Tag Archives: Writing

Scoop at the Bookchat Roadshow!

Two of the fantastic team behind Scoop magazine will be sharing their passion for stories with parents and carers at the Bookchat Roadshow!

Clementine Macmillan-Scott and Kate Manning will no doubt inspire the audience and encourage them to “Dig into the Story”:

“Scoop is a new magazine for children aged 8+. Launched in September 2016 and created by a small Hackney-based team, we boast some of the biggest names in children’s literature amongst our contributors – including Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell, Neil Gaiman, Catherine Johnson, Jacqueline Wilson, Raymond Briggs, Celia Rees, Tom Stoppard, Joan Aiken and Diana Wynne Jones. Each issue includes short stories, poetry and graphic fiction that will excite and entertain.

We offer our readers the opportunity to explore everything from history and science to art and the unexplained through a vibrant range of amazing stories – and on top of that there are comic strips, activities, puzzles and jokes in every issue. We offer different types of stories for different types of readers. And it’s this love of getting different types of stories to different types of readers that means we want to be part of the roadshow.”

They will also be exhibiting at the event giving parents and carers the opportunity to find out more about Scoop.

The Bookchat Roadshow is an event designed especially for parents and carers bringing together authors, industry experts and people passionate about children’s reading and writing for pleasure. With inspirational talks and an author panel bookchat, plus a selection of exhibitors, we give parents and carers a huge range of ideas to help them support their children. The next event takes place on 20th July 2017 at Harlands Primary School, Haywards Heath, West Sussex. Read all about our last event here.

For more information about the Bookchat Roadshow visit www.thebookactivist.com.

Jamie Thomson at the Bookchat Roadshow!

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Helping parents and carers encourage their children’s reading and creative writing for pleasure.

Completing our fantastic author panel at the Bookchat Roadshow is none other than the Dark Lord’s minion himself, the brilliant Jamie Thomson!

Supporter of the Book Activist since it’s launch in 2015, Jamie delighted the audience with his dark humour and tales of boyhood reading at the inaugural Roadshow last year. I’m so pleased he will be joining us again to inspire – and scare! mmwwahhhhh! – more parents and carers into encouraging their children’s reading and creative writing.

Jamie has a diverse background in writing having created stories in many forms from computer games to gamebooks to comics to novels. His book The Dark Lord: The Teenage Years won the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and his most recent instalment Dark Lord: The Headmaster of Doom was released in February this year.

Jamie’s insight into working as an author and in the creative industries will be hugely helpful to parents and carers looking to encourage their children’s creativity.

For more information about the Bookchat Roadshow visit www.thebookactivist.com.

Jenny McLachlan at the Bookchat Roadshow!

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Helping parents and carers encourage their children’s reading and creative writing for pleasure.

The delightful Jenny McLachlan will be participating in the Bookchat Roadshow!

Jenny is the author of the gorgeous Stargazing for Beginners and the brilliant Ladybirdz series for teens. Her books have been hugely popular for their warmth, wit, romance and fierce friendships. I am so pleased that she will be sharing her inspiration with parents and carers at the Roadshow! Jenny is well placed to share her experiences with parents and carers having worked as a teacher prior to becoming an author.

Jenny taught English to secondary and sixth form pupils and also as an Advanced Skills Teacher, delivered masterclasses to pupils, parents and teachers throughout the country. She will be participating in the author panel bookchat and sharing her thoughts on reading and creative writing. Jenny says:

“I’m thrilled to be participating in the Roadshow and meeting parents and carers to talk about the wonderful world of reading. When I was a teacher, I saw first hand the hugely positive impact reading has on the lives of children and young people. Reading is empowering, encourages empathy and provides a calm oasis in what can be a chaotic world. A love of reading is one of the greatest gifts you can give a child which is why I’m so excited to be taking part in the Bookchat Roadshow.”

For more information about the Bookchat Roadshow, visit www.thebookactivist.com.

A.F. Harrold at the Bookchat Roadshow!

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Helping parents and carers encourage their children’s reading and creative writing for pleasure.

