Linda Newbery

Linda Newbery always wanted to be a writer, filling exercise books with stories which she hid in her wardrobe, but only began submitting her work once she became a secondary school teacher. She had her first novel published in 1988 and is now a full-time writer. Linda writes for various age groups and has twice been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, for The Shell House and Sisterland and in 2006 won the Costa Children’s Book Award for Set in Stone.
Linda lives in a Northamptonshire village with her husband and three cats. She is an active member of the SAS and on the committee of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group of the Society of Authors.

Linda on Linda
When I was a child, dreaming that one day I might be an author, I used to gaze longingly at the N shelves in bookshops and libraries, and imagine my own books parked next to E. Nesbit’s. She’s still there, with her classic stories The Railway Children, Five Children and It, and others. Philip Pullman, nearby, takes up an awful lot of space, but sometimes there’s room for me between them.

As a child I used to do a lot of secret writing in my bedroom. I rarely showed anyone, and certainly not my teachers. At that time I was rather unwisely trying to write complete novels. Later, when exams got in the way, I began writing poetry - because poems could be short!

When I was a teenager, there was no such thing as teenage fiction – you went straight from children’s books to adult books. It wasn’t until much later, when I was training to be an English teacher, that I came across teenage fiction, and excellent writers such as K. M. Peyton, Aidan Chambers and Jill Paton Walsh. Before long I wanted to have a go. 

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Featured Books, with extracts by Linda Newbery

Lob
Linda Newbery
Prize-winning author Linda Newbery has written a lyrical and imaginative story about the power of believing in the unknown. Lucy loves spending time with her grandfather as he potters around his garden. He introduces her to Lob, his mysterious helper...
Format: Paperback - Released: 02/06/2011
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Barney the Boat Dog 1: Very Brave Dog
Linda Newbery
Join Barney the Boat Dog – the little dog with a big heart and even bigger adventures in Linda Newbery’s heart-warming series set on the canals. Little dog Barney lives on a narrowboat with his owner, Jim. The pair are...
Format: Paperback - Released: 01/03/2011
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Barney the Boat Dog 2: Runaway Horse!
Linda Newbery
Jim and Barney are in trouble on their narrow boat. The boat's engine won't start and they've got to get to Jim's grandson's birthday party, so they get a big, strong horse named Puzzle to give them a tow. Barney...
Format: Paperback - Released: 01/03/2011
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Posy
Linda Newbery
A beautiful observation of the many different moods and behaviours of an irresistibly attractive kitten. Told in a simple rhyming text matched by wonderful expressive illustrations Posy is shown in all her different poses as ‘Playful wrangler, knitting tangler’, ‘Mirror...
Format: Paperback - Released: 02/04/2009
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Flightsend
Linda Newbery
Thoughtful and touching, Flightsend delicately traces the complex emotions that surround 16 year old Charlie. Linda Newbery is especially good at capturing the heightened intensity of teenager’s feelings as Charlie sifts through what she feels about her mother’s former boyfriend,...
Format: Paperback - Released: 02/04/2009
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The Sandfather
Linda Newbery
This is a gripping, fast-paced and at times heart-stopping read about a 13 year old boy's search for identity by the winner of the 2006 Costa Children's Book Award. Hal's exclusion from school leads him to a period of discovery...
Format: Paperback - Released: 05/02/2009
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Cat Tales: Smoke Cat
Linda Newbery
Early readers will enjoy Linda Newbery’s Cat Tales series. In Smoke Cat, Blue is a shadowy cat who seems to vanish into a puff of smoke whenever he is called. The old lady who is his owner is mysterious, too....
Format: Paperback - Released: 30/01/2009
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Cat Tales: Shop Cat
Linda Newbery
Early readers will enjoy Linda Newbery’s Cat Tales series. In Shop Cat, Hattie has a strange feeling that it is the cat Twister who is bringing success to her uncle’s toyshop. Can a cat really a make a toyshop work?...
Format: Paperback - Released: 30/01/2009
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Nevermore
Linda Newbery
When Tizzie’s mum takes a new job in a mysterious house in the middle of the country, Tizzie finds herself far from her friends and everything she’s known before. Lonely and bored, Tizzie begins asking questions about the house. Why...
Format: Paperback - Released: 08/01/2009
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Nevermore
Linda Newbery
When Tizzie’s mum takes a new job in a mysterious house in the middle of the country, Tizzie finds herself far from her friends and everything she’s known before. Lonely and bored, Tizzie begins asking questions about the house. Why...
Format: Hardback - Released: 07/01/2008
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Catcall
Linda Newbery
Winner of the 9-11 Nestle Silver Award 2007. This is a gripping and beautifully told atmospheric novel full of psychological tension and fast-paced action. It’s Linda Newbery, who is also the winner of the Costa Book Award with Set...
Format: Paperback - Released: 06/09/2007
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Historical House: Andie's Moon
Linda Newbery
The Historical House is a unique collection of six intertwining novels by three highly regarded, award-winning authors. Each novel charts the life and times of the house at 6 Chelsea Walk, London, and the girls who lived there through some...
Format: Paperback - Released: 27/04/2007
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Set In Stone
Linda Newbery
Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2006.  Set at the end of the 19th century, Linda Newbery has cleverly carved out an incredible mystery that’s full of clever twists and entwined with drama, all manner of emotions and mind-blowingly...
Format: Paperback - Released: 25/01/2007
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Lost Boy
Linda Newbery
A cleverly wrought mystery that entwines the past and the present together in a moving and completely compelling way.  The hook for the story – a roadside memorial cross – provides a contemporary and realistic feel to the story alongside...
Format: Paperback (b Format) - Released: 03/08/2006
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Set In Stone
Linda Newbery
Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2006.  Set at the end of the 19th century, Linda Newbery has cleverly carved out an incredible mystery that’s full of clever twists and entwined with drama, all manner of emotions and mind-blowingly...
Format: Hardback - Released: 04/05/2006
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Historical House: Polly's March
Linda Newbery
The Historical House is a unique collection of six intertwining novels by three highly regarded, award-winning authors. Each novel charts the life and times of the house at 6 Chelsea Walk, London, and the girls who lived there through some...
Format: Paperback - Released: 14/01/2005
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