Tales Post – Inside Stripes – Ruth Bennett

by Chelley Toy · January 14, 2016

As part of my prize for winning the UKYABA for Champion Newcomer in March 2015 I was offered exclusivity on all Stripes titles and content as well as a wonderful book voucher and of course a beautiful award!

I thought to coincide with this it would be nice to gain an insight into the team at Stripes and get to know them and their department a little better.

To do this I tasked the lovely people at Stripes with a gruelling questionnaire…..okay maybe it wasn’t gruelling and kind of fun …. *evil laugh*

And Inside Stripes was born….

Over the course of the month Inside Stripes will aim to give people a look into the Stripes world, the team, their departments and more.

**IN OTHER NEWS**

This was my 200th post here on Tales!

*parties*

Here’s a little sneak peak at the Stripes Publishing office!

Who are you?

Ruth Bennett

Which department do you work in?

Editorial. We share an office space with the Design department. My desk is recognisable by the many books and piles of paper (as you might expect!) plus some kind of food and various shoes/items of clothing, as I cycle to work.

What is the departments function at Stripes?

We commission stories and work with authors to develop them. We also work closely with all of the other departments (design and marketing & publicity, in particular) to help bring the books to life!

What is your job title?

Senior Editor

Tell us a little about what you do or things you work on in your department.

The job is much more varied than checking spelling and grammar, although that is an important aspect of it. I commission new books and work with authors on developing ideas. We think about the kind of stories that will appeal to readers, we keep an eye out for which books are currently popular, we spend time talking about ideas and being creative. With every book we publish, we look closely at every single word on the page, as well as thinking about how the words work together as a whole, so we can be sure that every story is the best it can possibly be. I work on a whole range of books – from young fiction for six-year-olds with lots of illustrations, to exciting (and sometimes scary) Young Adult fiction.

What are you currently working on whilst you are answering this questionnaire…if you are allowed to share?

One aspect of the job is that we have to be good at juggling! I’m always working on lots of projects at the same time – some are just beginning and we’re just putting the final touches on others. To mention one in particular, I’m working with Bryony Pearce on the sequel to Phoenix Rising… It isn’t coming out until early next year, so you can’t read it yet but, believe me, it will be worth the wait! My eyes were popping out of my head as I read the first draft, which is always a good sign.

What is the favourite part of your job?

Working with authors to help bring their stories to life. When an author tells me that my editorial comments have helped them solve a problem they were struggling with in a story, I know that I’m in the right job!

Now it’s time for…..Quick-Fire Questions!

Describe yourself in 3 words

Happy, thoughtful, determined

Favourite book?

I find picking favourites almost impossible when it comes to books! ONE of my favourite children’s books is Gobbolino, the Witch’s Cat by Ursula Moray Williams.

My current favourite adult novel is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry… I could go on, but I won’t!

What’s your favourite place on earth?

A rainforest … I’m not picky about which

What’s your favourite food?

Mashed potato

Favourite word?

Banana

What’s the one thing you can’t live without?

Human beings are incredibly resilient, and I would like to think that I could live without absolutely anything, if I had air, food and water. I wouldn’t want to live without people.

If you could time warp yourself to any point in history when would it be, who would you hang out with?

I would go to ancient Egypt and hang out with absolutely anyone and everyone I could. I’m much more interested in the stories of ordinary people, the ones that are mostly lost in historical records, than in spending time with the great and the powerful. In ancient Egypt, women and men were considered equal – perhaps I’d bring back something that the modern world could learn from.

If you had a super power what would it be?

Teleportation. I love to explore new places! I could get to a rainforest whenever I wanted, and I could visit friends and family in far-flung locations much more frequently.

What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?

Burst into tears on stage in front of my whole school because I couldn’t remember the words to Puff the Magic Dragon. I would have been around eight or nine.