One of the liveliest demands for new material is for children's writing. Books for the very young are as important as ever and, despite television and computers, teenage fiction is popular as never before. Not only that, but this course has been developed especially to meet a keen requirement from our existing and would-be students. One of the attractions of writing for children is that often it paves the way into the market for adult work; another that it is refreshingly different from all other writing genres. Often stories (such as Winnie the Pooh) develop from being told to our own children.

This course helps in three main ways. Firstly, it should give students confidence to develop their own originality. Secondly, it will improve the technique of writing, helping the growth of strong points and overcoming weak ones. Finally, though inevitably this has to be placed first within the course itself, it defines markets that will not only help maximise the chances of successful publication, but possibly prevent wasted time since publishers' requirements are often pretty specific, especially regarding age ranges, length and therefore price.

Everything the children's writer needs to know (for example, how illustrations are commissioned, paid for and generally handled in picture books) is included in the course. It goes without saying that the course has been prepared by a highly-successful well-known children's writer, and that the tutors are thoroughly professional with practical experience as successful children's writers themselves.

We begin with a study of the market place, explaining how it works, in fiction and non-fiction, what publishers are looking for and what they do not want. Current trends are explained, and of course age ranges are discussed in detail since the book successfully bridging two age ranges will often have a wider market. Then writing style is examined in depth. While children's writers of course have to find their own style, often it can be improved. Clarity is vital. Picture books are brought into focus. How do you choose your subject and structure your story and what is known to work best or prove difficult?

Subject matter, theme and plotting considers topics such as originality and changing trends, creating characters and your own plot, and describes the different techniques required for the beginning, middle and end. Then there is a close look at series, a growing part of the market. Older fiction comes next: a booming area.

The role of packagers, the non-fiction market, poetry, magazines and comics are among the topics covered in a round-up of other kinds of children's work. The course ends with an in-depth look at how best to sell your work.

The written material is only the bare start to the course, the main value being in the individual tuition. A class of one is especially valuable to the children's writer since there is more specialisation in this than many writing genres. As with our other specialist courses, the first two home study exercises are pre-set, after which your individual hopes and aspirations, strengths and weaknesses will be assessed by your tutor in setting work appropriate for each individual case. Remember, your tutor will almost certainly have been there before!