click to go straight to an article by Amanda Minns (Learning and Teaching Scotland)
Here are some of the events coming up, others are still to be confirmed.
NOVEMBER 2008
12th November
Eastwood Theatre Event - SPIDER
This mini book festival is the initiative of Strident Publishing and East Renfrewshire Council. Linda Strachan and Gillian Phillip will be talking to pupils from secondary schools at a public launch of two debut novels. Linda Strachan’s Spider is centred on a joyriding incident that goes tragically wrong and has already been acclaimed in the Irish Examiner as ‘a triumph of teenage fiction’. Gillian Philip’s Bad Faith, described as ‘an important book’ by Crimesquad.com, is a satire aimed at adults as well as teenagers. We will be signing books afterwards in bookshops in and around Glasgow.
The event is for invited school audiences only.
13th November
Scotia and Chameleon Books - Kilsyth - Hamish McHaggis - for invited schools.
I will telling Hamish McHaggis stories, introducing Hamish and Friends and perhaps giving away a few secrets about the next Hamish McHaggis book! as well as talking about how the books are written.
13th and 20th November
Renfrewshire Libraries Reading Group - Spider
19th November
I will be taking part with a few fellow authors in our own team at the Kids Lit Quiz
West of Scotland heats- Kilsyth
25th November
I will be visiting Overtown primary school in Coatbridge.
29th and 30th November ST ANDREW’S DAY
HAMISH MCHAGGIS EVENTS
Princes Street Gardens West. Storytelling sessions 1.30-2.pm and 3.00-3.30pm Saturday 29th and 1.30-2pm and 2.30-3pm Sunday 30th November.
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Some of my past Events
OCTOBER 2008
WORDS 2008 the North Lanarkshire Festival of Books and Writing
Friday 3rd October
I visited the Snowdrop Nursery, Muirhead and Little Treasures Nursery in Condarrat where I read from What Colour is Love? and Hamish McHaggis.
Friday 10th October -
i visited the children in Firtrees Nursery School, Motherwell
Saturday 11th October -
I was in Coatbridge Library, where I read from The Lost Prince, the new Hamish McHaggis story and also presented prizes and medals to the winners of the Summer Reading Challenge- well done to all of the prize winners!!
9th October
i Visited Kilwinning Library- and read Hamish McHaggis and What Colour is Love? to Nursery school children.
6th October
Launch of my teenage novel SPIDER (Strident Publishing)
SUNDAY 19th October
LITTLE BIG ROCK - EDINBURGH
Hamish McHaggis event 2.30pm
September
WIGTOWN BOOK FESTIVAL
Sunday 28th September and Monday 29th September
Sally J Collins and I will be presenting Hamish McHaggis and the Lost Prince- words and pictures!
Tuesday 30 September
WESTword Young Writer’s Festival 2008
SPIDER- a provocative novel about teenage love, loyalty and fast cars.
Creative writing workshop with Pupils from Douglas Ewart High School
ISLAY BOOK FESTIVAL
www.islaybookfestival.com
SATURDAY 6th September 10.30 am
What Colour is Love? For pre-school and P1 children.
A full supporting cast of cuddly toy characters will bring the story to like. There will also be an introduction to the Hamish McHaggis series.
SUNDAY 7th September 3.30PM
Creating Characters For P2-P4
Every story needs a character and Linda’s books are full of them. Join her for afun-filled workshop where you can help her create some wild, weird and wonderful characters out of everyday objects.
August
Edinburgh International Book Festival
I will be taking Hamish and friends to the book festival once more and reading from the new book. I will also be runing a workshop for adults on ‘writing for children’ and speaking about children’s books on a panel.
MONDAY 11th August 2008
AFTER PICTURE BOOKS workshop 2.00-3.30 (SOLD OUT)
When children move beyond picture books their needs become more complex, which offers many opportunities and challenges for writers. Linda Strachan, bestselling children’s writer and author of Writing for Children, offers practical tips on how to make the most of writing for this exciting age group. (Maximum 20 places)
FRIDAY 15th August 2008
Ages 5-7 Hamish McHaggis and the Lost Prince 3-4pm (SOLD OUT)
Join Hamish McHaggis (the talking haggis!) and all his friends as they embark upon another exciting Scottish adventure, this time in search of the mysterious lost prince. Author Linda Strachan leads this interactive workshop starring her most famous creation.
THURSDAY 21st August 2008
WRITING FOR CHILDREN (PANEL) 6.45 - 7.45pm (The Writing Business event)
NICOLA MORGAN, LINDA STRACHAN and VIVIAN FRENCH
Writing for children is far harder than it looks. Highly successful authors NICOLA MORGAN, LINDA STRACHAN and VIVIAN FRENCH will try to reveal both pitfalls and practical opportunities. They have enormous expertise and claim in all areas: picture books, educational books, series fiction, chapter books, short novels and teenage fiction and non-fiction. Come to be informed, inspired, and have your questions answered.Supported by The Society of Authors
July
5th July Haddington agricultural show. I will be reading Hamish Stories at the show.
