Susie Day

Susie Day is a children’s author, writing novels for readers aged eight to twelve, and for teenagers and young adults. Her first book, Whump (Penguin/BBC, 2004), won the BBC Talent children’s fiction prize, and was serialised on Radio 4. Her teenage fiction frequently explores the challenges and delights of growing up online, as in the blog novel Big Woo (Scholastic, 2008). She is best known for writing inclusive fiction series, beginning with Pea’s Book of Best Friends (Penguin Random House, 2011). These warm, funny books foreground characters who are less well-represented in children’s literature: same sex parents, low income families, children with disabilities, and families with diverse ethnic backgrounds.

This passion for inclusive work which genuinely represents the world we live in has led Susie Day to become involved with a variety of projects. She has worked with Inclusive Minds, who consult and campaign within children’s publishing, speaking at their first event, A Place at the Table, in January 2015. In 2017, she visited primary schools for Outside In World, a campaign to encourage children to think differently about disability via works in translation. Later that year, she participated in WriteNow Live, a Penguin Random House initiative opening access to under-represented authors.

Susie Day trained as a primary school teacher, and for many years worked as a residential warden in a boarding school, with students aged sixteen to nineteen. She now lives in Coventry with her partner and a cat named Pantalaimon, dividing her time between writing and working in marketing.