Mark Dorey - Interview (August 2026)
Q: What was your best school visit, and why?
I’ve never really had a bad school visit - they’ve all been good, especially when the teachers and the kids are all excited and they provide a nice hot cup of tea!
Q: Can you please tell us three books that everyone should read before they die?
The Hobbit / Any of the Paddington books / and one that I’ve just finished, The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer.
Q: You have said inspiration is everywhere - can you share an unexpected moment that inspired one of your books?
When my two year-old daughter, Seren, brought home a bubble wand that produced huge bubbles. This inspired Polly’s Magic Bubbles and the Quest for Dizzelwood, and the Polly books afterwards.
Q: Many of your books are illustrated by your wife, Liz. What does your creative partnership look like behind the scenes?
I give her the finished manuscript to read, which I mark with red pen directing what sort of picture I would like. Every single time but one, Liz has excelled in what I expected her illustration to look like, very often adding surprising extra touches!
Q: Is the Gospel of John your favourite, if so why?
The Gospel of John was the first book that I read in the Bible but I don’t really have a favourite Bible book.
Q: Polly’s Magic Bubbles is one of your best-known stories, who is Polly based on?
There are two sisters in the town where I live - one has long straight dark hair on which I based Polly; her sister has long curly fair hair on which I based Polly’s best friend Marcia.
Q: You run themed workshops. Which theme has had the biggest impact at schools?
I think my Story of the Welsh flag which goes down well on St David’s Day and my Space Themed one!
Q: As a father, how have your children shaped your writing?
My children have been inspirational in so many ways, and when they were younger, I used to read to them every night, which was a great, father / daughter time for all of us!
Q: You’re based in South Wales. How has the Welsh landscape, community, or storytelling tradition influenced you as a person?
My book, The Mystery of the Un-snowy Mountain and the Great Deep Sleep Miscalculation is based on a dragon secretly living under Rudry Mountain, just outside of Caerphilly.
Q: Have you ever crossed Devil's Bridge in Ceredigion?
Yes
Q: What is the worst job you've ever had?
I have never had a bad job - they have all provided valuable experiences and friendships.
Q: What are you working on next?
I’ve just finished my final edit of my third and last Polly book, and I am working working on my second Peter Oddfellow book, The Red Leaf. The trick is to know when each book is finished so that I don’t keep re-editing it!