"Nobody believed I could write - now I'm a best-selling author"

It’s publication day for Liz Pichon when she speaks to Saga and, in her own words, she’s been performing “guerrilla-style book signings” across the UK.

“The excitement of seeing my book in shops never leaves me,” says the 60-year-old author from Brighton. If you’re not familiar with the name Liz Pichon, it’s guaranteed that someone in your extended household will be, as she’s been capturing the imaginations of children for more than a decade with her multi-award-winning Tom Gates book series.

With 15 million copies sold worldwide, they’ve been translated into more than 50 languages, and adapted for stage and screen. The second animated series, starring Catherine Tate, launches on Sky in January 2024 with a soundtrack composed by Pichon and her songwriter/producer husband Mark Flannery.

She sells out appearances at literary festivals, has set a (now broken) Guinness World Record (for the biggest disco dance), created a children’s version of the Bayeux Tapestry, and is in her second year of designing the T-shirts for Children In Need.

And this latest book, Five Star Stories, is book number 21 in the Tom Gates series.

With such a roster of achievements to her name, you’d be forgiven for thinking success must have come easy – and early – to Liz. But, in fact, undiagnosed dyslexia and a severe lack of self-confidence held her back from even starting to write until her mid-forties.

A slow start

“I had no confidence at all,” she says. “The idea that I was going to write books? No one would believe that. Even when I started writing, some of my friends and family were a bit like: ‘You? You can’t even spell, how can you write a story?’”

Born in London, a “child of the Seventies”, Liz explains that despite her enthusiasm for learning, her academic work was “terrible”.

“When we were at school there was nothing like [a dyslexia diagnosis],” she says. “You were almost just thought of as a bit thick really.”

It was only when seeking a diagnosis for her son, now in his thirties, that the penny dropped and Liz’s dyslexia became obvious.

“We were asked if anyone had dyslexia in the family and everyone just looked at me,” she laughs. “Even now I can’t tell my left from my right.”

After studying graphic design, Liz worked at Jive Records designing album covers in the late Eighties, before creating her own range of greeting cards.

But it was while illustrating for other authors, including Julia Donaldson, that Liz was finally inspired to create her own books, with her first – Square-Eyed Pat – published in 2003.

“I was just starting to get a bit more of a voice,” she says of her mid-forties. “But when I look back, I always wrote poems and my own stories. I found a letter that I wrote to my parents when I was around 11, and it’s like reading Tom Gates. So, it was always there. It just took a while to come out.”

Overcoming self-doubt

After finding her feet with a handful of picture books, Liz was encouraged to “age-up” her writing, and she began to work on ideas for Tom Gates.

“At the start, my stories were terrible,” she laughs, admitting that even now she suffers with self-doubt.

“It’s a bit like when you’re having building work – there is always a bit where you think: this is terrible,” she says. “Like, this is the worst book I have ever written.”

Liz reveals that before the first book of the series was published in 2011, when she was 48, she hadn’t written anything longer than 12 pages. However, the book was a hit, winning the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, the Red House Children’s Book Prize, and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and the rest – 21 books, TV shows – as they say, is history.

“I never take it for granted,” she explains. “I always have that feeling in the pit of my stomach that it could end tomorrow. I never feel like: ‘This is it! I can relax now.’”

Liz, who has two daughters and a son, admits she has some regrets about waiting as long as she did to launch herself into the world of children’s books.

“It’s not the end of the world,” she smiles. “But I would’ve loved to have started earlier.”

What would she say to her younger self – and to anyone who might be worried about making a change or taking a chance?

“Don’t be frightened. What’s the worst that can happen?” she says. “Don’t be worried about what other people think about you. If you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world.

“But hey, it worked out all right!” she smiles, coming back to the present moment. “I am where I am supposed to be.”

Connecting with her inner child

With her enthusiasm and positivity, Liz clearly loves what she does, proudly showing one of the many clay book stands she has personally hand made to send out to the independent booksellers who have supported her.

“I’ve worked in lots of different industries but [the children’s book world] are just really lovely, passionate people,” she says. “I realise how lucky I am to basically be doing a job that I would have dreamed of when I was younger.”

Being connected to her younger self seems to be core to Liz’s work and perspective on life.

“I am literally doing all the same things that I did as a kid,” she smiles. “Writing funny stories, writing poetry, I make things.

“I’ve just managed to find a way to make a living out of it.”

