Q&A with author Ashley Hickson-Lovence

You’ve written successfully for adults, what attracted you to write for young people, and what were the joys and challenges?
It began with the voices from the young people I work with: the sharp wit, the quiet struggles, the crippling insecurity in that never-ending quest to just feel like you belong. I qualified as an English teacher when I was twenty-three and so writing for young people felt like a continuation of that work, just on the page instead of in person. The joy? Seeing them – particularly young Black boys – reflected truthfully in the story. The challenge? Persuading them to read it. Young readers are honest. If it doesn’t ring true, they won’t read past the first few pages.
Wild East is a verse novel. What do you like about the form and what does it mean you can do, that prose might not?
Verse books give you space to breathe. There’s more room to let the language sing. I love how it invites the reader to lean in, to feel the rhythm of a thought, a memory, a decision. In my opinion, there’s more room for experimentation and subtext too; sometimes what’s left unsaid speaks the loudest.
You’ve drawn on your own experiences for this story – how did that shape the book?
That’s true. Emotionally, it’s grounded in places I’ve walked, conversations I’ve had, moments that have stayed with me (including the death of my friend, Nass, when I was sixteen). Growing up in London, working in schools, navigating the weight of expectation and identity as a young Black boy, those experiences helped form the emotional truth of the book. It’s not all my life, but it’s definitely shaped by my lens and some of the things I’ve seen and experienced. Hopefully that power of authenticity comes through.
Katie mentions the playlist for the book and how helpful it was. Do you always have a playlist, and if so, how do you use it?
From grime to pop to classical music, music helps me connect to the mood, the tone, the inner life of the characters. It sets the atmosphere in the background as I write. Sometimes a song becomes a scene. Other times, it’s just there to help me settle into the world of the book. It’s like a companion during the process, always there to anchor me, especially when I’m writing a particularly dramatic or deep scene.
What were the elements of the book that Katie asked you to work on, or that you worked on together most? Were they as you expected?
Katie really encouraged me to go deeper, to stay longer in the emotional moments. We worked on structure too, figuring out where the story needed space, where it needed pace. It was a collaborative, respectful process. At times, she saw things I hadn’t yet seen, and that kind of editorial insight was invaluable.
What advice would you give to young people interested in writing, either as a hobby or as a career?
Write bravely. Write consistently. Read widely. Writing is a way of thinking, of feeling, of understanding the world and your place in it. You don’t need permission, just begin. Jot down fragments, sketch out voices, experiment. Writing can be solitary, but storytelling is always about connection. Your voice matters. Let it grow.
Q&A with editor Katie Sinfield

What most impressed you most about Ashley’s book when you first read it, and what stands out about his writing?
The electrifying prologue and Ronny’s emotional arc notwithstanding, I also loved the way Ashley fully captured so many different voices in Wild East. Fleshing out main characters takes care enough – how much of their backstory do you bring to the current story, what do you want them to experience, learn and ultimately leave the reader with? But to take as much care with the supporting characters so that the reader roots for them too, just demonstrates the thoughtfulness Ashley brings to his writing. That really captivated me as a reader, I felt like he was opening a window for me to look out onto a richly drawn landscape. And what stands out is the authentic teenage voice Ashley has captured, through the gift of his writing and the vast experience he brings as a former teacher.
Are there particular challenges of editing a verse novel?
I adore poetry, but this was my first time editing it in a verse novel. So I watched YouTube videos by fantastic performance poets, including Ashley, to think about how it could read and sound. And I would read the drafts aloud to better understand his cadence, because there were times when Ashley had cleverly woven in that sense of lyricism without always using a clear rhyming couplet at the end of each line to give the reader the beat. Doing these things helped me spot where we might need something more, or something less. I also enjoyed working with our incredible design team to figure out how to augment the text in a way that felt respectful to the story, added something interesting for the reader but kept the reading experience accessible, not gimmicky or distracting.
As an editor, what do you think marks out the best writing for the YA audience?
Voice. It’s tricky, capturing an authentic-sounding teenage voice that doesn’t try too hard to be current, and doesn’t distract you by overlaying too much adult experience from the author. When you read something that does it well, like Wild East did, it grabs you by the hand, pulling you through the story from start to end, and just feels incredibly exciting and special.
Are there particular considerations you need to bear in mind when publishing for the YA audience and particularly in books based, as Ashley’s is, on real life events?
For teens I think it’s incredibly important to trust the reader to reach their own conclusions, give them the opportunity to sit with the feelings within a scene and give the writing chance to breathe, before rushing in with too much explanation or lessons to be learned. It’s tempting to be didactic, but I think that’s where you could lose them. And when it comes to books based on real-life events, as an editor you have to listen to your author, have very open conversations with them – why would I tell them something doesn’t sound authentic to me, if I haven’t lived that same experience? Wild East really was a collaborative project, and though I helped shape the story I really learned and grew a lot from working on it with Ashley.
What is your favourite scene in Wild East and why?
The prologue will always keep a place in my heart as it was my first time experiencing Ashley’s writing. It’s incredibly pacy and cinematic, and delivers a real emotional punch at the end. It’s also not an easy read but it is important, as it serves to set up Ronny’s entire journey. On the flipside I love the scene towards the end where Ronny is doing a pub quiz and sneaking off to the loos to sip magnums with his friend. I think it might capture some truth for young readers, but it also delivers a sense of nostalgia for adult readers, as Ronny gets progressively drunker.
What do you find most enjoyable about being an editor?
Collaboration. Whether that’s with my authors as we untangle a tricky plot together, with agents to give our authors the best publishing experience, or with my colleagues – I love brainstorming titles, straplines, covers, strategies. I find every stage of a manuscript, from first draft to print, exciting, and I’m constantly learning new things. Its cliché but no two days are the same, and that suits me very well.
Wild East is published by Penguin, 978-0241645444, £8.99pbk
Thank you to Ashley Hickson-Lovence and Katie Sinfield for answering our questions.