Andrew Fusek Peters

As a child

I was born in Germany but moved to London when I was two. I was inspired by all sorts of things: reading Enid Blyton, my brother starting to write poetry and me being jealous, falling in love at the first time when I was 11 and writing rubbish love poems! As well as Enid Blyton, I loved horsey books (I rode) and anything by J.R.R. Tolkien. We also had very imaginative teachers at school and I realized for the first time that I could make things up and that words and ideas were free! My childhood was up and down, like most childhoods – I was bullied very badly. But alongside that, my school was in the countryside and we used to make dens, build tree houses, spend hours playing marbles and have incredible hidden fortresses deep inside brambles far from any teacher.

As an adult

When I left university, I moved to Bristol and got a job as a barman, which paid very badly. I was writing lots of poetry by then and one day, I got booked to go into a local school to do a poetry workshop and performance. I played my didgeridoo, did some rhythm poems and got them to make up their own verses. It went really well and even the kids seemed to like it. From that day, I knew I wanted to work with and write for young people. That was twenty years ago – and since then I have performed my poems and stories in over 2000 schools. I spent ages writing to publishers, to say that children liked my stuff, but they kept sending me back nice letters telling me to go away. I was stubborn and persisted until finally they gave in. I have now written and edited over 55 books, many with my wife Polly. Having children was a real inspiration: I love seeing bedtime stories I told my daughter turning into picture books and poems I wrote about my son's tantrums being used in anthologies. The poem 'No-No Bird' in Here's a Little Poem is all about him! We now live in Shropshire in a converted chapel, and I work from my office, high up in the attic with a view over the far hills. It's a wonderful life and nothing beats seeing your words between the covers of the new book. I admit that I like to smell the advance copies when they come through the post – they are my babies!

Things you didn't know about Andrew Fusek Peters

1. I am a pretty good didgeridoo player.
2. I really am the country's tallest poet – six foot eight inches.
3. I once did a duet on didgeridoo with Mark Owen from Take That on a TV programme!
4. I'm a secret middle-aged skateboarder. Don't laugh – I used to do it in the 1970s!
5. I love swimming in outdoor water – pools, lakes, rivers and the sea – even in February.
6. I love reading rubbishy thrillers and anything to do with spies, especially James Bond.
7. I've been juggling for many years. I'm not getting any better, but I know a few tricks.
8. For this season I'll mainly be wearing black. But I used to dress up in orange clothes.
9. Teachers sometimes think I'm bonkers, but the children laugh a lot, so I know I'm doing something right.
10. My favourite place in the world is on the beach in Barmouth, Wales, at sunset.