Miriam was a teacher for 25 years, and, having worked with refugees and asylum seekers in schools, her writing engages with historical and contemporary issues that affect children across time – most notably the plight of refugees.

Her young-adult novel, Hidden, was a Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and has been adapted for the stage.

Her children’s books The Emergency Zoo, Rip to the Rescue and Saving Hanno, which was released last week, are all set during the Second World War, and consider the impact of evacuation, the pains of life during periods of upheaval and the plight of refugees during the war.

In this podcast, recorded during the January lockdown of 2021, Miriam spoke to Will about the books which have shaped her life and writing, the performance aspect of reading, the importance of revisiting difficult books and the joys of discovering new cultures and cuisines through fiction.

Get the books at Bookshop.org (and support independent bookshops) here.