13th July Sunday. This afternoon will feature a Hamish McHaggis family event at Balmoral. I will be reading from Hamish McHaggis and the Lost Prince After the children have had a chance to draw Hamish with Sally the rangers will be leading a trip out into the estate to discover some of the real creatures that feature in the story. An event for all the family.
Later in the early evening there is also an open air theatre production of Alice in Wonderland (more information available form the Balmoral website www.Balmoralcastle.com
June
June 9th (Monday ) I am back in Aberdeen to visit Skene Square Primary School
June 10th Sally and I will be at Balmoral speaking to some local primary school classes. I will reading from the Hamish McHaggis and Lost Prince and sally J. Collins will be drawing some of the characters.
June 11th Sally and I will be visiting Albyn School in Aberdeen with staff from Waterstones Union-Bridge store
June 17th at the Book and Arts Festival in Milngavie, Glasgow. In the morning I am speaking to children( 4-6 years), from 9.30am. At 4pm I will be speaking about the craft of Writing for Children
see the website for more details www.milngaviefestival.org.uk
May
Launch of HAMISH McHAGGIS AND THE LOST PRINCE(GW Publishing)!
Friday 16th May Haddington Library in East lothian 2.30-4pm Free family event to launch the latest Hamsh McHaggis book. 
Tuesday 20th May at the West Dunbartonshire Libraries Festival of Words.
http://www.wdcweb.info/onlinestories/literature-festival/report-linda-strachan.htm
Saturday 24th May Sally in Borders Bookshop, Fort Kinnaird
Launch of WRITING FOR CHILDREN (A & C Black)
April 2008
Monday 14th April I am visting Mayfield Primary School Dalkeith, Midlothian.
Tuesday 22nd April. Cults Primary school in Aberdeen are celebrating the opeing of their new library with a week of book events. I will be visiting the nursery and Primary classes 1, 2 and 3.
March
Monday 3rd March I will be visiting Coatbridge. St Bartholomew’s Primary
Monday 10th March I will be speaking to school classes in the MacDonald Road Library, Edinburgh
For the rest of this week I will be in Aberdeen -
Tuesday 11th March I will be on the Aberdeen Reading Bus at Donbank Svchool
Wednesday 12th March in the morning I am visiting Kittybrewster Primary School, Aberdeen
– in the afternoon I will be visiting Gilcomstoun PrimarySchool, Aberdeen.
Thursday 13th March I will be visiting St Joseph’s, Primary School, Aberdeen
Friday 14th March at Finzean Primary School in Banchory. Aberdeenshire
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Tuesday 18th march I will be visiting Pwll Primary School in Wales
February 2008
Thursday 28th February I will be running a CPD session for school teachers, Primary 4-7, on creative writing in the classroom, in North Ayrshire.
Thursday 21st February I will be running a CPD session for school teachers, Primary 1-3, on creative writing in the classroom, in North Ayrshire.
Tuesday 5th February I will be in Aberdeen running a workshop for adults on behalf of the Scottish Adult Learning Partnership.
Saturday 15th December 2007 at 1pm and 2pm
A Christmas treat for kids at BORDERS bookshop. Fort Kinnaird. Edinburgh.
Come and join us in the children’s department on Saturday 15th December when I will be reading from What Colour is Love? and stories from the Hamish McHaggis books while illustrator Sally J Collins will be demonstrating how she draws a Christmas picture of Hamish. Stories start at 1pm and again at 2pm and in between there will be some fun festive colouring activities.
Thursday 22nd November North Lanarkshire
Newmains Primary school : nursery and Primary 1 and 2.
I will be telling stories to the children and parents and afterwards running a workshop for parents with ideas for getting the most out of books and storytelling.
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Saturday 1oth November 2007- Edinburgh
East Linton Library Children’s Book Club - Reading Round Edinburgh
Armed with the new Reading Round Edinburgh book, we will be taking a special trip into Edinburgh to visit some of the sites described in books where the stories have been inspired by places in Edinburgh, such as The Chaos Clock inspired by the amazing clock in the Royal Museum in Chambers Street and Greyfriars Bobby’s statue among others. It should be a fun afternoon.
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Zest for Life - Storytelling in the early years at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. Edinburgh
Monday 22nd October 2007
In-service is suitable for all nursery and infant school staff and for anyone involved in the care of the very young.
Led by Jenny Watson, Senga Munro, Eric Brennan, Marie Louise Cochrane, Sylvia Troon and Linda Strachan.
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BOOKSTART TREASURE CHEST LAUNCH
North Lanarkshire - Thursday 27th September 2007
Launching the Bookstart Treasure Chest in the company of the BOOKSTART bear!
I will be taking Hamish McHaggis and friends along on the day.. more details to follow.
