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
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
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.
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 : Angel of Grasmere
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.
Remembrance Day 2024
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 speaks from the site of one of these air crashes. “At the going down of the sun and in the morning , we will remember them.” Laurence Binyon 
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 Remembrance Day resources 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
Christmas in Fiction : Angel of Grasmere
Christmas crafts, blackout poetry challenge, read the special Christmas chapter or watch Tom reading it all here.
Monday 27 January 10 am – Holocaust Memorial Day
The 2025 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 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
More and sign up for reminders here.
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– 80th 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.
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
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
Schools bumper book pack
offer
33 books for £200
Saving £73
Over 25% discount
Free Delivery
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk
Schools class set offer
15 copies 20%+ discount
30 copies 25%+ discount
100 copies 30% + discount
FREE DELIVERY & SIGNED BOOKPLATES
Please email rosie@rosemaryhillbooks.co.uk for a quote
Email me here for more information or use my contact form here to ask me a question.
Thank you.
