This is the first of many upcoming posts and blogs that you will see before the launch of my next book, Project Pony. This photo features the lovely Turko, the X-polo pony that I still ride despite him just turning 28 years old (very old for a horse). The star of Project Pony is Loki, a cheeky palomino pony, that Nat, the main character, becomes close with. He is very funny, loving and greedy and based on the Terrific Turko. The book is out on 1 May 2025 with Firefly Press. Look out for all my posts about it that will increase with my own excitement! 

There's a new podcast on the block called Lit-Picking. It is run by authors Matt Killeen and Chip Coquhoun and the premise is that readers interview authors.

My episode drops this Thursday (28 November) at 5pm and I've been invited to listen along live. 

You can find it by searching Lit-Picking on any of your usual podcast platforms. Or here is the link from the one I use: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lit-picking/id1778220373

It was a lot of fun to be part of and I was lucky enough to meet my interviewers, Felicity and Esme when I visited their school in September. Have a listen live, or check it out later!

Totally delighted to officially announce that I am now officially a Writer-in-Residence for First Story:. firststory.org.uk/writer/camilla-chester/

I am due to start my first residency with Laurette Academy in early December. I'm really excited to be given the opportunity to work with a mixed year group of around twenty students who are all keen to develop their creative writing skills. We will be meeting weekly for sixteen weeks with the aim of producing a published anthology that celebrates group and individual achievements. 

Usually working with KS2 this will be a new challenge for me and who knows, it may even make me return to that teen romance I ditched.

Can't wait to get going and see what the students have to say. 

The main news to tell you all is that Project Pony, my next children's novel, has now been officially announced.

This is such an exciting part of the process as the text is currently with the illustrator and I'm so excited to see what she does, especially with the star of the book - a very cheeky pony called Loki. I have the same illustrator who did the wonderful cover for Call Me Lion, Irinia Avgustinovich, which I'm totally delighted about.

The text has gone to copy edits, once that is approved it has a detailed proof read, then proofs are produced so that reviews can be written and there is a bit of buzz and excitement before the book is released in May 2025

The image on this post is just a screenshot and cuts off my editor's and my quotes so I'll share those with you below. It is such an exciting time, especially as I thought for a while there I might never get another book out. Hold your nerve is a good motto to live by ;) 

Firefly Editor, Hayley Fairhead said: ‘I think every child would love a cheeky furry friend like Loki, especially when coping with difficult friendships and the thought of a new stepdad. Project Pony is a heartwarming tale for animal lovers everywhere and for anyone who has ever felt left out.’
Camilla Chester said: ‘I’m delighted that Firefly are holding the reins for Project Pony – the book I’ve always wanted to write. I’m excited to see Irina Avgustinovich’s cover designs and hope that, just like Call Me Lion, this book will spread joy and empathy through storytelling.’

I wanted to blog a little more about the ilb24 as it was such a memorable highlight in my author career.

It can be tough, at times, to keep believing that what you're doing is worthwhile and that your writing is reaching the right audience so being able to take part in something so incredible really does deserve some celebrating. Indulge me for a moment here please!

The best way to celebrate my experience at ilb24 is to share with you an email I sent to thank the organisers: ​

I just had a lovely reply of thanks and the photos which need to be credited to both ilb24 and the photographer, Arina Pavliuk.

I've just returned from the amazing ilb24 - the twenty-fourth International Literary Festival which is held annually in different locations all over Berlin, Germany. It was INCREDIBLE! 

​More soon!

I've had a rather special weekend because Call Me Lion was shortlisted in the UK Literacy Association 2024 Award for readers aged 7-11 and I was invited down to take part in the ceremony at the University of Sussex.
It was a very powerful and moving experience as all the books selected by the judges were stories to celebrate inclusion, representation and/or highlight particular issues. Added to this, it is the only award judged entirely by teachers.
This is proof that Call Me Lion is being used within classrooms not only to raise compassion and understanding about Selective Mutism, childhood anxiety and levels of illiteracy, but also to encourage reading for pleasure and the joy of books.
​This is what it is all about and for. I'm beyond thrilled to be part of something so incredible and felt very humbled to be included. 

It was a privilege to be among such an amazing collection of books and to be able to mix with hugely talented authors and illustrators. Above are YA writer Nathanael Lessore, shortlisted for his debut, Steady For This, and Peter Lantos, winner of the Non-Fiction category for his personal memoir The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die. I took quite a few photos and there are so many people that I should and could mention in this blog post. If you would like to see a full list of all the shortlisted authors and illustrators for the UKLA 2024 please visit their website: https://ukla.org/news/shortlists-announced-for-the-ukla-book-awards-2024/
​
The evening event was wonderful and I got to meet many talented people including Zillah Bethel. This was such a particular thrill for me as I'm a huge fan of all her books.

​I read and enjoyed all the books within the 7-11 category but felt that Liz Flanagan was more than worthy of her win with book 1 of her Wildsmith Series. It was an absolute pleasure to get to know Liz over the weekend and I we shared so many life experiences it was uncanny.

I came away from the wonderful weekend feeling absolutely humbled to be part of something so incredible. It's mind blowing to think of how well Call Me Lion is doing and how many lives it might go on to touch in a positive way. I'm totally proud that I get to call myself the author of the little book with the big heart. 

Long may Lion ROAR!

May has been spent writing every day as part of the amazing Write Magic Bootcamp. A group of fifty writers all commit to setting and reaching a daily word count target for May. This is my second Bootcamp and I find being accountable to other authors and joining in the daily tasks a lot of fun. It is also really productive. So much so as a result I have now completed the first draft of my next book which I am writing with and for my fantastic daughter Sasha.

Writing every day is not my usual format and I did find that the biggest challenge. I'm a 'fits and spurts' writer, which means I write for quite long periods of time or not at all. I am usually, however, doing something or other to do with writing, whether that's school visits, or research, or writing articles, or reading, there are all kinds of other parts to the job than just getting words down.  

The next stage, now that Sasha has read and commented on the draft, is to make all her suggested changes. I'm then, hoping to work with a couple of local school kids to make sure I'm being accurate and then it will go out to close writing friends for feedback. This means the book will probably be on its fourth draft before I feel it is ready to share with my agent. It will happen though! 

I've also been going to a lot of book launches and celebration events recently. It is so wonderful to champion other authors, particularly if they are friends who have shared this up and down journey with me. 

More book news soon, but please do get in touch if you're in or near Reading as I will be there for a few days in July and would love to meet you!