In the second of our Independent Bookshop Week events, Pippa Hennessy interviews Darren Simpson about his writing life, his career, his thoughts on current events, and much more besides. This is the first in a series of short interviews with authors from the local area (and beyond) we plan to release over the summer.

Darren’s first book for Usborne, Scavengers, is a young adult novel about Landfill, who has lived his whole life as a scavenger, running with wooflers, swimming with turtles and feasting on fresh gull. Old Babagoo has always looked after him, on one condition – follow his rules. Never come looking Outside. Never rise above the wall. But despite the dangers, Landfill longs to see Outside. And some rules are made to be broken.

Darren writes vivid, unruly fiction for children. Scavengers was a Guardian Best Book of 2019, and was selected for 2019’s national Summer Reading Challenge. He also provided the story for The Dust on the Moth, a crowdfunded multimedia novel for adults. Darren lives with his wife and two sons in Nottingham, where he has worked with the Literacy Trust to promote reading for pleasure. He loves using otherworldly settings and unconventional characters to explore bravery, self-discovery, and the endless quirks that make up our real lives. If you’d like to find out more about Darren, visit darrensimpsonwrites.co.uk

The interview is pre-recorded, and will be released as a Premiere on our YouTube channel at this time. Darren and Pippa will be watching along with you and will answer questions posted in the comments.