The Big Think Author
Avantika Taneja is an emerging children’s fiction writer. She lived in Indonesia and the USA before moving to the UK. Avanti has had short stories featured in AQUILA children’s magazine and on BBC Schools Radio ‘Playtime’ programme, and was highly commended for the inaugural Faber & Faber BAME FAB Prize in 2017.
The Big Think value she tries to live by most at the moment is LOVE, as she is a brand new arrival to the weird and wondrous world of motherhood.
LOVE
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Ben Davis writes funny books for teenagers and younger children. His The Private Blog of Joe Cowley series has been translated into seven languages and his standalone book, My Embarrassing Dad’s Gone Viral was chosen to feature in Sainsbury’s Mental Health Awareness campaign. He lives in Staffordshire with his wife and son.
The value he is trying to live by is PEACE, because when you have a two-year-old son, it becomes very rare indeed!
PEACE
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Garrie Fletcher is a writer, teacher and trainer. He writes short stories, poems, comic books and novels.
The value of TRUTH is very important to him and he is constantly trying to capture, in an honest way, the truth of the everyday and the fantastical.
TRUTH
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My first rhyming story, The Snatchabook (illustrated by Thomas Docherty), has been translated into 18 languages. In 2014 it won the Oldham Brilliant Book Award, voted for by school children. I live in Swansea, Wales, with my husband and our two daughters.
One of The Big Think values that I’m trying to live by most at the moment is PERSEVERANCE. When things feel difficult it can be tempting to lose heart and give up, but I try to keep going anyway.
Facebook: @HelenDochertyAuthor
Twitter: @docherty_helen
PERSEVERANCE
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Johny Pitts is a writer, photographer, and broadcast journalist. He has received various awards for his work exploring Afro-European identity, including a Decibel Penguin Prize and an ENAR (European Network Against Racism) award. Johny curates the online journal Afropean.com, and as a presenter has appeared on MTV, BBC 1, 2 and 3, and ITV1 and hosts a youth travel show for CBBC called ‘All Over The Place’.
The value I am currently trying to live by is TRUTH. Coming from a black, working class, northern background, I’m interested in discovering noble traditions born in the cultures I’m from, that usually get overlooked or misrepresented.
WWW.JOHNYPITTS.COM – WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS
TRUTH
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Hi! I’m Maeve and I’m currently working in China. I write short stories, flash fiction (very short stories), novels and plays. I’m a good cook, but messy in the kitchen.
The Value I’m trying to live by is LOVE. I believe the other values: Truth, Peace, Responsibility and Community are all a part of Love, and that means I am living by a little of each value every day.
Website: www.maeveclarke.com
LOVE
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Maisie Chan is Chinese ‘Brummie’ writer (based in Glasgow) and has been writing creatively for over 10 years. She’s had stories published in anthologies and has written 2 reluctant readers titles featuring diverse and inclusive characters. She has written a novel for teens.
Maisie connects most with the value of EMPATHY. Many of her stories invite the reader to see the world through the eyes of another person and how they might be feeling. Through telling stories we can find out ways in which we are the same as human beings rather than highlighting our differences.
Twitter: @maisiewrites
EMPATHY
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Mandy Ross has written over 60 children’s books. She finds inspiration where she lives in Birmingham, a whole world in a city. Mandy loves using writing in projects, gathering different voices and building a sense of community.
Here’s her formula for living: CURIOSITY + OPTIMISM + RESPECT for others = how to be human
CURIOSITY + OPTIMISM + RESPECT
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