What’s On

Suitable for Yrs 5 & 6 Ali started out working backstage at some of the big theatres in London, was a Blue Coat at Pontins for a while and then became a reporter in her home town of Southampton. She also spent time running a magazine and writing comedy for regional and network BBC radio. ... Ali Sparkes – My Sister is a Dog

Suitable for Yrs 7 & 8 Sue is an author and illustrator of books for young readers, middle grade and young adults. As a teenager she wanted to be a fashion designer and won a place at The London College of Fashion via a teen magazine! She is an Empathy Lab trained author which means ... Sue Cheung – Chinglish

Suitable for Yr 10 By the time she was eighteen, Tia had lived in thirteen different places and gone to ten different schools (one expelled her!). Her dad moved the family around a lot – not because he was running from the law or anything, he just had really itchy feet. She’s had more than ... Tia Fisher – Crossing the Line

Suitable for Yrs 1 & 2 Simon was born in Chichester and has lived there ever since. He trained to be a primary school teacher but decided that he preferred writing children’s stories. Simon is obsessed with children’s books: reading them, writing them, buying them, smelling them. His own have been published in more than ... Simon Philip – Perfect Pedro

Suitable for Yr 9 Clare grew up in South East London and moved to the Birmingham suburbs as a teenager.  She loved writing even more than reading, but once she got to Sixth Form College ‘creative writing’ disappeared from the curriculum and for some reason it never really occurred to her that you could just ... Clare Furniss – The Things We Leave Behind

Suitable for Yrs 3 & 4 Chris Smith is an award-winning broadcaster and bestselling author.  He’s also a former champion bellringer and a (sort of) number one recording artist – but that’s another story. Chris is the author of eleven books including the Kid Normal series which he co-wrote with Greg James. Now the Famous ... Chris Smith – The New Famous Five