How one Newcastle graduate turned a university side-project into publishing success

The story beneath the surface: Will’s path to publication

When Will Hamilton-Davies arrived at Newcastle University from Bristol to study Journalism, Media and Culture, he imagined his future might lie in business. More than a decade later, his hobby of creating little stories for his younger siblings while away at university has led to the publication of two children’s picture books!

Will’s latest title, The Mole and the Mound (And the House Underground), was released by Post Wave Books in May 2026, following the self-published The Shrew With The Flu in 2020. Aimed at 3–5 year olds, it introduces Mole and his muddy mound, which keeps Bird, Beaver and Bee safe during a storm – despite their first impressions. It’s a book about empathy, kindness and the importance of not judging a book by its cover... or, in this case, a mole by his mound!

We recently sat down with Will to find out more about his author journey – which began in his student bedroom in Jesmond.

Find a community in Castle Leazes

“When it came to choosing a university, I suppose I romanticised the idea of moving as far away from home as possible, to give myself a chance of finding out exactly who I was and who I wanted to be – without the influence of my family and friend in Bristol,” Will says. "I think that's quite common. At the same time, my older brother Nathan was already at Newcastle, which it gave me that reassurance of having a home away from home."

Like Nathan (and their stepmum before them), Will spent his first year at Newcastle in the iconic Castle Leazes student halls. “My first thought was, well this is not a castle!” jokes Will. “I heard all the rumours about the cow in the lift, and the accommodation being modelled on a prison – was anyone actually there to corroborate the cow story? Or, thinking about it…the prison one?!!”

The social aspect of Castle Leazes really helped to kickstart Will’s Newcastle experience. He said:

"If you're a nervous 18-year-old wondering whether you'll make friends, Castle Leazes was amazing for that. You get thrown into this community where everybody is studying different things and has completely different interests. You're rewarded for being curious."

That curiosity extended beyond his degree. Will wrote articles for student publications The Courier and The Tab, boxed with Newcastle University’s Boxing Society and even appeared in training videos helping fellow students learn how to use media equipment.

“I remember thinking there couldn’t be a better feeling than seeing something printed with your name on it. When my first article was published in The Courier, I raced to pick up a copy. Unfortunately, they’d accidentally credited it to someone called Sarah!

“Looking back, it was probably for the best, as I’m sure it was a rant about what your Subway sandwich order says about you as a person,” Will laughs.

Will stood on stage in front of a gold curtain speaking to a crowd of children

The beginning of a story

While studying in Newcastle, Will spent a lot of time coming up with business ideas trying to find the right fit for his future career. But it was an unexpected passion during a family holiday that would ultimately shape his story.

When Will was away with his younger siblings one summer break, he found himself reading picture books to them and becoming fascinated by the way they explained big ideas through simple stories.

“I remember saying to my dad and stepmum, ‘I don’t know why more people don’t write books like these.’ Picture books feel like a microcosm of the world. They make complicated things feel intuitive and simple.”

His family challenged him to write one himself. “The first stories were terrible,” he laughs. Undeterred, Will returned to Newcastle and, one evening in his university bedroom, stumbled upon an unusual source of inspiration.

“I was reading about shrews and discovered they rely heavily on their sense of smell. I suddenly thought, ‘How would a shrew cope if it ever got the flu?’ The whole story poured out in one sitting.”

The backseat conversation that changed everything

The manuscript for The Shrew With The Flu might never have left Will’s desk if it hadn’t been for a university friendship and the unlikely support of a “ruthless” retired primary school teacher.

While in the car with his friend’s family for a weekend away, Will was asked what he’d been up to lately. “My flatmate told his mum I had been writing children’s stories. I was mortified – surely no other third year student was doing that!”

But rather than dismissing the revelation, Will was encouraged to share his story with his friend’s grandmother, Sheila, a retired primary school teacher.

“I thought, why not? I wasn’t planning on doing anything with it anyway and the worst thing she could do was tell me it was rubbish – which I’d already heard from my family about other stories!”

Instead, her response was transformative. Sheila told Will to keep working on the book and find an illustrator to bring his story to life.

“She told me my work was crying out for illustration and that she would have loved to of read this story to her students while she was a teacher,” Will told us. “It meant a lot.”

Digging beneath the surface

After successfully crowdfunding and self-publishing The Shrew With The Flu the year after he graduated from Newcastle University, Will continued writing while pursuing his career in marketing and channel management.

It wasn’t always easy. But the inspiration for his second book, The Mole and the Mound, came from a difficult moment during those years.

“One of my siblings jokingly called me lazy at a time when I was working incredibly hard behind the scenes, trying to write and get published. I remember being really upset because I felt like nobody could see what was happening.

“I realised I was a bit like a mole underground, doing lots of work that nobody else could see. Other animals might think nothing is happening because they can’t see below the surface.

“And so, The Mole and the Mound was born. I love that it’s become my first traditionally published book because, in many ways, it’s a message to anyone working towards something. Keep going. People can’t always see what’s happening beneath the surface, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.”

Don’t shelve your dreams – you might regret it later

Today, Will is balancing life as an author with a full-time career. Following the publication of The Mole and the Mound, he has also secured a second book deal with Post Wave Books and is looking forward to releasing a new title in spring 2027.

“There isn’t really a perfect balance,” he says. “You find pockets of time in the mornings, evenings and weekends because you care about the thing you’re building.”

His advice to aspiring writers and creatives is simple: “Please make time for the things you care about. Otherwise, one day you’ll realise you’ve shelved the dream completely. If something matters to you, invest in it regularly.”

Reflecting on his time at Newcastle, Will believes the University gave him something more valuable than a clear career plan.

“Newcastle encouraged experimentation. I arrived wanting to build businesses and spent years coming up with ideas. What I eventually realised was that the thing I loved doing on the side – writing stories – could become something real.”

You can find out more about Will’s writing via his website or by following him @willhdofficial on Instagram.