If your children come home one day enthusing about creative writing and planning out their authorial careers, chances are that Antony Lishak has visited their school.
The author and creative writing coach visits around 120 schools every year and is evangelical about making children feel that they can become authors. "I tell them there isn't just one author in the room, there are 31 authors."
Now he's unveiled a new project to bring pupils and teachers closer to the people who write children's books. His Author Hotline website (www.authorhotline.com) features child-friendly interviews with authors, which help teachers arrange school visits and provide material for children to read and
discuss.
The website has been active for less than a month and already has profiles of 300 authors, including best-selling writers Michael Rosen, Adele Geras and Liz Kessler. They answer questions about everything from their favourite foods to their writing habits.
"The aim is aspiration," says Mr Lishak, "children will see that authors are people like them, and it will shed light on the chaotic beauty that is the creative process. There's no one way of doing it."
Mr Lishak, 51, grew up in Stamford Hill and qualified as a teacher. He continued working in the classroom for many years after his first book was published in 1988. He has written 47 books for children, including seven novels.
He lives in Barnet, and is a member of New North London Synagogue where his wife Deborah Koder is an organiser of the drop-in centre for destitute asylum seekers. Antony Lishak is a "passionate" supporter of the centre and says there is a strong link with his writing. "When you meet people who have lost everything, then you realise how important it is to find your voice and be able to tell your story."