Interview with Author, Harry Woodgate about their children’s book, Grandad's Pride

Pride month is almost here and it feels like this year it might be more important than ever to get out and celebrate. With Drag Queen Storytime and LGBTQ+ books under attack in the United States, Pride in 2023 is another chance to resist and rejoice.

One of the best ways to celebrate Pride is with your loved ones, especially family, whether found, biological (or any other way you define it). In 2021 author and illustrator Harry Woodgate wrote the award winning children’s book Grandad’s Camper. In it a young girl, Milly, listens to her grandad’s tales of the travels he had with Gramps, particularly in their camper van. Milly encourages Grandad to fix up the camper and they carry on the adventures together. It’s a multigenerational look at queer families, something sorely missing in media. It’s touching, funny, and beautiful.

This year, Harry released a sequel , Grandad’s Pride. And let me tell you, it’s pure delight. Milly discovers Grandad’s flags from when he and Gramps used to go to Pride celebrations. Milly loves the idea so much that she and Grandad organize the very first ever Pride in their village! There is a swelling of community support and Milly begins to understand the context of Pride as an act of rebellion and celebration. It’s a fabulous book. The vibrant illustrations are obviously crafted with love and intent. There are a variety of genders and sexualities represented with an inclusivity that fervently believe the world will follow through with some day. It is a book that fills the reader with hope and glee.

It is an automatic must for your bookshelf this June. In fact, it’s a must for your bookshelf all year round.

This week I had the absolute joy of interviewing Harry Woodgate about Grandad’s Pride and left it feeling even more enchanted with this author and their book. I think you will too.

Chrysta: I read that one of your reasons for writing Grandad’s Camper was to provide children with a storybook that showed gay elders. What inspired you to write a sequel?

Harry: Yes, that was absolutely one of the inspirations behind the first book! With the sequel, it was mainly because I didn’t feel ready to leave the characters quite yet. I was chatting to my UK publisher about what I wanted to do after Grandad’s Camper, and whilst we were talking about a few different ideas I began writing a new story for Grandad and Milly. I think because they already existed on the page, it was easier to imagine them going on new adventures, and Pride seemed like the most natural option. In terms of worldbuilding it allowed me to introduce a larger community and really establish a sense of place, and it also provided the opportunity to look further into the history of LGBTQ+ movements throughout the last 50 years or so, and to show that where we are today is simply another step in a long timeline of individuals, families and historical events.

Chrysta: Do you think there are more Milly and Grandad adventures in your future?

Harry: I don’t currently have any plans for further stories, but I haven’t ruled it out! I’d want to feel really convinced by an idea before I pursue it, because the worst thing is when you read something and it’s clear that it’s only been written to add another title to a series. I do love some of the supporting characters in Grandad’s Pride though, so maybe one day they’ll find their way into another book, who knows.

Chrysta: Being the author and the illustrator of Grandad’s Pride, does the story develop for you first as words or as images?

Harry: Generally, what develops first for me is a visual impression of the world in which a story exists, although more often than not I begin the drafting process with a rough version of the text, before moving on to sketches and storyboards. In the case of Grandad’s Pride, the characters and Grandad’s cottage were already there, so it felt like I was starting on more solid foundations and focusing on expanding the world rather than building everything from scratch.

Chrysta: What was the most rewarding part of creating Grandad’s Pride?

Harry: It was a pleasure to return to Grandad and Milly’s world. The seaside village where Grandad lives is inspired by various places that mean a lot to me, either now or when I was growing up, so it felt like a warm, welcoming place to come back to and share with readers. Of course, just as rewarding is hitting ‘send’ on the final illustrations…

An illustration of a British seaside village with various Pride flags hanging in store windows and flyers advertising the local Pride parade

Chrysta: Do you have a favorite Pride experience or memory?

Harry: The last (and first!) time I went to Pride was in Brighton 2018. I got embarrassingly drunk, lost my friends in a nightclub and, in a panic, ran away and ended up falling asleep in a random churchyard, missing the last train home. Before that, though, there were ice creams on the seafront, lots and lots of glitter, and a feeling of celebration I still remember today.

Chrysta: What is your favorite way to celebrate Pride?

Harry: I’d love to say going out to a big parade and joining in the celebrations, but really, just meeting up with my close friends for a chill day is more my kind of thing. Bonus points if there’s cake involved.

Chrysta: What authors, illustrators, or children’s books inspired you as a child? Or continue to inspire your work today?

Harry: As a child: Mick Inkpen, Chris Riddell, Nick Butterworth, Quentin Blake, Garth Nix. Today, oh, there are too many to count. Dapo Adeola, Alice Oseman, Oliver Jeffers, LD Lapinski, Alex Gino, Joe Todd Stanton, Ian Eagleton, Akwaeki Emezi, Elle McNicoll, Benjamin Dean and many more. We’re in a brilliant time for children’s books and the quality and diversity of what’s being published today is constantly inspiring.

Chrysta: What is the one thing you really hope children take away from your books?

Harry: That their experiences, identities, families and dreams matter, and that they shouldn’t feel pressured to change or ignore any of those things to satisfy someone else.

Chrysta: What words of encouragement do you have for LGBTQ+ children and how they can keep pride going year round?

Harry: Who you are is special, so celebrate that and know that there is a whole community of people who are right there with you. Lots of schools and communities have LGBTQ+ groups which can be a wonderful place to meet other young LGBTQ+ people, but if you don’t feel confident enough yet, books can provide such a powerful space to learn and explore your own feelings at a pace that suits you.

Chrysta: Grandad’s rainbow jumper, where can I get one?

Harry: They’re not identical, but Pachamama Knitwear. I don’t know if they ship to the US but they have several rainbow jumpers that I keep wanting to get.

Written by Chrysta Naron