Kathryn Simmonds – författare

Meet a pompous young prince, who believes he can do anything – without ever needing to practise! That is until he meets a wise, retired witch who teaches him the most magical lesson . . .Princes Don't Practise is an incredibly funny and relatable tale with an important message for all. Perfect for anyone who struggles with NOT being instantly perfect – which is most children!Prince Lupin has jousted and feasted and now he's BORED. But when he decides to spend the afternoon 'helping' the gardener and the palace cook, he leaves a trail of chaos and destruction behind him.After an embarrassing musical performance, Prince Lupin flees into the forest where he meets a retired witch with a passion for pottery. With her patience, perseverance and friendship Prince Lupin finally learns that practice makes magic . . . and that it helps to have manners too!Fantastically warm and funny verse from award-winning poet and writer, Kathryn Simmonds, with richly detailed illustrations from Becky Colvin, the winner of the Macmillan Prize for Illustration 2023 and creator of The Great Green Island, which was shortlisted for The Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2026.

Meet a pompous young prince, who believes he can do anything – without ever needing to practise! That is until he meets a wise, retired witch who teaches him the most magical lesson . . .Princes Don't Practise is an incredibly funny and relatable tale with an important message for all. Perfect for anyone who struggles with NOT being instantly perfect – which is most children!Prince Lupin has jousted and feasted and now he's BORED. But when he decides to spend the afternoon 'helping' the gardener and the palace cook, he leaves a trail of chaos and destruction behind him.After an embarrassing musical performance, Prince Lupin flees into the forest where he meets a retired witch with a passion for pottery. With her patience, perseverance and friendship Prince Lupin finally learns that practice makes magic . . . and that it helps to have manners too!Fantastically warm and funny verse from award-winning poet and writer, Kathryn Simmonds, with richly detailed illustrations from Becky Colvin, the winner of the Macmillan Prize for Illustration 2023 and creator of The Great Green Island, which was shortlisted for The Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2026.

The funniest counting book of the year, featuring twenty VERY silly bears. Can you count them all?Twenty bears have been asleep Lying in a snoring heap. Now it''s spring and time to clean! Time to tidy, shine and sheen! Get ready for a shot of pure counting fun, as twenty very busy bears attempt to spring clean their cottage after winter hibernation. Spring is here and it''s time to TIDY … but are these silly bears up to the task?This hilarious picture book is perfect for little ones learning to count!

The funniest counting book of the year, featuring twenty VERY silly bears. Can you count them all?Twenty bears have been asleep Lying in a snoring heap. Now it’s spring and time to clean! Time to tidy, shine and sheen!Get ready for a shot of pure counting fun, as twenty very busy bears attempt to spring clean their cottage after winter hibernation. Spring is here and it’s time to TIDY … but are these silly bears up to the task?This hilarious picture book is perfect for little ones learning to count!

The funniest counting book of the year, featuring twenty VERY silly bears. Can you count them all?Twenty bears have been asleep Lying in a snoring heap. Now it’s spring and time to clean! Time to tidy, shine and sheen!Get ready for a shot of pure counting fun, as twenty very busy bears attempt to spring clean their cottage after winter hibernation. Spring is here and it’s time to TIDY … but are these silly bears up to the task?This hilarious picture book is perfect for little ones learning to count!

Twenty bears unpacking cases. Look at those excited faces! Ready to enjoy the sun Holidays are so much fun! Get ready for a shot of pure counting fun, as twenty very excited bears set off for a holiday on the beach. Summer is here and it's time to RELAX but are these silly bears up to the task?

Twenty bears unpacking cases. Look at those excited faces! Ready to enjoy the sun… Holidays are so much fun! Get ready for a shot of pure counting fun, as twenty very excited bears set off for a holiday on the beach. Summer is here and it’s time to RELAX – but are these silly bears up to the task?

Twenty bears unpacking cases. Look at those excited faces! Ready to enjoy the sun… Holidays are so much fun! Get ready for a shot of pure counting fun, as twenty very excited bears set off for a holiday on the beach. Summer is here and it’s time to RELAX – but are these silly bears up to the task?

