Tom Palmer

Welcome! I hope this website will help readers, parents, teachers and librarians find out more about me and my children’s books. And you can subscribe to my termly e-newsletter here or email to ask me something particular here or use my contact form here.

“Tom Palmer is a true reading hero and has been responsible for motivating many thousands of young people to get into books” Booktrust

The One Show

I am the author of over sixty children’s books. 16 books for Barrington Stoke including 6 award-winning historical fiction titles and three Puffin football series including Football Academy and Foul Play.

Foul Play was short listed for the 2009 Blue Peter Book Award. “An excellent fast-paced detective novel” The Times. More awards here.

Discover what I am currently writing here.
Read my Autumn Term newsletter here.

“Tom Palmer is definitely in the premier league of children’s authors with an impressive back catalogue of soccer stories.” Mumsnet

World Book Day 2025 – Very exciting news!

The news is out. I am so excited to be a #WorldBookDay author. I have written a new Rocky story which has been selected as one of the books you can choose with your World Book Day 2025 vouchers.

In Rocky Takes the Lead – will Rocky be able to take the lead and show both her British and her American friends that they’re all united by football?

Available World Book Day – 6 March 2025
£1 / E1.50 or your WBD voucher

More about Rocky here

More about World Book Day 2025 here

What’s on offer this term, Autumn 2024

Remembrance Day 2024 – film and virtual event
Christmas Book Giving – pupil nominations
Signed Books for Christmas with FREE exclusive Christmas Card
Christmas in fiction : Resist
Christmas in fiction : Arctic Star
2025 Author visits in person / virtual
27 January 2025 10 a.m – Holocaust Memorial Day event
6 March 2025 – World Book Day 2025
NEW Angel of Grasmere resources available from here
All year round FREE Football fiction resources – posters and certificates

Read my Autumn Term newsletter here.

Dyslexia Awareness Week is Monday 7- Sunday 13 October 2024

It’s #DyslexiaAwarenessWeek this coming week and I’d like to raise awareness of what @BarringtonStoke publishers do. For me. For lots of other authors. But mostly for readers.

More here

Remembrance Day 2024

Lake District plane crash illustration by James Innerdale from Angel of Grasmere

My annual Remembrance Day film – Hundreds of Allied planes crashed in the countryside during the defence of Britain during the Second World War, some miles away from villages and roads, many hundreds of feet high up mountains and fells. Thousands of airmen were killed and severely injured. Many sites have memorials to those lost. Tom will speak from the site of one of these air crashes – available from 1 November link to come.

Monday 11 November 2024 –Remembrance virtual event

10.20am – 11.05am with a two-minute silence to mark the Armistice

Art, music, poetry, veteran interviews creating a unique, interactive, live-streamed experience

Upper Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3

Live Zoom webinar with National Literacy Trust and the Royal British Legion – Book now literacytrust.org.uk/events/remembrance-live-assembly-2024/

More about Remembrance Day here

Christmas Book Giving

For over ten years I have asked teachers, TAs and librarians if they would be kind enough to nominate a child they think would benefit from the gift of a book for Christmas. My family and I would like to do the same for Christmas 2024. Closing Date Sunday 17th November 2024

Find out how to nominate a pupil here https://tompalmer.co.uk/christmas-book-giving-2024/

Signed Books for Christmas with FREE exclusive Christmas Card

Signed and dedicated copies of my books make an ideal Christmas gift.

They are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.

And each order made through the Thoughtful Spot will come with a special Christmas Card created by our good friend and illustrator James Innerdale to mark the publication of a new book of mine and a bookmark.

Books can be simply signed by me or using their website you can specify a message like “To Nadiya, Happy Christmas” for me to add.

Order now here.

More here

Monday 27 January 10 am – Holocaust Memorial Day

Next year’s plans are already underway with a virtual event with National Literacy Trust and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and a film, story and writing challenge based around the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

More and sign up for reminders here.

NEW Historical Fiction

“Angel of Grasmere” is my new children’s historical fiction adventure, set in the English Lakes at the start of the Second World War.

In the darkest of days, that’s when the miracles begin…

More about researching and writing and free literacy resources to accompany Angel of Grasmere here .

BUY Signed and dedicated copies are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.

Latest films

2025 Author visits in person / virtual

I am available from January 2025 for historical fiction, football or rugby author events or linking to …

Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January 2025– 80^th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz)
Six Nations (Rugby Reading Game) – begins 31 January 2025

More about my author visits here

“The impact of last year’s visit was massive and has really helped us develop reading with our current year 6 group. In reading surveys and discussions your books always get a mention and are still read by a lot of the year group.” Green Lane Primary School

And discover the choice of bespoke virtual workshops learning options I am still offering to schools here.

virtual visits
my Football Reading Game
my Rugby Reading Game
talks about Fair Trade
a focus on Historical Fiction
writing workshops
assemblies
presentations
workshops
writing-history-with-the-imperial-war-museum
careers talks

“The work of this author is making a valuable contribution to improving pupils’ writing.”Ofsted

“There is no doubt that Tom Palmer has a Growth Mindset!” Reigate St Mary’s

“Many thanks for a great morning with our school. Everybody had a fantastic time and the children are very keen to read the books now. The teachers are very impressed with all the resources that you put together as well.” Thomas’s London Day Schools

“Every single child in the hall, of all ages and stages, absolutely loved what he said and did and I had teachers staying voluntarily (when they had free time, reports to write and other things to do!) and so many of them came to see me afterwards to say how much they had enjoyed listening to him and watching the way in which he engaged with all of our children, from Year 3 to Year 8. We really enjoyed having Tom visit Edgeborough again.” Edgeborough School

More about my school author visits here.

AWARDS latest

I am delighted that my children’s book Resist has just won the 2024 Grampian Grampian Children’s Book Award!

And last year Resist won the

2023 Historical Association Young Quills award
the North East Book Award 2023
the Berkshire Book Award 2023,
the Cheshire Schools’ Book Award 2023
and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.

Thank you readers!

I was thrilled to have been awarded the Ruth Rendell Award for Services to Literacy by the National Literacy Trust in association with the ALCS.

More awards news here

Find out more what I am writing about now here

Buy Books

Signed and dedicated copies of all my books are available personalised to order from my local independent children’s bookshop “The Thoughtful Spot” here.

With an extra special Christmas or birthday card from me on request!

Overseas :
Australia: Boomerang
Canada: Amazon Canada
New Zealand: Wheelers
USA : Indigo books

Visit my bookshop or support your local bookshop HIVE