COP26, the HYDROFLEX and meeting the PRIME MINISTER

In November I was invited by Network Rail, along with my Adventures on Trains co-author Sam Sedgman, to COP26 to take a trip on the United Kingdom’s first hydrogen-powered train - the HyrdoFLEX.

We travelled to Glasgow on the Caledonian Sleeper, which has been a long-held aspiration of mine and was a dream come true.

When we arrived at Glasgow Central station we met the wonderful Jackie Ogilvie, who has built up a museum collection exhibited in the station and gives guided tours sharing the history of the place with interested folk like us.

After our brilliant tour of Glasgow Central, we met Helen Simpson, the engineer who was one of the inventors of the HydroFLEX. She took us into the hydrogen chamber and told us how the train worked.

We were joined on the train by a wonderful class of Glaswegian children, from a local school, and staged an event about our Adventures on Trains books, on the train! We told the children about our fifth book - Sabotage on the Solar Express - which is set on board a hydrogen-powered train of the future, and that we couldn’t believe that we were actually on one, with them, right now!

The strangest thing happened. As we were talking to the children, the train doors opened and people with cameras got onto the train and then so did Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He said hello to the children, asked us about our books, and then left! It was very surprising. We were later told that he too was visiting the HydroFLEX.

We performed a reading for the children from Danger at Dead Man’s Pass, and then the HydroFLEX left the station and did a circuit around Glasgow before returning. It was a memorable experience to be on the first British hydrogen-powered train. I hope it heralds a future where fuels are green and clean.

It was one of the most surreal and magical days of my professional life.

Caledonian Sleeper Train

We took the Caledonian Sleeper to Glasgow for COP26

Arriving in Glasgow Station

With Jackie Ogilvie (far right)

Touring the Glasgow Central museum

Crewe is Hal's home

In the museum

In the museum

Sam Sedgman, Helen Simpson (inventor of the HydroFLEX) & M. G. Leonard

It was an honour and a delight to meet Helen Simpson, the designer, engineer and inventor who led the HyrdoFLEX project, to build the United Kingdom’s first hydrogen powered train.

Sam Sedgman in the hydrogen chamber

On the HydroFLEX

Outside the HydroFLEX

M. G. Leonard, train driver, Sam Sedgman

This is the train driver who drove the HydroFLEX

On board the HydroFLEX

Boris Johnson holding Kidnap on the California Comet on board the HydroFLEX

Boris Johnson talking to the children

during our event on the HydroFLEX

M. G. Leonard travelling on the HydroFLEX

The highlight of a strange and wonderful day.

Twitch is nominated for the Carnegie Medal 2022

It's with enormous gratitude and pride that I can announce TWITCH has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal!

There is no higher accolade for a children's book than for it to be selected as an outstanding title by librarians. This is the third time I’ve been nominated for the Carnegie, and it never gets less exciting. Beetle Boy was longlisted for the award so I’ll have my fingers crossed that Twitch will be too. I was raised by libraries, and owe my passion for books to librarians, so today I'm doing my happy dance.

I would like to congratulate all the nominated authors because it is one hell of a list. You can Read More Here.

M. G. Leonard teams up with Network Rail for COP26 Transport Day

I am very excited to be going to COP26 in November for transport day, and travelling on an amazing new hybrid train, the HydroFLEX, and meeting children who have won a competition just like the one August Reza holds in Kidnap on the California Comet, to design a train. The HydroFLEX has parallels with the train that features in our new book - Sabotage on the Solar Express - coming next February, so it also counts as research.

You can read more about how our next adventure & real-life combine in one awesome trip HERE and HERE.

Twitch WINS the Sainsbury’s Children’s Fiction Book of the Year!

I am utterly blown away to discover that Twitch has won the Sainsbury’s Children’s Fiction Book Award 2021! This is a special award because the prize is about encouraging families to read together.

I am so proud of this book. I hope children who read it will be encouraged to adventure outside and enjoy the wonder of the beautiful birds out there and be kind to one another. This book is about friendship and nature, two of the most important things in our lives.

I want to thank Paddy Donnelly for the wonderful cover, my publishers Walker Books for everything they’ve done for the book, and for me, and of course Sainsbury’s and Booktrust who run the prize. They said, “Twitch by M G Leonard is the kind of book that makes you want to grab your binoculars and go on wild adventures of your own, so we're so pleased it's just won the prize for Best Fiction at the Sainsburys Children’s Book Awards!” You can read all about it here.

I was at the Kestle Barton literary festival when I was told that Twitch had won. I was on my lunch break, and fellow author Nicola Skinner captured the moment I heard the news. Here is my stunned and emotional face!

Twitch is shortlisted for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book of the Year 2021

View fullsize

I’m over the moon to have discovered today that TWITCH, my book about a birdwatcher who turns detective, has been shortlisted with two other titles for the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book of the Year, 2021.

The winner is announced in mid September, so keep your fingers crossed for me. Until then, you should be able to spot Twitch in Sainsbury’s supermarkets up and down the country as part of the prize promotion.

COVER REVEAL for SABOTAGE ON THE SOLAR EXPRESS

I’m pleased to be able to share with you the cover for the fifth Adventures on Trains book, Sabotage on the Solar Express. Elisa Paganelli has worked her magic yet again and created a dramatic image that teases lots of the exciting elements of this story.

Publishing February 3, 2022

Ride into danger with Hal and Uncle Nat on the fifth breathtaking Adventures on Trains Mystery, Sabotage on the Solar Express, brilliantly illustrated in black and white throughout by Elisa Paganelli.

