Action Deafness Books Featured Authors

Featured Authors

Julia Donaldson

The Gruffalo is a favourite in many households, but at AD Books we’re extremely interested in one of your other characters, Bessie Belle. Tell us a little about her?

Bessie Belle is a hard-of-hearing fairy, the heroine of my recent book “Freddie and the Fairy”. Because of her hearing problem, her attempts to grant Freddie’s wishes for a pet go wrong: he gets a bat instead of a cat, a carrot instead of a parrot and so on. But once Freddie learns to speak clearly and stops covering up his mouth and turning away, his wishes start to come true.

How did the idea for Freddie and Fairy come about?

I had the idea of a fairy muddling up wishes but couldn’t work out how to develop the story. Then one of my sons said, “Mum, couldn’t the fairy be deaf?” That really pealed to me because I myself have a hearing problem and wear hearing aids. I saw it as an opportunity to draw attention – in a light-hearted way - to the responsibilities of people with good hearing to those with less good hearing.

Do you feel that it is important for deaf children to have characters they can identify with in stories and do you plan to write more stories with deafness themes/characters?

It’s always gratifying to identify with someone in a story and say “They’re just like me!” That’s what we all do: we identify with Cinderella who is bossed about, or with some TV detective whose wife has left him. I’ve met deaf children who absolutely love it when they notice that someone in a picture book is wearing a hearing aid. I don’t have any specific plans to bring deafness into any more of my books, though I’m not ruling it out. I would like to draw attention to some excellent books already out there. One author who stands out is Joyce Dunbar, who has written the lyrical picture book “Moonbird” about a deaf prince, and a wonderful novel “Mundo and the Weather Child” about a boy who suddenly loses his hearing at the age of seven.

Has your own hearing loss presented any barriers to your career as an author?

When I visit schools I would love to enter into discussions with children but sometimes I can’t hear every word they say, and after you’ve said “What?” twice it can get embarrassing. My partial solution has been the Question Chair. I produce an extra chair and place it beside mine. Then I invite children to sit next to me to ask their questions, telling them they must speak “really loudly, so that the people at the very back can hear”. It works a treat, and the children love the theatricality of it.

Congratulations on your appointment as the Children’s Laureate! Your predecessors often had a particular focus during their time as Laureate, so do you have any particular focus or issue you would like to tackle?

Coming from a background of music and drama, I’m keen to encourage children to act out stories, and would love this to culminate in a national “Act a Story” day. I also want to do lots of events in libraries, thereby drawing public attention to the cuts and closures which are so damaging to our future readers. And I would like to involve myself in stories for deaf children. Even though I don’t know much about signing I love to watch signed stories and would like more of them to be available on websites such as mybslbooks.com and signedstories.com.

AD Books is delighted to have you working alongside us at the Leicester University Literary Festival in November, What can families expect on the day?

My events tend to be quite dramatic and interactive, and I always bring my husband along! He plays the guitar and acts too. We’re planning to dramatise “Freddie and the Fairy” with help from the audience, and we’ll also act out a couple more stories and sing some of my songs.

We will be providing BSL interpreters for the event. Do you enjoy seeing your work translated into British Sign Language?

Very much so. Apart from the gestures, I love the facial expressions of the interpreters I’ve seen in action. Mind you, I’ll be so busy acting myself that I probably will hardly be able to steal a glance at the signer.

At AD Books we like to encourage reading and creative writing in young people. What advice would you give to any aspiring young writers out there?

I think it’s really important to think about how your story is going to end. When someonemakes up a joke they think of the punch line first, and it can be the same with a story.

You can view and buy a copy of Freddie the Fairy by clicking here

Nick Sturley

Innocents of Oppression, Nick’s second major novel is coming soon in Spring 2012 and will be published by Action Deafness Books.

It is a coming of age story about a close friendship between two adolescent Deaf boys in an English oral boarding school.

