Jude Reid is an author, surgeon and mum to both humans and a border collie. The Nightkeeper’s Apprentice is her debut children’s novel, developed after winning the Kelpies Prize for Writing back in 2020. Read on to find out more about Jude, her inspiration for the story and the time she ran away to join the circus!

Can you describe The Nightkeeper’s Apprentice in 5 words?
Spooky, exciting, thoughtful, magical, (a bit) sad.

What inspired you to write The Nightkeeper’s Apprentice?
I remember the exact moment I thought of the idea for this book – I was sitting in the dark at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, looking out over the water at the lighthouse on Arran, and suddenly I wondered what things other than ships might be drawn towards that kind of light. From there I started thinking about ghosts, and the sort of people who would keep the night, and it all kept going from there. Once I realised it was going to be a story set during the Second World War, I knew I wanted to include something about the Clydebank Blitz – it was such a terrible series of events that cost and changed so many lives, and it’s not widely known about outside the area at all.

What’s your favourite moment in the book and why?
That’s a really tough one! I think it might be the first time that Eilidh sees the lights out over the water – I’ve got a very strong mental image of those rippling blue lights. It’s the point at which we really start to get a sense of the magic and mystery of Mirk Skerry, and I hope it draws the reader in as much as it does Eilidh. My other favourite moment is the last time we see Cam – but I can’t talk about that in case I give anything away!

Are any moments or characters in the book inspired by real people or experiences?
On the surface, The Nightkeeper’s Apprentice is an exciting adventure, where an unsuspecting heroine is packed off to a remote part of the world to live with strangers, only to find that there are secrets on the island… but it’s really about something more than that. It’s really about grief, and loss, and how we come to terms with both, and how difficult it can be to let go of the people we love. I started the book after my grandfather died and while my gran was in her last years suffering from dementia, and those experiences led to two overlapping but very different, very lonely kinds of grief. Writing about Eilidh’s experience was a way of navigating my way through that difficult time, while trying to support my daughters and my dad at the same time.

What do you hope young readers will take away from the story?
Most of all, I hope they enjoy it! If anything stays with them, I’d like them to think that adventures like Eilidh’s are right there to be had, and that Scotland’s wild places are waiting for them to explore – and that the people we love go with us, even if they’re not physically there any more.

Would you rather live in a lighthouse or a secret deep sea cave?
Ooh, that’s really tough. I think it depends how wet the cave is! I think I’d like to have a secret deep sea cave to visit, but come home to a cosy lighthouse where I can have a hot bath and a cup of tea while I listen to the wind whistle round the windows and the waves crash against the rocks – somewhere safe and warm to plan my next wild adventure from.

Why did you choose to write a book for this age group (after previously writing for adults)?

I secretly love writing and reading books meant for this age group best. Most of my favourite books were written for young people – the stories can be about anything at all, there’s always a magic to them, but they’re always so tightly written. There’s no room for waffle in a book of this length, so you really have to focus in on what’s important, what you want to say the most, then tell it as best you can.

Do you have a favourite place to write?

I like to write in lots of places – if I get stuck with a story I usually go for a walk and pick somewhere new to write. When I’m at home I like to write in my study in front of the fire (usually covered in cats), in the park next to my house, and in my local library. I started The Nightkeeper’s Apprentice on the beach at Culzean, and bits of it got written all over the place – on the ferry to Orkney, in a little house in Kirkwall and on the island of Scalpay in the Outer Hebrides. Wherever I go, my current project goes too!

What are your favourite childrens books/authors?
I love anything by Diana Wynne Jones – no one writes magic like she does. My absolute favourite is Fire and Hemlock, but Witch Week and A Tale of Time City are also utterly brilliant. I also love The Spook’s Apprentice series by Patrick Delaney, and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – I thought a lot about all of those while I was writing The Nightkeeper’s Apprentice.

Finally, what are three interesting facts about you?

I work as an NHS surgeon in my day job.

I once ran away and joined the circus.

I love learning and speaking Scottish Gaelic – my family are from the Highlands and were native speakers until my Granddad’s generation.

Okay, we need to know more about your circus adventure!

After we graduated from university, my best friend Daisy and I decided that we wanted to go travelling round Europe. We both worked for a while to save up some money, then bought an extremely rickety old ex-ambulance at auction. It had no suspension and wouldn’t start unless you parked it on a hill and bump started it every time. We did eventually get the suspension replaced, but it was a very shoogly drive from Yorkshire back up to Scotland!

We spent a month converting the inside until it was a lovely camper van (ambulances have really great storage cupboards!), then set out on a sixth-month long adventure to travel round Europe, earning enough money to buy food and fuel by playing music at farmers’ markets across France and Spain. It was all going well until we ran out of money in Portugal, and we used the last of our diesel to get to a Portuguese village who were having a medieval market. We saw there were already performers there and decided to head off, not wanting to interfere with what they were doing.

Except a lovely acrobat from the circus called Carla chased after us, invited us to have food with all the other performers and join them for the festival. Eventually, she offered us a job. We sang and played the accordion at first, then Carla taught me how to do fire-spinning so I joined in with the acrobats in the fire show as well.

We stayed with them for a few months in a converted warehouse that we shared with the circus animals (I slept in a room made out of a packing crate next to the boa constrictors) until we had saved up enough money to continue our tour. It was great! We made some really good friends and stayed in touch with them (even the boa constrictors).

About the Book

What does it take to become a Nightkeeper’s Apprentice?

Sent to a remote Scottish island she’s never heard of and to family she’s never met, twelve-year-old evacuee Eilidh feels lost and lonely. But she’s drawn to the strange lighthouse she’s forbidden to enter.

With the help of a ghostly new friend, Eilidh begins to unravel the island’s mysteries: long-kept family secrets and a dangerous, ancient magic that could change the world as she knows it…

Can Eilidh fulfil her Nightkeeper destiny before the past is unleashed?