, due to the restrictions of the pandemic when so many of us focused on our local green spaces and found hope and the healing power of nature there. There are seven stories, set in the same valley over six thousand years. The books starts with the first Neolithic people to walk across the hillside and the stories continue through time, with Roman twins who find a wounded hare, a medieval herbalist and her daughter, a seventeenth century shepherd and an orphan boy, a Victorian archaeologist and his granddaughter, three children sent away into the country in the 1930’s and a contemporary family facing a modern challenge. Objects link the stories together and the healing power of nature comes through them all – in fact nature itself is a character throughout. It’s illustrated by Chiara Fedele who has really captured the wild, windy character of the Downs. ‘Once Upon a Hillside’ will be published on 10th November.
7. And lastly- and most importantly according to my niece- what is your favourite cake?
At the moment, it’s Persian Love Cake, made with rose petals and pistachios, which I buy from our local deli. Utterly moreish!
Many thanks to Angela for joining me today. Can’t wait to try that cake!
You can find her on Instagram @angelamcallisterbooks
You can read my review of ‘A World Full of Nature Stories’ here.