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TYNE and Esk Writers - WRITE WELL Festival of Writing
Saturday 29th September 2007. 2.30-9pm
A one day festival of writing in Penicuik Town Hall
I will be presenting a workshop on writing for children/YA between 3-5pm
for further details and registration form please contact www.tyne-esk-writers.com or your local library
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Liberton High School
9th October 2007
I will be running a workshop with S1 pupils on building fantasy characters
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Edinburgh International Book Festival - August 2007
www.edbookfest.co.uk
Saturday 11th August 2007 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
The Writing Business - How to Get Published
To open our hugely popular Writing Business series, bringing you practical advice and insider knowledge about aspects of publishing and writing, an expert panel gives some hints on how to get your work published. Join award-winning author Nicola Morgan, agent Jenny Brown and publisher Bob McDevitt.
Chaired by Linda Strachan
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Sunday 2th August 2007 4.30pm-5,30pm
How to Write for the Educational Market - Linda Strachan
Learn about the many opportunities and skills in writing primary school textbooks with highly experienced and successful children’s author Linda Strachan.
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Monday 13th August 2007 2.00pm-3.30pm
Writing Children’s Characters (Workshop)- Linda Strachan
Learn how to make your characters live and breathe - creating believable and interesting characters for children’s stories. With Linda Strachan. (Maximum 20 places).
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Monday 20th August 2007 2.00pm-3.30pm
Writing Fiction for Children Under Ten - Linda Strachan
Prolific and bestselling children’s author Linda Strachan teaches some key skills for writing for younger children. (Maximum 20 places).
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Tuesday 21st August 2007 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
The Writing Business - Writing Keeping at it!
Bestselling novelist Kate Mosse and Greg Mosse, non-fiction author and teacher, discuss persistence, determination and ‘getting it done’, how to make your ideas work, formats and how to present work for an agent or publisher, and answer any other questions on aspects of the professional writer’s craft, in fiction and non-fiction.
Chaired by Linda Strachan
Amanda Minns
Literacy Development Officer
Learning and Teaching Scotland
Author storytelling session
A crisp winter morning in Edinburgh and this literacy officer was heading off to one of the good jobs, one of those jobs that make the others in the team jealous. I was going to listen to Linda Strachan, author of books such as What Colour is Love? and the fabulous Scottish series, Hamish McHaggis.
I joined a group of Primary 2 pupils from Bonnington Primary School and we all sat and waited eagerly for Linda to transport us to that world of stories and fill our imagination with the characters from her much loved books.
Linda started her talk with a question-and-answer session for the audience about what an author does, how long it takes to make a book and how to get a book published. Everyone was amazed at the information Linda gave and especially surprised to hear how long it takes to publish a picture book (up to a year!).
We moved on to talking about our favourite genres, which seemed to be mostly scary stories. This helped Linda choose her next story, which was Hamish McHaggis and the Ghost of Glamis. Linda spoke about the characters, the settings of the books, which take place in different seasons of the year, and what happens to the animal characters in the different seasons. Linda also taught the group a new word – ‘hibernacula’ – you will have to read all about this in the Hamish McHaggis books!
Next we had a look at the book What Colour is Love?, written by Linda and illustrated by David Wojtowycz. All the pupils were keen to guess the answer to the question, ‘What is the colour of love?’ Guesses ranged from light blue to indigo, purple and gold. A great story with a happy ending, but you’ll have to read the book to find out the answer!
Linda actively involved the pupils in the stories and made sure they felt part of the storytelling session. She retold the story What Colour is Love? with pupils taking the parts of the animals and representing the different colours the book talks about.
Pupils asked their final questions of Linda and then had a chance to look at the many books Linda brought with her. A fun, enjoyable day was had by all.
A POCKET FULL OF MAGIC
Spring 2001 Project A Pocket Full of Magic was dispensed to the National Library of Scotland by the children of Prestonpans Primary and St Gabriel’s Primary Schools, East Lothian.
Fifty-three short stories, written and illustrated by these children, were launched at the National Library by the children themselves. Local East Lothian author, Linda Strachan worked with them on the project which was organised by East Lothian Library Service and has been published with the financial assistance of Prestonpans Community Council and other local organisations.
Longniddry and District Rotary Club agreed to give a donation towards the costs of the publication and the Club President, Alan Marchbank, who is also Director of Public Services at the National Library of Scotland, invited the young authors to visit the Library and to present their book in person to be added to the national collections.
The National Library is entitled to claim a copy of all books published in the UK and would eventually have received this new book, but ‘we thought it would add a wonderful finishing touch to an exciting collaboration if the young authors were to present their Pocket Full of Magic in person’, said
Alan Marchbank and Erica Thomson, the Prestonpans local librarian. Alan’s colleague Cate Newton, Director of General Collections at the National Library, accepted the new book from the children and explained to them that it would join over 8 million volumes already held in the Library. And added, ‘who can tell, one day it might even be consulted by one of your great-great-great grandchildren!’
All of the authors and the schools taking part have received copies of the new book. Copies are now on sale, price £2.00 from Prestonpans Library, and from the schools – and, of course in the Library shop at the National Library of Scotland.
