A late night followed by the dawning realisation that the clocks had sprung forward an hour while I’d been sleeping, had left me tired and bleary-eyed for day two of the Oxford Literary Festival.What was I doing going to a lecture at 10am on a Sunday (9am real time) anyway?I hadn’t been very good at going to lectures as a student and, now that I’m working, my weekends are prized possessions not to be squandered.My tired mood soon evaporated in the sunshine though, and when I arrived in Oxford the dreaming spires woke me up.Everywhere looks great when the sun is on, but Oxford… well… it must be up there with the best of them.I made my way to Christ Church to collect my ticket to hear agent Leah Thaxton, publishing director of Egmont, and Julia Churchill, of the Greenhouse Literary Agency, share their views on what makes a successful children’s book author.On the way down Oxford’s wide streets and through its narrow alleys, my mind was transported back to earlier times when I worked in Oxford shops and businesses, drank in the city’s pubs and spent many of my weekends there.Entering the college, my eyes roamed over the ancient stone, and manicured lawns and made me wonder what it might have been like to study there.Queens’ college, where the talk was held, had more secret sights and ancient walkways, and a few open doorways for me to peek into as I made my way to the lecture room.Oxford’s older colleges are inspirational places to be. The history, the privilege, the traditions, the beauty behind the doors that often only admit the country’s elite students – these are interesting things that spark the mind. Oxford University is an amazing setting for a book. A crime or a murder in such a hallowed academic setting elevates it, as Morse discovered, and Philip Pullman’s novels are given another dimension because of Oxford.And that got me thinking about how important the right setting is for a story… or for anything really. I believe everyone attending the talk turned up positive, and inspired thanks to the setting and the sun. The scene was set for a great lecture, even before our esteemed speakers arrived.And then, almost an hour into the talk, Julia Churchill summed it up perfectly.“Setting becomes a character in its own right”, she said.Think Narnia, think Hogwarts… think Oxford.We had Julia to inspire us, we had Leah to inspire us and our third speaker/character was Oxford.So, ground your story somewhere, and use the setting to the best effect you can.