We're thrilled to have an exclusive interview with Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman in our first children’s publishing themed issue. She speaks to Lucy Coats about her path to publication, top writing tips – and the need for greater diversity in children’s books.

Lucy Coats also looks at the state of the children’s book business, and has some great advice on writing for children. Kate Wilson shares valuable lessons learned while developing apps for children at Nosy Crow.

If you want to break into children’s publishing, children’s agent Hilary Delamere explains how an agent can help; Steven Lenton offers his tips for succeeding as an illustrator; and Suzanne Collier has advice on using LinkedIn to get your next publishing job. Kit Berry reveals how she built a community around her self-published Young Adult books, the Stonewylde series.

There’s also a tutorial on managing WordPress comments, and advice on marketing your books with Pinterest.