Asking me to visit

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Inviting me to Speak

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Some things I have been asked to do

*** Talking to children of all ages to inspire them to read or write.

*** Creating characters with teenage writers

*** Talking to writer’s groups about writing of all kinds and writing for children in particular. I am always keen to encourage aspiring writers of any age. See my new book for adults on Writing for Children pub. A & C Black 2008.

*** Speaking at Book Festivals

*** Speaking to Business groups and at school prize days

*** CPD Workshops with teachers on creative writing, both for themselves and to use in school.

*** Adult creative writing workshops

*** Workshops for nursery and early years parents and teachers on storytelling and reading with children.

*** A tour of Edinburgh with a children’s book group looking at the places made famous in contemporary and classic children’s books.

*** Speaking to nursery children about colours, feelings and animals using the props from my picture book What Colour is Love?

*** Working with a primary school class and a muralist to create a permanent artwork for outside their school relating to the history of their area. The children wrote poetry around the themes of salt, coal, ceramics and brick and helped build a brick mural decorated with key words from their poems.

I love to travel and have been asked to all sorts of places from Kent to Shetland including speaking in a school in Auckland New Zealand, telling them tales of Scotland and Hamish McHaggis.

For Schools

I do various different styled events in schools, depending on the age of the children involved.

I am happy to speak to large or small groups and can base sessions on various different books. I also do creative writing workshops (single class groups preferred for workshops) on building interesting characters�or any other aspects of writing. I usually discuss how a book comes about from first idea to published book, what it means to be an author and I love to take questions.
For the younger classes my picture book What Colour is Love (Pub Bloomsbury) is suitable for nursery and first couple of primary classes with cuddly toys and colour cards this works well.
I can base sessions on the Hamish McHaggis series of books (4-7 yr olds) with props etc. about a cuddly haggis, an osprey, a pine marten and a travelling English hedgehog.

The Greyfriars Bobby story (4-8yr olds)

I also have some books in the Rigby Star series, The Giant and the Frippit, Fizzkid Liz, Korka the Mighty Elf and A Ball Called Sam.
With older children sessions based on Greek mythsThe Trojan Horse and other Greek Myths (pub by Pearson, Pelican Guided Reading), Celtic folk talesTales on a Cold Dark Night (pub Longman Book Project) also a couple that deal with bullying and racism: Gordon Gets Even (pub. Ginn) and Neela’s Journal (pub. Pelican interactive CD ROM; I have a large illustration paper copy of this one).

As you can see there is a wide range and I can be flexible depending on what area and age level you are particularly interested in. Sessions will usually last 1 hour; workshops can be up to an hour and a half. I am happy to speak to larger groups except for some light, fun workshops or very youngest children who are better with smaller groups.

Other groups

I enjoy speaking to secondary pupils, teachers and other adult groups.

You might ask me to talk in more depth about the writing process or about some of the ups and downs of being an author or about taking creative writing workshops.

I am happy to talk on any aspect of writing, writing for children from picture books to teenage, from short stories to educational books, or the difference between writing for children and adults.

General Info

Please ask me if you would like something particular or if you want to discuss any aspect of asking me to come and speak at your school, college or club.

I live in South East Scotland and I enjoy travelling but if I am going to be travelling some distance it makes more sense to try and arrange several sessions in the area which will also reduce the expenses involved. So perhaps you might want to see if other schools, libraries or clubs in your area might be interested in asking me to visit, or ask me about it and I can try and see if I can arrange something.

My fees are based on the Live Literature Funding (LLF) (Scottish Booktrust) rates. If you are in Scotland you may want to apply to Live Literature Funding for funding. I am quite happy to discuss any aspect of a visit with you. Please get in touch so that we can discuss your needs and make arrangements. Do bear in mind that writers are self employed; most people do not expect to work for nothing and the amount paid for a session has to cover the preparation, time spent travelling and many other often unseen costs.

Events/Projects

If you have an interesting event or project you think I could contribute to, I would be happy to discuss it with you.I am always interested in new projects or ideas so please get in touch!

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