Mel Darbon
Mel Darbon spent a large part of her childhood inventing stories to keep her autistic brother happy on car journeys. She won’t mention the time spent with him standing by level crossings waiting for the InterCity 125 to go past as she wouldn’t want to be labelled a train spotter.
Life took her in many different directions working as a theatre designer, a freelance artist, teaching young adults with learning disabilities and running creative workshops for teenage mums, young offenders and toddlers (though not all together).
Mel now writes young adult novels and is a recent graduate of Bath Spa’s MA in Writing For Young People, where she found a channel to give voice to young people who otherwise might not be heard.
Mel moved to Bath in 2014 with her husband, son and their dog, Alfie. All her other children claim to have left home but she doesn’t believe them. Neither does her fridge. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Life took her in many different directions working as a theatre designer, a freelance artist, teaching young adults with learning disabilities and running creative workshops for teenage mums, young offenders and toddlers (though not all together).
Mel now writes young adult novels and is a recent graduate of Bath Spa’s MA in Writing For Young People, where she found a channel to give voice to young people who otherwise might not be heard.
Mel moved to Bath in 2014 with her husband, son and their dog, Alfie. All her other children claim to have left home but she doesn’t believe them. Neither does her fridge. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
You can find Mel on Twitter - @DarbonMel. Her debut novel, ROSIE LOVES JACK was published by Usborne in September 2018 to a phenomenal response. So much praise that it's hard to know where to start! But, here goes nothing:
In addition to which, Rosie was named BOOK OF THE MONTH on publication in:
Then there has also been:
- WINNER of the 2019 Leeds Book Award in the 14-16 category
- SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRANFORD BOASE AWARD 2019 (click on for judges' feedback)
- SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 CrimeFest Awards - Best crime novel for young adults (Ages 12-16)
- A WORLD BOOK NIGHT choice for 2019
- A YA BOOK OF THE YEAR in the Sunday Times Culture Section
- A BOOK OF THE YEAR also for Book Trust and The Reading Zone
- The featured title for The 2019 Sussex Schools Big Summer Read, where kids, teachers and parents across Sussex will be encouraged to read it and schools will base their schoolwork around it.
In addition to which, Rosie was named BOOK OF THE MONTH on publication in:
- Guardian - October 2018, with review also in The Observer
- Mail on Sunday - September 2018
- Booktrust Bookmark - November 2018
- The Reading List - November 2018
- Down the Rabbit Hole – September 2018 (episode 53)
Then there has also been:
- Article in Femail of The Daily Mail 18/10/2018
- Review on @BBCBerkshire 25/09/2018 as book choice for The Book Shelf
- Book of the week @Petersbooks 21/09/2018
