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Dig into the Story on Scoop
‘I think Scoop is a wonderful idea and I will be suggesting a subscription to all the parents of our junior school pupils.’ (Lucy Elphinstone, Head of Francis Holland School). This kind of praise has been music to the ears of the team busy working on the launch issue. But what is Scoop, you may be asking? Founder Joanne Owen explains.
As children’s magazines go, we’re a pretty new kid on the block! In short, Scoop is an exciting new monthly print magazine for 8–12 year-olds. Each month, subscribers will receive a reader-focused, thoughtfully designed magazine that’s packed with over forty pages of original, diverse fiction and non-fiction that will provoke thought, inspire action and encourage creativity.
Our background
The first seed of Scoop was sown when our founder and publisher, Clementine Macmillan-Scott, was researching a book for her mother, the social historian Juliet Nicolson. While reading about childhood in the 1930s, Clementine discovered a ground-breaking publication called The Children’s Newspaper, which sold over 500,000 copies a week in its heyday. Inspired by the newspaper’s passion for enthusing children about the world without ever talking down to them, and by the fact that nothing like this existed for today’s young people, the seed was watered, and grew, and team Scoop was formed …
Our team
The Scoop team are all passionate about children’s books and inspiring children to explore the wider world. While Clementine has worked as Coordinator of the Galle Literary Festival and the Galle Children’s Festival, our Editor-in-Chief is Sarah Odedina, who oversaw the publishing of Harry Potter, set up Hot Key Books and is now Editor-at-Large for Pushkin Press. My role is marketing director and I’m a children’s and YA author and reviewer, and have worked for Bloomsbury Children’s, Macmillan Children’s, Walker Books and Nosy Crow.
Our ethos and content
Scoop is about indulging children’s love of the unexpected. Our aim is to enthuse children about the written word in as many ways as possible. It’s not only about books; it’s about all forms of story, hence our Dig Into The Story motto. Each issue will include short stories, poetry and graphic fiction that will excite and entertain. It will include biography and non-fiction, exploring everything from history and science, to art and the unexplained. We’re also featuring comic strips, activities, puzzles and jokes, and we’re always looking for an international perspective. Scoop is created for children, and it will also be in part by children as we run at least three competitions a month on themes and ideas covered in the magazine. For example, in the first issue we are launching with a playwriting competition as we have a feature by Tom Stoppard on how to write a play.
Beside the longer-form fiction, our regular features include ‘Tales of Two Cities’, which offers fascinating insights into how readers’ peers live around the globe. ‘Trailerblazer Through Time’ will take an absorbing look at amazing historical innovators and influencers, while ‘Get Your Game On’ offers an assortment of creative activities, with a strong visual as well as written element. And there’s much more besides: Scoop is about finding as many ways into a story as possible.
Our contributors
Scoop will feature some of the very best creators of literary and visual content for children. Our first issue features fantastic poems by Neil Gaiman and John Agard. It showcases superb short stories by Catherine Johnson and Gareth P. Jones. Within its pages, readers will find out how Abi Elphinstone hunts out stories, and discover which objects mean the most to Laura Dockrill. Future issues will feature the incredible talents of Lucy Coats, Eoin Colfer, Jacqueline Wilson, Emerald Fennell, Philip Womack, Chris Priestley and A.F. Harrold.
And our creative competitions and reader review slots offer young people oodles of opportunities to contribute to Scoop. Talking of whom …
Our readers
Scoop will be the best present for any child who deserves a treat. It’s for children who are passionate (or about to be passionate!) about reading, who want to know what’s going on in the world, who have a terrific sense of humour, and who love the idea of writing for a magazine and winning creative competitions. Not least, Scoop is for children who will be thrilled to receive their very own magazine in the post, addressed only to them (many people have mentioned that Scoop reminds them of the much-loved, and much-missed, Puffin Post).
Scoop is a magazine about taking part. Young people can get involved right now by visiting our website and entering our creative competitions for a chance to be published in Scoop.
We’re also publishing book reviews by children, and are planning to host a series of scoop-tacular (sorry – couldn’t resist!) creative workshops at festivals. At these fun interactive events, run by experts and authors, attendees will be inspired to create their own stories.
So there you have it. That’s Scoop. We hope readers will enjoy digging into our stories and finding new ways of looking at and engaging with the world.
To subscribe to Scoop, please visit the website.
Scoop costs £40 for an annual family subscription for ten issues, and £150 for an annual school subscription (five sets of ten issues).
Issue one launches on 22nd September 2016.