Powerful, poignant and eminently controversial, Innocents of Oppression will take the reader through the 1970s' – and beyond – deaf education experience that will integrate various real-life accounts and experiences of those who were in Deaf education as well as other thought-provoking issues and nostalgic aspects.

How is the book developing?

It is developing very well. At this stage, I’m one-thirds way through and I’m just starting on part two (the book is divided into thirty-five chapters over three parts).

Although I have the whole story planned out, there is still so much to write as I keep adding several aspects and elements that I’m still coming across in my research on accounts, experiences and historical facts of those in the education for the deaf, particularly the oralist approach. There is so much source material, however, I also have to take care not to overblow it, but I’m having fun embedding them into several of the characters and backgrounds. Although my story is purely fictional, almost every aspect of the story that the reader will read is actually based on fact.

Is it a different learning experience in the way you are writing the book, compared to your other books? Why?

Yes, definitely. My first book, MILAN, was a self–publication back in 2003: I practically developed the book single–handedly by writing, designing and publishing through a self-publishing firm as well as marketing the book – all with my own money. It was a very challenging, but productive, experience. I had learnt so much from it.

Now, Action Deafness Books will be publishing my second novel – Innocents of Oppression – and this is a different ball game from self–publishing – I will only write the story and they will do the rest, although I will have some creative input into the book’s design.

With the experience from my first book behind me, I’m finding it much easier and more relaxing writing this book, although it is still hard work because I’m also doing other writing and directing projects at the same time. It is a case of managing the time to do them, however, I still wake up at seven (sometimes at six) in the morning to continue writing the book for a few hours a day. It is true what they say; the writers do get better inspiration from writing early in the mornings!

How did the idea/inspiration come about and what made you feel you had no choice but to write about this?

This may seem strange to you, but I had the idea from a very simple dream I had many years ago. I dreamt about two teenage deaf boys, whom I did not know who they were, sitting on the grass in front of my old oral boarding school and signing to each other. One had dark brown hair and the other, who was a year younger than the other, blond. I don’t know – and I still don’t to this day – why I had that dream, but it made me come up with the idea of a story about their close friendship in an oral boarding school. So I started building the story around them, as they are the main characters that will carry the story through.

It took me about ten years or so – on and off – to write the story in a script format (I’m a scriptwriter) and adding new aspects and elements from the deaf/oral education as I went along.

I felt compelled to write the novel from the script I wrote because, quite frankly, it is so good. It is powerful, poignant, funny and eminently controversial. I want to tell the story of what it was like in an oral boarding school, the several thought–provoking issues of the education for the deaf of the past and the present, the absurdity of the oral methods, the references and so on. There is so much in the story that, I think, works very well. It isn’t really all about the life in the oral boarding school itself, it is more about the relationship between the two main characters that becomes pivotal to the setting.

What would you expect your readers to feel after reading the book?

That will be very interesting because it is not something that you would normally expect from a Deaf book. Of course, eyebrows will be raised more than once and opinions will certainly be divided amongst many readers.

However, there is no denying from the fact that many of the aspects of the work of fiction are based on true–life accounts and experiences of those who were in the deaf/oral education. There are also some sexual innuendos, which may cause a level of controversy, but otherwise I’m sure the reader will find Innocents of Oppression a truly engrossing experience.

Would deaf boarders be able to relate to this more than others?

It is not just the deaf boarders, but also those who went to the deaf and mainstream schools. In many ways, the deaf/oral education is the same in these schools anyway. However, I think the deaf boarders will relate to the story much more than the others because it is set in an oral boarding school back in the 70s; a time when the boarding schools were still stuck in the 50’s period while the rest of the world was moving forward. Many deaf readers will unquestionably laugh at some of the most ridiculous and absurd things in relation to the oral education that actually did happen.

The rest of the readers who are hearing or those who have not been in a boarding school – deaf or hearing – will, I believe, be overwhelmed by the whole thing and say: “Is this really true that this did happen?”