The brilliant poet, performer and writer of children’s fiction A.F. Harrold is joining the line-up at the Bookchat Roadshow!

This event is especially for parents and carers to help them encourage their children’s reading and creative writing, and I am so excited A. F. Harrold is going to share his amazing imagination with all those attending.

He has written numerous wonderful books for children including the Fizzlebert Stump (illustrated by Sarah Horne) series – a particular favourite of mine to read aloud in the library! The first Fizzlebert Stump book was chosen as 2017’s Young City Reads book in Brighton and Hove. He has also written thought-provoking books such as The Imaginary (illustrated by Emily Gravett, longlisted for both the Carnegie and Greenaway Awards 2016)) and The Song From Somewhere Else (illustrated by Levi Pinfold). His children’s poetry collection, Things You Find In A Poet’s Beard is illustrated by Chris Riddell. His new book, Greta Zargo and the Death Robots from Outer Space (illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton) comes out in September.

A.F. Harrold will be participating in the author panel bookchat and sharing his experiences as a writer and thoughts on reading and creativity – and maybe even a line of a poem or two!! He says:

“I’m very pleased to be taking part in the Roadshow, because I like to read and I liked to read when I was younger too, and sometimes it’s nice to share those things that make you happy. In this day and age the empathy and other-person’s-shoe-ness that reading, both fiction and non-fiction, can help nurture and grow inside a human heart cannot be a bad thing to encourage, so let’s encourage it.”

For more information about the Bookchat Roadshow visit www.thebookactivist.com.

Just in time for spring: Inkpots Inc interview

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A brand new and exciting online creative writing club for children aged 8-11 years, Inkpots Inc, is launching on 1st May! And here to tell us all about it on the blog today is Inkpots founder Gill Pawley. Gill and I met last year and share a mutual love of all things creative! Welcome Gill, thank you for joining us.

Tell us about the work you do at Inkpots. Inkpots is for children who love writing, drawing and reading and we run after school clubs and holiday workshops to help them develop their skills. Our groups are also really fun, happy places so that children have a great time too. We’re also able to offer support for those children who don’t always find it easy to express themselves on paper.

What was the inspiration behind Inkpots Inc? I ran out of days to run after school clubs! I run them five days a week – but I know that there are lots of children who would still love to come to Inkpots but can’t get to a club locally. I have actually discovered that there are children around the UK and in other countries who are interested, so it seemed the logical step to start an online club which can be accessed wherever you are.

You’ve invited parents and children to be involved right from the start –how important has this been in the development of the idea? It’s essential. I can come up with lots of plan and idea – and I do! – but if they are not what children want and will respond to, it’s just a complete waste of time. Inkpots Inc just wouldn’t be happening without the fabulous feedback I have had from parents and children – from existing families, as well as new ones too.

It must be a huge amount of work setting up on online club; what has the process involved? It has been a lot of work but I have had a great team of people working with me. The first step was to do lots of research, we then built the membership site within our existing website – some wonderful website wizards actually did that bit. Then the fun stuff, like developing all the materials, recording videos and working out monthly activities. One of the best bits has been producing the monthly newsletter for Inkpots Inc children – many of our older Inkpots have been very involved in the writing of that, so it’s been like having our very own editorial team.

In addition to this, you run after school clubs and holiday sessions. How will the two work together? They are already working together. The ideas from Inkpots are feeding into Inkpots Inc and vice versa. Things that I have planned for the online club can also be done at after school clubs too so it’s like a big creative hub to dive in to. There are also some Inkpots children who are going to join the club so that they can do things with friends and relatives who live some distance from Sussex.

What would your three top tips be for anyone starting out or expanding a new business venture? Look after your health is my main tip – make sure you get plenty of exercise and fresh air (I have had to be really strict with myself in the run up to the launch. Also make sure you have me or two business buddies who really get what you do, and finally, believe in yourself – you can do more than you think!

Thank you Gill for sharing all about Inkpots Inc and we wish you every success with the launch!

Find out more at www.inkpots.org.