While Nick Manns was growing up, his father was in the RAF. Every two years his family would pack up and move to another RAF base – but one of the things that stayed firm during his childhood were the stories he could fetch from the local library. Even in some remote desert outpost, there was always a book to transport him to other worlds. He has written stories and poems every since. Formerly a secondary school English teacher, he is now a curriculum coordinator for Leicester College. A published writer of books about teaching, Control-Shift was his debut novel, shortlisted for the North-East Book Award and the Branford Boase Award, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and nominated for the Stockton Award. He is also the author of Seed Time and Dead Negative, published by Hodder Children’s Books.

Click here for Nick Manns’ introduction to Control-Shift Teacher’s Resource





Writing Together is a partnership of literature organisations and government bodies, all working with the shared aim of bringing writers into schools. Believing that working with a writer is a unique way for children and young people to understand the power of the written word and the excitement of creative composition, Writing Together want every school to have a regular programme of writers in school and all pupils to work with a writer at least once in each key stage.

Nick Manns is one of the Hodder Literature writers who is taking part in the Writing Together project.

Click here for the Writing Together website