Author Glenda Young, photographed with her two first published novels, “Belle of the Backstreets”, and “The Tuppenny Child”, in Waterstones, Sunderland.
Best-Selling Author & Writer
Glenda Young’s novels are set in the northeast coal-mining village of Ryhope, Sunderland, and are published with Headline. Glenda, who graduated from the University of Sunderland with a degree in Journalism, is very proud to be putting the seaside village where she was born on the literary map.
“It’s been emotional delving into the archives, looking at maps and plans of pubs and buildings in Ryhope from 1919. I feel very proud to be writing about my culture and heritage.” - Glenda Young, Author.
Although these are Glenda’s first published novels, she has already built an impressive reputation as an award-winning short story writer. Her short fiction has appeared in magazines including ‘Take a Break’, ‘My Weekly’, and ‘The People's Friend’.
“In the world of historical saga writers, there’s a brand new voice – welcome, Glenda Young, who brings a freshness to the genre.” - Karen Byrom, review in My Weekly.
Glenda Young previously featured on an episode of ArtyParti’s sister podcast, Speak Up Sunderland, also produced by Jay Sykes. In the podcast, Glenda toured hosts Betty and Stevie around her childhood village in Ryhope, and shared about how the village inspired her first novel, Belle of the Backstreets.
“I spent a lot of time at Durham County Record Office, when researching the book. You realise there was a lot of history here, you realise the importance of the pit, and the colliery, and the farms. Ryhope was a very prosperous place. And if you’ve got any kind of interest or heritage at all, once you start looking and unpicking, it gets pretty addictive.” - Glenda Young, on Speak Up Sunderland.
Click below to listen to the podcast in entirety, or visit this link to read more.
Glenda Young - Author, award-winning short story writer
Glenda Young, Author, excitedly pointing at the Waterstones, Sunderland window display - where her novel “The Tuppenny Child” is positioned right alongside Margaret Atwood.
Glenda Young on ArtyParti
Glenda Young will be joining Jay live on ArtyParti on Monday 9th March 2020, when it broadcasts first on community radio station Spark in Sunderland - to share more about her journey, her writing, and her ambitious plans for the future.
Glenda has an unusual claim to fame – she is the creator of the first ever weekly soap opera Riverside to appear in ‘The People’s Friend’, the longest running women’s magazine in the world (the magazine celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2019).
A life-long fan of the soap opera Coronation Street, Glenda has written TV Tie-In Books for ITV about the show. She is also creator of the Coronation Street Blog, which launched in 2007, and is still going strong.
Glenda edits a team of 16 bloggers, reaching the finals of the UK Blog Awards in 2016 and 2018.
