Meet the Authors
Helen Rutter
Helen lives in the countryside just outside Sheffield with her comedian husband, two children and two lovely dogs, Ronnie and Billy Whizz. When she is not tapping away in her writing room, she loves walking the dogs, playing board games and reading.
Before writing her first novel Helen wrote and performed her work on the stage. She has even done some stand up comedy (which was some of the inspiration for The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh!) and before that she was a jobbing actress.
Helen now much prefers to write the stories than be in them! Helen has been writing a story for the Storytelling project based in inspiration from the CHUMS Young Carers’ workshops ran by David Lloyd.
“My name is Helen Rutter and I am the author of 5 books, the latest one being Reggie Houser has the Power and my very first book which was The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh. I am so excited to be a part of the Luton Literature Storytelling project this year and I can’t wait to join up with lots of different people and tell some amazing stories!”
Jen Carney
Jen Carney was born in Bolton and started writing books when she was eight years old. Her debut published series, The Accidental Diary of B.U.G., which she wrote in response to the lack of funny books that reflected families like her own, was brought to market by Puffin in 2021.
As well as reading, writing and drawing, Jen loves hiking, painting and playing games.
A co-mum via adoption, Jen is passionate about the representation of different family units in children’s literature and an active advocate of reading for pure pleasure.
She said “Using the wonderful ideas generated by the very imaginative Jade Class from Richmond Hill School, I will be writing a short fantasy adventure story.”
“Sticking as near to the children’s desired plot as possible, I hope to empower children with special educational needs to believe in themselves as marvellous idea-generators and talented story-writers. I also hope the finished story will showcase to anyone who reads it the brilliance that can come from neurodivergent brains.”
“I hope to empower children with special educational needs to believe in themselves as marvellous idea-generators and talented story-writers.”
Jo Cotterill
Award winning author Jo Cotterill has written over fifty books for children and young people and cares passionately about inclusion and acceptance. Her books range from the LGBTQIA+ story A Storm of Strawberries to the bestselling Starlight Stables Gang series. When not writing, Jo likes arts and crafts, spending time with her kids, and walking her delightful but barky dog Mia.
Jo loves talking to kids about books and stories, “They have the BEST ideas.” She loves starting a story and not really knowing where it’s going. “The magic of writing is not knowing what’s going to come out of your imagination next.” Jo is writing a story based on ideas from Aaron’s LGBTQIA+ workshops
Jo said “I’m honoured to be involved with the Luton Literature Storytelling Project. I will be working with a group of young people from the LGBTQ+ community to help bring their story ideas to bright and vibrant life.”
“I am a staunch ally of the LGBTQ+ community and I hope to empower the young people involved as well as those who read and enjoy the story we create. Love is stronger than hate!”
Joseph Elliott
For the last fifteen years, Joseph has worked as an actor, predominantly in comedy and children’s television. He is best known for playing pirate ‘Cook’ in the BAFTA-winning CBeebies series, Swashbuckle, for which he also wrote many of the scripts.
In 2020, he co-created, wrote and starred in Big Fat Like, a comedy sketch show commissioned by the BBC, which parodies the bizarre world of YouTube. He is also part of the writing teams for The Amelia Gething Complex, Class Dismissed, Kidz Bop, and Horrible Histories.
He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Shadow Skye Trilogy – an epic fantasy series set in a mythical version of Scotland, featuring magical beasts, deadly shadows and a protagonist with Down syndrome.
Joseph will be creating a story inspired by the Care Leavers workshop ran by Ehireme.
“I’m really excited to be working with the Care Leavers group; they have so many wild and original ideas, it’s shaping up to be a very unique short story.”
Laura Noakes
Author of historical hijinks and heists and creator of Cosima Unfortunate character, Laura Noakes will be creating a story inspired by SEND children in workshops led by Molly Sims.
Laura grew up in Bedfordshire in a home full of books. She loved books so much she went to three universities after school! Writing stories is her first love. She has Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, a disability that she shares with her main character, Cosima.
Her debut book, Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star, will soon be followed by the sequel, Cosima Unfortunate Foils a Fraud, (6 June 2024).
Author photo taken by Luna Louise Photography
“I’m collaborating with a brilliant and talented group of young people to turn their wildly creative ideas into a short story. I really hope that this project shows these youngsters that (A) they are already storytellers and that (B) telling their story matters.“
