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

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.

Angel of Grasmere has been nominated for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing and longlisted for the 2025 York Book Award. Thank you!

What’s on offer Christmas and next term 2025

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 FREE posters and resources
All year round FREE Football fiction resources – posters and certificates

Read my Christmas Extra newsletter here.

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 and bookmark.

The exclusive illustration was designed by our good friend James Innerdale to mark the publication of Angel of Grasmere.

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 by hand.

Order now here.

More here

Christmas in Fiction : Angel of Grasmere

Discover how young Tarn Fothergill celebrated Christmas Day 1940 with her family and friends – farmer’s boy Peter, evacuee Eric, and Land Girls Margaret and Kathleen.

Christmas crafts, blackout poetry challenge, read the special Christmas chapter or watch Tom reading it 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 80^th 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– 80^th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz)
Six Nations (Rugby Reading Game) – begins 31 January 2025
6 March 2025 – World Book Day 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

Exciting news! Angel of Grasmere has been nominated for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing and shortlisted for the 2025 York Book Award and shortlisted for the Dudley Children’s Book Award. Thank you!

My last children’s book Resist won the

2024 Grampian Grampian Children’s Book Award!
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.