Dea Birkett is a writer and broadcaster

My books began as travel writing, but it was travel which involved very little movement. I’m interested in travelling communities that go nowhere – the crew on a cargo ship, the performers in a circus, and the few remaining inhabitants of Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific. The surrounding landscape may change, but the people in my books always remain the same. It’s the same cast of characters from the beginning to the end of my journey.

Books are the backbone of my work. But day to day journalism provides the immediate gratification. I’m particularly interested in uncomfortable social issues – bullies, false accusers, criminal children among them.

My weekly Guardian column – Travelling with Kids – has huge reader feedback, which is very satisfying and is the subject of the site's FORUM. The Kids in Museums Campaign, the result of one of these columns, is now in its second year.