I think it is the first Deaf novel of its kind that takes a really honest and candid insight into the deaf/oral boarding school and the education for the deaf.

You stated in your blog that you’d never write again, what persuaded you?

Never say never again! Seriously, as I have already explained, MILAN was a truly challenging experience and it had drained me completely. People have often asked me when will I write my next book and I always responded, “No, there won’t be a second book. One was enough!”

But I have a new story that is screaming to be told and I had always toyed with the idea of publishing my second novel, but I did not want to go through the self–publishing experience again. Self–publishing is not such a bad thing as it does have some certain advantages over a proper book publisher (you get much better royalties from a self–published book, for instance), however, it was something that I have been there, done it and never again. I was very fortunate that Action Deafness Books has agreed to publish my book.

There is a dedicated Innocents of Oppression Facebook Group page. a series of questions will be posted into it to ask for your accounts and experiences in Deaf education. Anyone in Facebook can join the page.

View more of our Previously Featured Authors Here

Steve Gibson

Introducing Steve Gibson of DeafEducate. A long time
friend of Action Deafness Books, this interview looks at how DeafEducate
was set up, the advent of Sales from Signtown and what projects Steve is
working on now! We think it's a great interview - enjoy!

Click here to see a sign language translation of this interview: http://deafeducate.co.uk/ADB2.asp

How did DeafEducate come about?

The concept of DeafEducate began about 10 years ago when I was teaching at Doncaster College for the Deaf. I had a student wanting to gain a grade C for his GCSE Maths so that he could go to university. We had a weekly tutorial and he was really anxious that he should be well prepared when the exam came up.

Our weekly tutorials weren’t really enough and I thought he could supplement his learning by trying out a GCSE Maths CD promoted by Carol Vorderman. However, this presented difficulties for him, as he struggled to understand the English involved. People still need good understanding in English to learn Maths. He had to ask me to translate what was on the computer screen into British Sign Language for him.

When I thought about this, I realised that the process of learning for many people is to repeatedly read pieces of text until understanding is achieved. How could this student fully understand the numeracy concept on the screen if I translated for him only once?

Supposing he wanted to take the CD home; he still needed BSL translation and there would be no one around to sign to him.

I used to be a programmer and have a computing degree. I looked at the technology available at the time – the internet was not booming as it is now – and I realised that it was possible to create some sort of ‘eBook’ on CD. Deaf learners could then insert the CD into a computer and get the eBook on screen. They would read pieces of English text and see video clips in BSL by clicking icons at the end of each sentence.

The biggest advantage of this technique is the repeatability – Deaf learners can watch the BSL clips over and over again until understanding is achieved.

I had to start from scratch and create Visual Basic code to produce eBooks. That wasn’t difficult. The difficult part was the video work – the studio, the lightning, the many different formats of videos and the codecs. Really a steep learning curve!

Initially I thought of doing a GCSE Maths eBook but when I realised of the amount of work needed, I changed my mind. A typical Maths textbook would consist of 250 pages and the amount of BSL video work needed would be huge. I estimated that the purchase cost of a GCSE Maths eBook would be in the region of £100 or more in order to cover production costs. Furthermore, I figured it might take me a couple of years to complete. This was simply not feasible.

So I turned to producing short eBooks with a word length ranging from 80 to 5,000 words. Short eBooks would enable Deaf learners to acquire and develop literacy skills to Key Stage 3 for Deaf children and Level 1 for Deaf adults. Once Key Stage 3 or Level 1 is achieved, the Deaf learner would be able to read and understand English well enough not to need BSL translation.

What’s your background?

I am Deaf and BSL is my main mode of communication. At present, I run DeafEducate and sell eBooks. I support Deaf students in their degree courses at Sheffield Hallam University.

I used to work as computing tutor at Doncaster College for the Deaf and as a Numeracy/Literacy tutor at Sheffield College and Manchester College.

My first job was a programmer with British Gas.

Have you written books?

