Rachel and Simon speak with Pari Thomson, editorial director for picture books at Bloomsbury and also a children's author. After an international childhood, Paris studied English at university; she began her career with stints at a literary agency, as a bookseller at Waterstones and as a manuscript reader. She joined Bloomsbury in 2016 and now commissions children's picture books. In 2023 Macmillan published her debut novel, "Greenwild: The World Behind the Door", a fantasy adventure inspired by the plants at Kew Gardens, near where Pari lives. Blackwell's named it their Children's Book of the Year and it also won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. The second book in the series, "Greenwild: The City Beyond the Sea", was published this month. We spoke to Pari about breaking into the world of publishing, the taxonomy of children's literature, and the "Greenwild" novels.

“Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is published by Ithaka Press. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hatchards⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

You can find us online at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠alwaystakenotes.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/alwaystakenotes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.

#187: Pari Thomson, editorial director for picture books, Bloomsbury, and children’s author