Verity McLellan, writer of children’s fiction featuring neurodiversity.
Author of The Soul Lottery, shortlisted for the Guppy Books Open Submissions for Middle-Grade Writers, 2023.
Passionate about nonsense.
Welcome:
Hello, my fellow whimsy walkers,
I’m Verity, and I’m a Scottish writer specialising in fiction for children and young adults featuring neurodiverse characters having wild and wacky adventures. I grew up before neurodivergence was really considered for girls, and so fudged my way through school and friendships. I was that ‘different’ girl, pushing boundaries, taking risks, saying weird stuff, and forever striving for what I thought was perfect or expected. Then, at the age of 42, I was told I had ADHD. This was the beginning of a helter-skelter journey through grace, acceptance, forgiveness, and most vitally - freedom. Freedom to love being different, and to live life with a wild, unbound beauty.
This is what I wish for my readers, whoever they are on the inside.
I know we carry secret struggles and curl up inside like winter leaves when the world wants a version of us that’s smaller/quieter/simpler. Yet we also carry a fire that burns brighter and hotter and higher when we set it free.
Adventure is for everyone, our senses are magic, and young hearts hold the power to change everything. We just need to listen.
So grab a book, cosy up, and let your heart soar on a story…
About:
I grew up in the Scottish countryside with lots of animals and lots of mud. This was a time of tree climbing, bike riding, and extensive daydreaming. After school, I worked in various jobs, from waitressing to banking. I moved to Australia in 2003, where I married and raised a family, and had the privilege of training as a midwife in a diverse community. As a side, I wrote commissioned guides for a popular online game. In 2015 I moved back to Scotland, the home of my heart, and gave birth to our youngest child. My main role became supporting our uniquely neurodiverse children, and I am a staunch advocate for inclusive education and living.
Throughout everything, I was always drawn to stories, and my desire to write never waned. The more books I read, the more I wanted to write, and my mind was overflowing with ideas, so in 2020 I made the decision to enrol in a writing course and commit to learning the craft and writing full-time. Since then I have completed my first upper middle-grade novel The Soul Lottery, and am busy writing my next.
And I still have lots of animals.
Projects:
The Soul Lottery: Shortlisted for Guppy Books Open Submissions for middle-grade writers, 2023. A madcap scavenger hunt through a zany, pie-shaped afterworld zone, featuring a twelve-year-old boy with ADHD who is on the clock to save his best friend’s life. Through an eclectic gang of friends, The Soul Lottery explores friendship, neurodiversity, and self-acceptance in a colourful, cinematic world bursting with adventure. Watch this space for publishing updates.
Current WIP: Middle-grade comedy adventure: What if a notorious school for ‘bad kids’ was a front for a secret organisation training kids in the arts of mischief? Starring 12-year-old Marsali, a courageous doodler with dyspraxia.
Current WIP: Young chapter book: Lupin Lyall doesn’t know she has Werekin blood - and neither does her Werekin-hating foster family. Then a talking wolf turns up…
Other and future projects: Two middle-grade adventures based on Scottish lore and superstition, and a young adult prehistoric fantasy featuring an autistic female protagonist.
The Complete Novel Course
The Novelry, 2020-2021
The Big Edit Course
The Novelry, 2021-2022
Writing for Children & Young Adults
The Golden Egg Academy, 2023 - Present