Billionaire train enthusiast August Reza has invited Harrison Beck and Uncle Nat to travel on the maiden voyage of the winning design of his Reza’s Rocket competition. Australian child genius Boaz won with his hybrid locomotive, driven by hydrogen fuel cells and solar power. But during the journey from Alice Springs to Darwin, someone onboard sabotages the train, hurtling passengers into a heart-stopping thrill-ride across the Australian Outback. Can Hal find the saboteur and stop the runaway train before disaster strikes?

Available for pre order NOW!

TITLE REVEAL - The fifth Adventures on Trains book is called Sabotage on the Solar Express

It is with much pomp and ceremony, that I can now reveal that the fifth Adventures on Trains book will be called Sabotage on the Solar Express and is an action-packed thrill ride across Australia. It will be crashing into bookshops on February 3, 2022.

Ride into danger with Hal and Uncle Nat on the fifth breathtaking Adventures on Trains Mystery, Sabotage on the Solar Express, from bestselling award-winners M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Perfect for readers of 8 to 12 and brilliantly illustrated in black and white throughout by Elisa Paganelli.

Billionaire train enthusiast August Reza has invited Harrison Beck and Uncle Nat to travel on the maiden voyage of the winning design of his Reza’s Rocket competition. Australian child genius Boaz won with his hybrid locomotive, driven by hydrogen fuel cells and solar power. But during the journey from Alice Springs to Darwin, someone onboard sabotages the train, hurtling passengers into a heart-stopping thrill-ride across the Australian Outback. Can Hal find the saboteur and stop the runaway train before disaster strikes?

Children's Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2022

I felt very honoured when I was invited to write the foreword to this years edition of the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. I used this book on my journey to publication, and so it feels surreal to see my name on the cover.

If you are thinking of writing books for young people then you will need this book. It is the bible of the children’s publishing world, and things have changed so much and so quickly in the past year, you’ll need the newest edition.

In my foreword I share my mistakes and frustration on my way to finding my agent and achieving my first book deal. I hope it amuses and assists any who are hoping to write a book for young readers.

TWITCH - inaugural read of the new Scouts Book Club

I am thrilled to be able to tell you that the Scouts have started a brand new book club in partnership with my publisher, Walker Books, and TWITCH is going to be the first book that the club reads. There are lots of fab activities, videos and resources to support the book club, and if you take part you get a special badge!

I hoped, when I wrote TWITCH, that people might take the book outdoors to read, and now it looks like that very well could happen. I was a brownie, a girl guide and I did the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, so being part of the Scouts book club feels like a great fit for me, and is definitely a perfect fit for TWITCH.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOK CLUB HERE.

It's Insect Week 2021, AND Independent Bookshop Week!

This week we’re celebrating the little things that run the world - insects! As the Vice President of Buglife and the writer of five (count them) books about beetles, you can guess that this is one of my favourite weeks of the year. To big up our brilliant beetle buddies and their invertebrate friends I will be sharing great facts, classroom resources and videos about beetles (and my books!) on social media all week. But hang on . . . insects are not the only thing we’re celebrating this week!

This week is also Indie Bookshop Week! So why not pop into your local book shop and grab a copy of Beetle Boy, Beetle Queen, Battle of the Beetles, The Beetle Collector’s Handbook, or for the little ones - Rex the Rhinoceros Beetle.

Independent bookshops are the lifeblood of many communities, and we are lucky to have so many deeply invested, well-read, downright likeable, and enthusiastic booksellers. So do your bit this week and support them by having a browse and a buy something . . . it doesn’t even have to be a book about bugs!

M. G. Leonard is Lauren Lavern's #Supernature guest on BBC6Music

I was delighted to be invited by Lauren Laverne onto her BBC6 Music breakfast show as her Supernature guest on Monday 14th June, to talk about TWITCH, beetles, and my new found love of birdwatching. If you fancy tuning in to the ten minute segment it is an hour and ten minutes into her show and you can HEAR IT HERE.

Twitch flies into bookshops and is spotted as The Times Children's Book of the Week!

Publishing a book is always nerve wracking, but when you haven’t released a solo book in three years, it’s even more so. Twitch is a book that I’m enormously proud of and on an emotional level, it means a lot to me - it’s dedicated to and inspired by my mother-in-law Jane Sparling who passed away last year. So it has been a thing of joy to see so many people celebrating and talking about the book, which has a beautiful cover by the wonderful illustrator Paddy Donnelly.

I was delighted that Twitch was so positively reviewed in the Observer and The Children’s Book of the Week in The Times in publication week. I hope it flies into the hands and hearts of children (and adults too).

Recording the audiobook for Twitch

Whenever it’s possible, I like to voice my own audiobooks. I was once an actor and so really enjoy performing the story. Last week I recorded the audiobook for Twitch and I can’t wait for you to read or listen to this book. It’s a story about friendship and the wonder of birds. I’m pretty proud of it.

I often get asked about how an audiobook is made, so I filmed this behind the scenes video. Have a watch.

Highland Falcon Thief WINS Children's Book of the Year!

It is with a full heart that I get to tell you today that The Highland Falcon Thief has WON the British Book Awards , Book of the Year in Children’s Fiction. This is the highest accolade in the publishing world. It’s the equivalent of winning an Oscar, but for books, and I couldn’t be more delighted.

Sam and I have such fun writing these books, and during the pandemic lockdown we’ve had many fabulous letters from young readers who have got to travel in their imaginations whilst being stuck at home.

Below is the video of the ceremony, if you fancy seeing Sir Lenny Henry present us with our award, we’re seven minutes in and the first award of the show.