Despite the “late start”, it feels like writing – and specifically children’s books – was always destined to be a huge factor in Liz’ s life. As a child, she loved libraries, where she would choose books about insects, cooking and crafting.

“The first time I got a library card, I was like: ‘I can pick anything!?’” she says with Matilda-esque enthusiasm.

She recalls watching Little House on the Prairie and then devouring the series of books it was based on; same with The Adventures of Asterix. Even her favourite books today are Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and anything by Babette Cole. “Doctor Dog still makes me laugh,” she says. “I love that kind of irreverent humour.”

And her music taste is rooted in childhood, too.

“I remember watching Sesame Street when Stevie Wonder played Superstition live, which is still one of my favourite songs,” she says.

Looking forward, book 22 of Tom Gates is already cooking in Liz’s brain and ever-present notebooks. But they may take some time thanks to her recent 60th birthday.

“When I look at the cards, I still can’t equate that number with what I am,” she laughs. “But it’s lovely. I’m going to keep celebrating all year.”

Keen to put pen to paper? Five get-started writing tips from Liz Pichon

Keep a diary or notebook. It's a great way to remember ideas that suddenly come to you, so keep it with you at all times.
Write about something that makes you laugh or that you find fun – the writing will flow much more easily.
Don’t make your story too long – writing short stories are a great way to build your confidence as an author.
When you finish a passage, read your writing out loud - it's amazing how things land differently when you hear them.
Don't forget poetry. Writing a funny poem is a great way to bring creativity and joy into your day.

Twiggy on a photoshoot with Saga Magazine

Twiggy on the exercise that turned her life around

Twiggy talks keeping active and the royal letter she mistook for a tax notice.

Timothy Spall up to date photo of him against a wall

Timothy Spall on weight loss and his message to the younger generation

The Bafta-winning actor had been so successful at losing weight, he had to fatten up with a strap-on false belly for his latest role.

The 7 celebrities from BBC2s The Pilgrimage in the Alps

"I'm a sitter" - Helen Lederer on walking 300km for BBC2's The Pilgrimage

The comedian on her trek through the Alps and how she's preparing to take to the stage in Fawlty Towers - The Play.

Johnny Ball says he didn't teach maths on TV - “I taught enthusiasm”

The presenter on inspiring the next generation and how daughter Zoe is bouncing back after leaving Radio 2.

Brian Cox on Succession’s surprising legacy and why he would have re-written the ending

The Scottish actor on how he’s still asked to repeat Logan Roy’s most famous catchphrase.

Brenda Blethyn throwing a hat in the air

Farewell Pet! Brenda Blethyn is saying goodbye to Vera

The actor on why she’s hanging up the famous detective’s hat after 14 years – and what’s next.

Alexander Armstrong on the day the late Queen Elizabeth played Pointless

The presenter reveals his surprise contestant and how Richard Osman ‘bullied’ him into writing his debut novel.

Jilly Cooper on dogs, sex and bringing Rivals to the small screen

The TV adaptation of Rivals has has been judged a rip-roaring success. We caught up with the book's author.

Omid Djalili | Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Omid Djalili on becoming an honorary man of Suffolk

The Ipswich-based comedian says he's refusing to accept the march of time.

Mishal Husain smiling at the camera | BBC

Mishal Husain on turning the airwaves blue

The BBC Radio 4 Today presenter reveals the responsibility and privilege that goes with her job.

Carol Vorderman: "I’m old enough not to care about what anyone else thinks about me"

The presenter on being sacked by the BBC and why her views are 'career suicide'.

Suzi Quatro: "Granny's got to play a rock festival"

The rock legend on touring at 74 and why she speaks to ghosts.

Author Patricia Cornwell relaxing on a sofa

Crime writer Patricia Cornwell on Kay Scarpetta and life's simple pleasures

Patricia Cornwell on the upcoming TV-series Kay Scarpetta, starring Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis.

author Jojo Miles at a podium with a plain backdrop

Author Jojo Moyes on finding Pilates in her fifties

The best-selling author says Pilates has changed her relationship with her body.

Alastair Stewart on living well with dementia

Stop smoking, go for a walk and do puzzles, says the veteran newsreader.

"Nobody believed I could write - now I'm a best-selling author"

A slow start

Overcoming self-doubt

Connecting with her inner child

Keen to put pen to paper? Five get-started writing tips from Liz Pichon

Related articles