Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your creative practice?

I’m a writer based in Shipley, though I’m originally from Bridlington on the Yorkshire coast. My work tends to explore themes of nature connectedness, the more-than-human world and eco-anxiety – often with a thread of mythology or folklore running through it.

Can you talk us through the piece you created for the pack – what inspired it, or what did you want learners to take away from it?

I wrote a story in the voice of Nancy de Garrs – a working-class girl from Bradford who became nursemaid to the young Brontës. She was an important part of their early lives, especially after their mother died, but she didn’t have the same opportunities they did. I understand she couldn’t even sign her name.

That “luck of the draw” at birth shapes whose stories get remembered – and whose don’t. I come from a working-class background myself, so I was drawn to the chance to bring Nancy’s story to light.

I imagined her sharing Yorkshire folklore with the Brontë children – stories like the shape-shifting gytrash that appears in Jane Eyre. My piece is set during the Crow Hill Bog Burst, a real event in 1824. Nancy and her sister Sarah rescued the younger Brontës from the disaster. I was fascinated by that – both as a pivotal moment and as a metaphor. Nancy had worked for the family since childhood. By the end of that year, her services were no longer needed. I wondered if she sensed change coming, and what that must have felt like.

Why do you think it’s important for young people to explore local stories and histories?

Because they can help us feel connected – not just to where we live, but to the people who came before us. Especially the ordinary people. Those who walked the same streets, stood on the same moors, and took comfort in the same landscapes.

And sometimes, the process of looking can bring joyful surprises. While researching this story, I discovered that I share a birthday with a bog burst!