Want to get to know some of the incredible creative minds behind the Your Next Read junior fiction novels? Read on!
Today, we say hello to Jasmin McGaughey, a Torres Strait Islander and African American writer and editor.
She writes for children and young adults, including ‘Moonlight and Dust’ (young adult) ‘Ash Barty’s Little Ash Series’ (junior fiction), and the younger readers edition of ‘Caring For Country: First Knowledges for Younger Readers‘ by Bruce Pascoe and Bill Gammage, illustrated by Savi Ross, as well as picture books such as Ash Barty’s ‘My Dream For You‘, illustrated by Jade Goodwin.
Jasmin completed a Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing at the University of Queensland and a Master of Philosophy (in creative writing). She has spent time as a black&write! editor intern, was a winner of a 2019 Next Chapter Fellowship with The Wheeler Centre and won the 2021 Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize.
In the adult space, Jasmin is the editor, with The Poet’s Voice, of ‘Words to Sing The World Alive: Celebrating First Nations Voices’, and has written for ‘Overland’, ‘Kill Your Darlings’, SBS Voices and ‘Griffith Review’.
And now Jasmin is bringing her writing talents to ‘The Missing Pencil Case’, illustrated by Jade Goodwin, one of four launch titles in the Your Next Read Silver series for readers aged 5-8.
Below is an edited extract from an interview with Jasmin in episode #5 of the Your Kid’s Next Read podcast Summer Series.
YKNR: What drew you to writing in the first place?
Jasmin McGaughey: “I was always a big reader and I have to thank my mum for that. She was always reading to me and it was never something that felt like a chore or homework. It was always exciting.
But it was probably the Deltora Quest books by Emily Rodda that got me asking, ‘I wonder if this could happen or if that could happen?’. So I started writing my own little versions and it just went from there … It’s always been something that I’ve done for joy and it’ll be something I continue to do for joy, whether I’m publishing or not.”
We first came to your work with Ash Barty’s ‘Little Ash’ junior fiction series, of which you are the author and which we very much like for young readers. How did you come to work on that project?
Jasmin: “It was a lot of luck – a ‘right place, right time’ thing. I was doing some editing for [the publisher] and they asked me to submit something [to see if I could write for that age group], and they mentioned Ash Barty. At first, I thought it was a scam – like, ‘oh, surely it’s not like Ash Barty’. Like what? But then they sent a follow up email and it went from there.”
Up to that point, your work had been in the adult literary fiction and academic spaces. Were there challenges in adapting to a junior readership?
Jasmin: “Yes, there were. They gave me a few suggestions for books to look at, and I [also] pulled out some of my old favourites to have a good look at the voice and the style. It’s been a really good learning experience over the many books we’ve done. The editors have been really generous with their feedback and have helped a lot.”
“I’m a lot more comfortable [with junior fiction] now than I was back then, but there will always be – and I think it’s just to do with writing – but I will always feel a little bit of anxiety. [There’s always] wondering, is this right? Is this okay? I think it’s because you’re so in your head when you’re writing, but until it goes to readers, then you [never know if it’s successful].”
Jade Goodwin was the illustrator for the Little Ash series, and is the illustrator of The Missing Pencil Case as well. Are you conscious of having to leave room for the illustrator when you’re writing?
Jasmin: “It’s interesting.I wasn’t when I first started [writing the Little Ash series], but then as we went on, I realised I didn’t have to describe everything in the text because the illustrations can balance out what’s not there. So that’s something that I’m very conscious of now.
“Jade and I [also] worked on some picture books the Ash Barty series, and I have to say that the writing aspect of those was a lot more difficult for me than the chapter books. There are so few words [with picture books] and you are relying on the illustration so much that I really found it challenging. Fun, but challenging.”
Listen to the full interview here.
About ‘The Missing Pencil Case’ by Jasmin McGaughey, illustrated by Jade Goodwin
Do you like MYSTERY, FAMILY and FUNNY STORIES?
Then this book is YOUR NEXT READ!
Lea has lost her pencil case. It’s full of money she has collected for charity! Lea must search all over her apartment block for the missing pencil case. Where could it be?
Buy here from your favourite online retailer
Want to know more about Jasmin’s work in ‘The Missing Pencil Case’ (including the inspiration behind the story)?
Watch the video!
