Catherine Wilkins
About Author
Catherine Wilkins' new novel, You're Not the Boss of Me, as a hilarious look at school talent shows, chaotic families, and sexism in schools.
Catherine is a writer and comedian. She writes jokes and stories which she performs around the country to strangers in the dark, trying to make them laugh. Catherine has always wanted to write funny stories for children and is finding the whole process more exciting than that time she bungee jumped. Which is pretty exciting. If you think about it.
Interview
You're Not the Boss of Me (Nosy Crow Books)
March 2022
Amy Miller is a very positive person and she is fully prepared to be the star of the Lower School Comedy Review - until the boys are put in charge...
Competition to win a copy of You're Not the Boss of Me
Author and comedian Catherine Wilkins explores sexism, toxic masculinity and being true to oneself in her hilarious new book, You're Not the Boss of Me.
Q&A with Catherine Wilkins
1. You're a comedian by trade - do you still do stand-up? What brought you into writing for teenagers?
I have always loved jokes and funny stories. I have a strong background in comedy but mainly only do live shows now as part of a comedy podcast team. I wanted to write for teenagers because I wanted to write the kind of books that I would have liked to read when I was growing up.
2. What kind of books do you most enjoy writing?
I really like writing funny books. I think lots of things in life are quite silly, and finding the joke can often make the scary things less upsetting. I like how funny books can surprise and entertain while still covering serious subjects as well.
3. Can you tell us about your new book, You're Not the Boss of Me?
This book is all about Amy Miller, an enthusiastic, ambitious, clever and funny Year Nine girl who loves comedy and wants to write and perform comedy sketches for her school comedy show. But unfortunately for Amy, some of the boys decide they are in charge of comedy, and they make it impossible for her to be a part of the fun. Eventually Amy realises that some of what is happening is sexism, and she has to take a stand.
4. What inspired the story? Do Amy's sketch-writing talents draw on your own school days?
I mean, yes, pretty much. (You have to write about what you know!) I was an avid comedy fan and often trying to be funny and write funny things. There is a thin line between being funny and being quite annoying which Amy and I both had to learn to tread with care. And I have also encountered bizarre proclamations and gatekeeping around anything considered artistic, which doesn't make sense under investigation.
5. What makes you feel you have an idea you want to pursue - or is it your characters who make the story happen?
Once you have a good, well rounded character, it's almost entirely up to them what happens. Well, you decide what obstacles will befall them, but it's clear what they would do about it. Sometimes if I'm defending a character from editorial change, by saying something like, 'oh no, they hate that music, they wouldn't be listening to that,' I feel like I must sound a bit like when my four-year-old son claims that it's his teddy bear who thinks they should all have some chocolate buttons.
6. Can you tell us a bit about your main character, Amy, and how she developed?
I had really wanted to write about a teenage girl character who was confident. Actually properly, audaciously confident. Someone who really didn't care what other people thought, or about being 'cool' at school. And not because she was too cool to care, but because she had done the maths and decided it was better to be a bit naff and have fun being her authentic self. It can be hard to accept that not everyone will like you and be at peace with that. I wanted to see what that would look like in a story. There are already so many books about feeling insecure, which is great, because lots of people feel insecure and under peer pressure. But there's very few maps showing the way for the opposite of that. So that's what I wanted to do.
7. Why did you decide to look at sexism in this novel, and was it hard to write about it and stay funny (rather than angry)?
Sexism is a serious problem in the real world, but it is also ridiculous. Anything ridiculous can be joked about, it just has to be done carefully. Correctly employed anger can fuel comedy. As with anything serious, there's a thin end of the wedge as well as the much worse thick end.
This book is age appropriate for it's readers, so mainly focused on the 'lighter' side of sexism, which of course still has far reaching effects and needs to be addressed. Sexism needs to be examined, scrutinised, exposed, logged, talked about, mocked, educated and legislated against, and to have that legislature followed on through on. But I can't do all those things, so I have settled mainly on scrutinising and mocking in this book.
8. How do you also get the boys' perspective on sexism and toxic masculinity?
Sexism hurts everybody. No humans want to only be allowed to feel half their emotional range. I have a lot of empathy for boys who feel under toxic and sometimes violent pressure to conform to things they might not feel comfortable with. It's very difficult to stand up for anything when there is so much shame based bullying. But we have to try. The enemy isn't a person, it's a dysfunctional culture that makes people feel they have less choices than they really do.
9. What would you like your readers to take from Amy's experiences?
I hope I have created a very funny and entertaining book. I also hope the story gives some insight into recognising some of the signs of sexism, and some of the things that can be done about it. I hope readers feel empowered to make choices that work for them.
10. Any stand-out lines in You're Not the Boss of Me that you're proud of writing?
I have great friends, Sadie and Mai. (We're officially nerds but that is just sort of school-speak for "really brilliant and clever".)
And that's what Socrates himself said.
Well, he said: "When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."
I know he wasn't exactly talking about All Saints High, but I think it still applies perfectly.
And that's why people sometimes call me a nerd. Or bossy. Or fat.
Because of the Socrates thing.
(And, sure, maybe partly because I frequently quote the Socrates thing.)
11. Where and when do you do your best writing?
I rotate between my desk, my sofa and my bed. I typically do my best writing when my children have slept through the night.
12. What are you writing currently?
Slightly too many things. But hopefully more funny books for children and teenagers.
13. What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you in real life - and have you used it in a novel?
I don't know if it was the funniest thing that ever happened, though it seemed like it at the time. When I was eleven, my friend got told off by the teacher and he had to stand up. I moved his stool back so when he sat down again he fell on the floor. (Sounds mean now, but it was the kind of thing he did to me all the time too). Anyway, I put it (slightly changed) in the 'My Best And Other Enemies' series.
You're Not the Boss of Me!
