TRULY JOHNSTON’s debut, The Shell Keepers—winner of the 2022 Bath Children’s Novel Award—was published in the UK in June 2025 by Chicken House. She shares how learning to work constructively with feedback helped illuminate new directions in her story, and offers thoughtful tips for weaving environmental themes into fiction with nuance and heart.
Congratulations on the publication of The Shell Keepers! What’s it like to see it in the bookshops?
The day after launch I visited seven Waterstone’s shops in central London with a marketing colleague from Chicken House, and my family. It was unreal to see it on the shelves. Over the last few years I’ve often scanned the ‘J’s in the children’s sections of bookshops, working out where I would sit and to see my book slotted into that space was exhilarating.
For those yet to read The Shell Keepers, what is it about?
The Shell Keepers follows the journey of Corrine, a young, mixed heritage girl from London. When her grandfather dies she visits his home at the coast with her family to help clear out his flat. One afternoon at the beach she stumbles upon an incredible shell and an even more incredible a tiny girl, Kauri, living inside it.
Kauri is a Democonch. Her people live in shells and travel the tides landing in places where they can work with nature to help maintain the balance of ecosytems around us. Kauri asks for help as her family are stranded on the sea unable to land.
Corrine is drawn into a mission. She has one week to discover what is wrong with the beach, re-unite Kauri with her family and learn what it means to be a Shell Keeper, a human who works with the Democonch. Along the way she learns that her grandfather was keeping a big secret. Before he died, Siya laid a treasure hunt for Corrine, her cousin Anthony and her sister, Nimali, which they must now follow.
What drew you to writing for children?
I’ve always loved reading and have always written, stories, poems and songs of one sort or another. But it was when I became an Aunty that the magic of childhood stories came back to me. It was wonderful to see how involved in a story my niece and nephew could become and it reminded me of the absolute immersion of becoming involved in a story as a child. I wrote a short story for my nephew about a little boy who found a shell on the beach and then the premise stayed with me and grew into The Shell Keepers. I’ve enjoyed getting caught up in creating the world of the Democonch and writing a story where the children are powerful and can make a difference.
How has your book editorially – firstly after signing with your agent and then with your acquiring editor at Chicken House Books?
Writing The Shell Keepers has been a learning process for me. One of the big insights was learning how to work constructively with feedback and realising the power that talking about a story can have to illuminate new paths in the narrative. With my agent, Lauren [Gardener], I began to rework the villian moving him to someone more immediately relatable to the children and unlikeable without being too odd. I also began to bring Kauri, my shell-dwelling, Democonch heroine, to the fore.
Feedback from my editor, Rachel Leyson, at Chicken House, helped me to be bold in trimming out excess family members who weren’t pulling their narrative weight (sorry excess family members). I also reworked the peril to have greater impact and crystallised the treasure hunt element of the book. I won the Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 with a full manuscript, and since then, working with my agent and publisher I have been able to strengthen the story, make it tighter and more targeted to my audience.
Which part of writing this book came most naturally—and which part challenged you the most?
I found Corrine’s relationship with the democonch easiest to write. When I made Kauri a more prominent character, her personality developed very quickly. I found the villain and the peril hardest to write. Charlie and Mr Mercer took a few iterations to get right. It took time for me to learn how to pitch that threat right to the audience so that it was worrying enough but not overly creepy.
The Shell Keepers explores environmental themes, as Corrine discovers she can make a difference. Can you say a little about your passion for empowering and inspiring children to act for future change.
I’ve always cared about the environment, but in recent years my own awareness of the climate crisis has increased and brought environmental considerations more firmly into my daily life. It is the starkest risk we face as humanity and the result of our disconnect in modern life from the earth we live on and the impact we have on it.
The challenge of changing the course of climate change can feel overwhelming. The level of action at a national and international level is thoroughly inadequate and we need huge societal culture change around how we consume to make a difference. But! But… there are things that individuals can do, and it is, after all, individuals who create culture. So I want children to be equipped, to feel powerful and to shape change for future generations. I also wanted to write a story that reminds us of the wonder in the world around us. I didn’t want The Shell Keepers to feel didactic. It has to be story first. But I don’t think there is any harm in planting seeds of how we can all shape change along the way.
It also includes themes of cultural exchange and family heritage. Why was this important to you.
I am mixed heritage, Sri Lankan / English. When I was growing up I didn’t see protagonists that reflected my lived reality and I wanted to write a mixed main character. In terms of family heritage, this has always been an important part of my identity and for children it can be their whole world, so it is important to value it.
Corrine’s heritage isn’t the point in story, it’s just her life and it shapes her in ways she doesn’t know. One of them being that as a mixed heritage girl she experiences communicating across cultures all the time without even thinking about it. Communicating across difference is important and as our society has become more polarised, it is a skill that is more valuable than ever. There is cultural exchange in Corrine’s heritage but also in how she communicates with Kauri and builds relationships with the democonch. The experience of cross cultural communication plays into not only how we communicate with those around us but how we appreciate our relationship with different species.
We’re so proud to be part of the story of your fantastic book. What did winning the Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022 mean to you?
It was such a boost and a validation to win the prize. Knowing that there were children who had enjoyed reading it at that stage gave me drive to continue working on this story and shaping it. The Children’s feedback was invaluable. Not only was it a thrill to know they had read and liked it but their insights and critique opened up ideas for how I could shape it further. The stamp of approval also helped in the approach to publishers who value the award. It gave me more confidence to see myself as a writer.
Lastly, what advice would you give to writers thinking of entering the Bath Children’s Novel Award 2025?
One of the biggest things I’ve learned over the last few years of bringing this book to life is the value of putting yourself out there and building on what comes back. You can’t know what could happen if you don’t give yourself a chance to find out. And you only do that my taking a risk (event though there is nothing to lose in this risk!) and sharing your work. Believe in your work and give others a chance to see it. Good luck!
Interview by Caroline Ambrose
TRULY JOHNSTON was born in London and is mixed heritage Sri Lankan & English. She has a degree in English Literature from the University of Cambridge, has worked in the charity and public sectors and won the Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022. Truly lives in SE London with her husband, young daughter and three lovely chickens.
The Shell Keepers: delightful and charming, the perfect summer read
An enchanting and sunny seaside adventure – perfect for sunny days ahead! When Corrine picks up a shell on the beach, she doesn’t expect to see a tiny girl inside it. Kauri lives below the sand and sea, travelling with her family on the tides. But now their miniature world is in danger, and they need a shell keeper to keep them safe . . . A cosy middle-grade debut from Truly Johnston, winner of the Bath Children’s Novel Award 2022. A heart-warming tale about a family of miniature people cast adrift in the human world. Shades of The Borrowers in a coastal seaside setting. Themes of belonging, identity, environment and activism, wrapped up in a sunny adventure and treasure hunt.
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Now open for entries: The Bath Children’s Novel Award 2025
