Anna James (writer)

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Anna James is an English writer of children's books. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

James grew up in Ponteland, Northumberland, and attended Ponteland Middle School and Ponteland High School. [2]

Career

James was a school librarian for five years before becoming book news and media editor at The Bookseller . There she launched their YouTube presence and established a prize for young adult literature, and during this period was shortlisted for the 2015 Kim Scott Walwyn Prize, [3] which "celebrates exceptional women in publishing". [4] has also been literary editor for ELLE UK . [5]

Writing

James published the "Pages & Co." series of six books, featuring a bookshop of that name, between 2018 and 2023, and in 2024 began her Chronicles of Whetherwhy. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Her Alice with a Why, a "reimagining" of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland illustrated by Matthew Land, was shortlisted for the 2025 Waterstones Book of the Year. [10] [6]

Her first novel for adults, Good Fortunes, is to be published by HQ, an imprint of Harper Collins. [5]

Selected publications

Pages & Co. series

  1. Tilly and the Bookwanderers (2019, Harper Collins: ISBN   9780008229870)
  2. The Last Bookwanderer (2024, Harper Collins: ISBN   9780008410926

Whetherwhy Chronicles series

Standalone children's titles

Books for adults

References

  1. Lodge, Sally (19 September 2019). "Q & A with Anna James". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  2. Smith, Ian (16 September 2022). "Alnwick Garden and other Northumberland landmarks help inspire new children's book by Anna James". Northumberland Gazette. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  3. "2015 Prize". Kim Scott Walwyn Prize. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  4. "About". Kim Scott Walwyn Prize. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Bailey, Cassidy (10 October 2025). "HQ pre-empts Anna James' 'glorious' adult debut". The Bookseller. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Anna James". www.waterstones.com. Waterstones. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  7. "Why adults should totally read Pages & Co by Anna James". United By Pop. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  8. "The class book review: Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers". www.tes.com. Tes Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  9. Gieskes, Lisa (4 October 2019). "Pages & Co.: The Bookwanderers". School Library Journal. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  10. Spanoudi, Melina (30 October 2025). "RF Kuang, Suzanne Collins and Arundhati Roy shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year". The Bookseller. Retrieved 27 November 2025.