Illustration from Yokki and the Parno Gry.
backgrounds and with varied life experiences feel represented. We talk about this and whether there is ever a burden of responsibility with it. “No, it’s just the way I was brought up,” he
says. “If you went somewhere and someone was looking left out, you asked them if they wanted to join you. Why would anyone want to leave anyone out. I feel the same about books.”
Richard feels strongly that publishers have a responsibility around making sure they have authentically written books by and for every community in their catalogue. Not seeing characters that one can identify with in books, can easily serve as a barrier to reading, making people feel it is not for them and does not reflect their interests, culture and ways of life. Richard is keen that stories and reading should be available and accessible for everyone. He firmly believes that no child should be punished because they don’t like reading. This became the
Other titles by Richard.
central theme for the poem, Callum Dunt Like Readin’, which he contributed to the children’s rights anthology Our Rights!, and which raises money for Amnesty International. Richard feels children’s rights are “vitally important,” and believes “the more self-directed a child can become in terms of reading, then the more pleasure they will get from it”.
After talking about reading, we discuss Richard’s latest book, a historical novel in Scholastic’s ‘Voices’ series, edited by author Tony Bradman. The ‘Voices’ series is written by some of the UK’s most exciting and dynamic writers for children and young people and aims to showcase the authentic and often unseen stories of our past. Richard’s book is A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story. “The book is inspired by the first Romani professional football player, Rab Howell, who also played for England in the Victorian era, making him the first person from a
minority ethnic background to do so. It charts the journey of a Romani boy Lijah some 20 years after Rab, who also wants to become a professional footballer. His family are very much against this, however.” There was a considerable amount of research involved in the planning of the book and Richard enthuses about how indebted he is to Sheffield libraries for their help and to members of the community and around South Yorkshire whose snippets of oral history were vital to telling the book’s story. Richard is full of praise for the support libraries have given him in his work around storytelling and writing. He advises “in addition to getting my books in so more people can enjoy them, keep on inviting me in to tell stories and do readings and workshops.”
Thinking about the motivation behind these talks and storytelling sessions, Richard says: “I’m constantly proud of carrying on this tradition of storytelling, it’s a privilege to do so. Storytelling and writing have given me so much as a form of expression and connection, from new insight into myself and the world around me to so many positive connections and wonderful friendships.”
When asked about his proudest moment, Richard modestly says: “When an educator or a parent tells you that one of your books has had a positive impact on a child, that is the best feeling.”
l To find out more about Richard and his books, or to explore the possibility of an event with him visit https://
richardthestoryteller.weebly.com.
18 PEN&INC. Autumn-Winter 2023
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