A warm and reassuring picture book about finding your courage even when you'd rather play it safe.The children are planting sunflowers at school and Carla gets given a seed called Vernon. All the other children's seeds are excited to get out of the packet and start growing. Not Vernon. He knows about slugs, and birds, and thunderstorms. The world is scary.Carla waters him lovingly, but Vernon is the only seed that doesn't grow into a seedling. "Safe and snug, snug and safe," mutters Vernon, until he realizes how upset Carla is. Vernon understands that he needs to pluck up his courage, push himself out of the ground, and face the world. He needs to do it for Carla. And as Vernon blossoms into a sunflower, he discovers that although the world is not perfect, it can be ... wonderful.

A side-splittingly funny picture book about open-mindedness and the power of change.The Bug Hotel has a fancy dining room, a rooftop terrace … even a pool if water is your thing.What a wonderful hotel! Trouble is, Branwell the solitary bee is not welcomed by the other guests – they're convinced he will sting! But Branwell can't sting, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to. When a curious toddler starts poking and shaking the bug hotel, our stripy hero, Branwell, ends up saving the day, showing us all a thing or two about resolving tricky situations peacefully.

The Visitations is the follow-up to Kathryn Simmonds' Forward Prize-winning debut, Sunday at the Skin Launderette. The poems are entertaining, amusing and accessible, but unafraid to bring in darker themes and worlds unseen. The tone shifts throughout between the elegiac and the sharply satirical, lit up with life's moments of sudden illumination: a life coach finds an old passport, an infant teeters on the brink of speech."This playful and knowing first collection is fuelled throughout by a strong sense of lyricism." – The Guardian on Sunday at the Skin LaunderetteKathryn Simmonds' first book of poems, Sunday at the Skin Launderette (Seren, 2008; ISBN 9781854114617), won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and the Felix Dennis Prize, and was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. Her pamphlet of poems Snug was a winner in the Poetry Business competition in 2004 and subsequently published by Smith/Doorstop (ISBN 9781902382678). She lives in London and works as a freelance writer, editor and teacher.

When the TV makeover people come to call, forty-something green campaigner Tessa is mortified at what they rake up, not only about her wardrobe but also her youthful stay at Greenham Common. Love and Fallout is a hugely entertaining novel from debut novelist and award-winning poet Kathryn Simmonds.Kathryn Simmonds was born in Hertfordshire and worked in children's publishing before taking a creative writing MA at the University of East Anglia in 2002. Her collection Sunday at the Skin Launderette won the Forward Prize for best first collection in 2008 and was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines and broadcast on Radio 4, and she has written an afternoon play for Radio 4 called Poetry for Beginners. She published her second poetry collection, The Visitations, in 2013.

Addressing the loss of the poet’s mother – as well as themes of motherhood, birth, death, and the natural world – Scenes from Life on Earth explores how we grieve and remember those we love. Simmonds continues to write through the prism of her faith, offering insights and wisdom on the circuit of life, of life’s endings, and the promise of reconciliation.

This anthology showcases the very best in humorous short story writing, by outstanding contemporary women writers, including Kathy Lette, Sadia Azmat, Lucy Vine, Josie Long, Paula Lennon, and many more. It includes the winning and shortlisted stories from the Comedy Women in Print Short Story Prize.From tales of a narcoleptic biscuit lover, con artists with a twist, and the accidental death of a hamster; to consequences of accidental gluing, the imagined world of extreme shopping, and the delightfully surreal world of canine dating, these 15 boldly imaginative stories range across a multitude of genres and themes.Each proves the power of the short story to disarm, tickle or simply entertain.

Who is Martin waiting for? And what if his Guest has already arrived?In the old French city of Marseille, it's Christmas Day and Martin the shoemaker is waiting. He's expecting a very special guest, and his heart is full of hope and anticipation.But as the hours pass, something extraordinary unfolds. Martin gives warmth to a shivering street sweeper. He shares a meal with a young mother in need. He places shoes on the bare feet of a little boy. He offers friendship to a lonely old woman who has no one.And when night finally falls and his guest still hasn't come... Martin begins to wonder.Or has the Guest been there all along?A story of unexpected grace, quiet generosity, and the true heart of Christmas.The Christmas Guest is a timeless festive tale rooted in one of the world's most beloved Christmas stories. Rich with warmth, compassion, and quiet surprise, it speaks to children and adults alike, asking the question at the very heart of Christmas: what does it really mean to welcome someone in?