Chris Galvin’s middle-grade book The Thing About Giants was shortlisted in the 2021 WriteMentor Novel & Picture Book Awards, and is now out in June 2026 from Walker Books following a five-way auction.
Here, we chatted with Chris about his publishing journey, his experience entering the WriteMentor Awards, and his advice for this year’s entrants.
Tell us a bit about yourself as an author and your upcoming book.
My name is Christopher Galvin (Hello!) and I’m a children’s book author. I’m originally from Croghan, in County Offaly, Ireland and I live in Dublin with my partner, Lynn.
The Thing About Giants (TTAG) is the story of a young, very reluctant giant hunter, named Jacq, and a young giant named Corman, who meet in a forest and join forces to find their way home. It’s a story about hope, action, empathy, and friendship despite differences. The Thing About Giants will be published in Ireland and the UK on June 4th by Walker Books, and in the US on June 9th by Candlewick Press.
Tell us a bit about your writing journey to date, and how you came to be published.
I’ve been writing and reading for as long as I can remember. When I was young, I used to write short stories, up until I went to college where I started to write short plays and films. I didn’t develop the patience for writing anything longform until 2017 when I had an idea that turned into a full-blown novel (unrelated to TTAG). I joined WriteMentor Spark, and was mentored by Emma Smith-Barton who was fantastic, and from whom I learned so much. Then, at a WriteMentor Writer’s Weekend in Dublin in early 2020, I came up with the idea of a city made of giant bones. From there it developed into The Thing About Giants. My mentor, Emma, also worked with me on the early drafts of TTAG.
To be honest, I never expected to be traditionally published. It’s just one of those things you dream about. When I applied to the WriteMentor awards, I didn’t expect to be longlisted, let alone shortlisted. A few months after that, I was shortlisted for another award and offered agency representation from Christabel McKinley at David Higham Associates. She really helped me to bring out what Giants was truly about. With her guidance, I produced a number of drafts until it was ready to send out on submission. It was so exciting when I started to hear positive feedback and that a number of publishers were interested. The book ended up being in a five-way auction, which was the most surreal experience.
Christabel had my back throughout it all (as well as my partner Lynn, who’s a huge part of why Giants is the amazing story it is now, having reviewed and edited every draft from the beginning).
I received some amazing pitches from publishers who were interested in Giants, but ultimately decided to go with Walker Books because their pitch was so brilliant, and their editor, Gráinne Clear, was so full of ideas and passion for the book. It also helped that some of my favourite authors were published with Walker, so I knew I’d be in good hands. After I signed with Walker (and soon afterwards, Candlewick Press) I began the editing process. Both my UK and US editors gave me fantastic notes and I completed three rounds of edits last summer (structural edits, line edits and copy edits). It was a lot of work but it paid off in the end, as it made the book even stronger.
What made you decide to enter the WriteMentor Awards?
I hadn’t applied to a competition like this before, and it seemed to be a kind one, where the people running the competition were rooting for all the applicants. So I thought, why not? The worst case would be that I’d get some feedback and continue to work on TTAG. I hadn’t considered a best-case scenario. I think a lot of writers just don’t think anything nice will happen to their work (and it was like that for me for a long time), so I applied, and then tried to forget about it.
How did entering and shortlisting for the WriteMentor Awards help both your writing career as well as your growth as a writer?
First, it gave me a great confidence boost. When you write a story, there are times you can think it’s not good, and then being shortlisted can tell you, you might just be on to something. Being shortlisted also helped with getting my agent, and I managed to write two other middle grade novels too, which were easier to write because of what I learned from writing TTAG.
Do you have any advice for this year’s entrants?
Apply even if you’re hesitant about it. My manuscript for The Thing About Giants wasn’t perfect (and it has changed a lot since the first draft) but it didn’t have to be. It just had to catch the reader’s attention. Readers can be very forgiving if they get invested, so it doesn’t need to be polished. Just get your story, rough and ready, on the page.
If you could go back in time to speak to your past self when they were first entering the Awards, what would you say to give them a confidence boost?
I’d tell me I was in for a very life changing surprise. I’d say to myself, ‘Even though you won’t win, you will get shortlisted and that will open up a whole new world you’ve only thought about but never believed was possible. And your first novel will be launching in June 2026.’ Though I doubt I’d believe me!
Pre-order The Thing About Giants and follow Chris on Instagram: @galvin.chris
Could you be our next success story?
Enter the WriteMentor Novel & Picture Book Awards now judged by literary agents with a cash prize. Open until the end of March 2026.