A TIVERTON children's author will be sharing her writing tips with aspiring authors this spring.

Amy Sparkes will be running a six-week 'Writing Picture Books for Children' course at PETROC in Tiverton.

“Picture books are wonderful fun but can be tricky to get just right,” says Amy.

“The course will be looking at different types of picture books, writing techniques, rhyming stories and how to approach publishers and agents.

“There's also an opportunity for students to have their stories critiqued and to work on their own book during the course.”

Amy has secured one of the top literary agents for children's fiction and is becoming a well-known name in children's publishing.

Her first picture book, 'Hodge the Hedgehog' featured on CBeebies story time and her second, 'Do Not Enter the Monster Zoo' was shortlisted for major prizes, such as the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2013.

This year three new picture books are being released with major publishers Random House, Egmont and Scholastic, with more scheduled for 2016.

Amy has been running successful writing classes at PETROC for several years and has also set up a monthly children's writers group in Tiverton. “I'm really keen to support new writers,” says Amy.

“It's a very competitive world and I create courses which I think would have helped me when I was starting out.”

The 'Writing Picture Books for Children' course starts on Thursday, April 16.

For more details or to enrol, contact Sam Martin on 01271 852356, email recreationteam@petroc.ac.uk or book online at www.petroc.ac.uk For more information on Amy's books, see her website at www.amysparkes.co.uk or her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AmySparkesAuthor