I wrote the Peter and Kerry series. In that series, I tried to portray what it was like for D/deaf children in mainstream schools. Peter is oral, deaf and has a cochlear implant. He desperately wants to be part of the hustle and bustle in the playground with hearing boys and girls, yet he finds it difficult.

Kerry is Deaf, uses sign language and is very assertive in her outlook. She is in a different school from Peter where there is a Deaf unit and so she has Deaf friends. She has high aspirations and finds herself frustrated at the lack of support at her school.

The story develops when Peter and Kerry meet twice, with the former trying to avoid contact with Kerry and her Deaf friends. The series relates problems and issues of Deaf culture.

Where did you find your production team?

I don’t have a production team at the moment. But, one day..!

I work from home and have an adapted studio in my living room. I had to sweet talk my wife into allowing this!

With regard to authors, signers and illustrators, I met Deaf people by word of mouth. I am very fortunate to have Frank Essery and Ian Townsley as signers; you can see their creative signing in the eBooks. I am also pleased to have got hold of the illustrator, Peter Handy – his work is in the second set of Tales from Signtown, the forthcoming Sid and His Family and James Herriot.

I like to try to bring Deaf people in to contribute to the creative processes involved in the preparation and publishing of eBooks.

Is the advent of the Sony e-reader making a difference to your work?

I don’t think I have the technical expertise to adapt eBooks so that they work on the Sony eReader, but who knows; one day, this might be possible. However, we have apps able and working on the iPhone and coming soon for the iPad!

What is Tales from Signtown?

Tales from Signtown is a set of fairy tales with a difference; they have Deaf characters in them. You see, through teaching in colleges for many years, I have learned that many Deaf people are not aware of fairy tales such as Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Three Little Pigs. This cannot be right. Fairy tales are part of our folklore and culture, Deaf or not.

Tales from Signtown will enable Deaf readers to read and appreciate fairy tales with a twist; they will be able to identify with the Deaf characters and learn more about Deaf history too. In Puss in Boots, we have a Deaf cat writing on a piece of paper to communicate with a hearing ogre.We have Goldilocks telling the Little Boy Bear that she went to the same school as him. Then, there are the three little pigs named Pig Maginn, Pig Miner and Pig Miles. We have streets in Signtown called Charles-Michel Street and Ayliffe Street, a Victoria Place market and a Burwood High School. Furthermore, we have characters like Cochella and Orellano, the two ugly sisters in Cinderella, and Balestra, the ogre in Jack and the Beanstalk.

Nick Sturley is such a proficient writer to be able to capture the very essence of Deaf culture and tradition in these stories.

What is Nick Sturley like to work with?

In short, I am glad to have met Nick. I knew of his work regarding Milan 1880 and admired his extensive knowledge of Deaf history, relating to oralism and the fall and rise of BSL. You should see his website - www.milan1880.com - you cannot fail to applaud his writing and attention to detail.

I want to see more stories using deaf themes so that Deaf readers can identify with them and take pride in their Deafness. There aren’t many books around involving Deaf characters and Deaf culture.

This was how I got to work with Nick and we came up with Tales from Signtown.

Precisely what are you working on now? A History of Britain looks interesting!

A History of Britain is our next project. I feel it’s important that Deaf people should be made aware of Britain’s history and culture and then they will feel part of the larger world and not being excluded.

Along with A History of Britain, we are doing a story on Romeo and Juliet, a Shakespeare play, and will launch this eBook at Off The Shelf, a Sheffield literary celebration, in October. This will enable Deaf children to understand Shakespeare as part of the National Curriculum.

Finally, we are in the process of doing children’s stories; Sid and His Family. This will be part of the DeafEducate Reading Tree, where Deaf characters are firmly part of the narratives. I remember reading books from the Oxford Reading Tree to my four children and they all loved them; it would be good for Deaf children to read similar books with Deaf characters in BSL and English.

Biff, Chip and Kipper have the Magic Key to transport them to different worlds in their stories; Sid, Dot and Rex will have the Magic Sign!