SCHOOLS AUTHORS
Elizabeth Laird
Elizabeth Laird was born in New Zealand in 1943 but grew up in Britain. She has lived in many parts of the world, including Ethiopia, Malaysia, Iraq and Lebanon and now lives in Britain with her husband, David McDowall, also a writer.
She has won the Scottish Arts Council Children’s Book of the Year Award and has been shortlisted for the Costa Award, the Blue Peter Award and four times for the Carnegie Medal. Her books have been translated into more than fifteen languages.
The Witching Hour
In seventeenth-century Scotland, everyone knows the devil is real. Everyone knows that witches exist. Everyone knows that saying the wrong thing can get you hanged…When fourteen-year-old Maggie’s grandmother is accused of witchcraft, Maggie has to run for her life. With English soldiers on the march, nowhere is safe – certainly not Ladymuir, where her uncle is determined to defy the king. And wherever Maggie goes, disaster follows…A gripping historical novel about a young girl’s journey through the Killing Time.
Barry Hutchison
www.barryhutchison.com
www.trappedbymonsters.com
“Born and bred in the Highlands of Scotland, I have been writing ever since I first figured out which end of a pencil did what. I wrote my first novel when I was twelve. It was eighteen pages long and terrible. Since then I have written everything from magazine articles to radio plays. It was only as my first child began to read that I decided to try my hand at books for children. Since then I have written six books for Egmont, and have sold a six-part horror series – INVISIBLE FIENDS – to HarperCollins. I am very keen to encourage children – particularly reluctant boys – to read a wide range of fiction. This is why I became involved in founding the Trapped By Monsters website – a site designed to share great stories, and get children involved in reading and writing.
“I consider the six books I’ve written for Egmont to be my practice work. I have taken everything I learned working on those titles and have put it into INVISIBLE FIENDS. I enjoy writing for boys, and although I’m currently working on horror books, they are filled with moments of dark humour, as comedy has always been my first genre of choice.”
Mr Mumbles: Invisible Fiends
Winner: Royal Mail children’s book awards 2011. Kyle’s imaginary friend from childhood is back! with a vengeance. Kyle hasn’t seen Mr Mumbles in years. And there’s a good reason for that: Mr Mumbles doesn’t exist. But now Kyle’s imaginary friend is back, and Kyle doesn’t have time to worry about why. Only one thing matters: staying alive!
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Ross Collins
Since graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1994 Ross Collins has written eight books for children and illustrated over a hundred. His books have been published in twenty countries around the world. He has won many awards including the MacMillan Prize and the Royal Mail Book Award and been shortlisted for the Blue Peter Award and the Kate Greenaway Medal.
In this event Ross will talk about how he makes his artwork and creates his stories and characters for children. He’ll also tell tales from his career in children’s publishing. He will be happy to answer any questions from budding authors or illustrators.
The Elephantom
The wryly comic tale of a small girl plagued by a mischievous ‘elephantom’ who rides up and down the stairs at night on a scooter, eats all her peanut butter and has his friends over for rowdy parties.
Catriona Lexy Campbell
Catriona Lexy Chaimbeul is from the Isle of Lewis and has worked extensively in Gaelic as a writer, actor and theatre artist. Her book of short stories for children, Sgeulachdan Eagalach Feagalach, won the award for the Best New Children’s book at the Mod in 2009 and she has two new books pending publication. She lives in Glasgow and is the Gaelic Associate Artist for the National Theatre of Scotland.
For GM1 – 2: A reading and exploration of two stories taken from her award-winning book, Sgeulachdan Eagalach Feagalach, The Boy and the Bicycle is a cautionary tale of what happens when you steal and, from a not yet published book for young children, the story of The Happy Tree. The stories will be brought to life through movement and art, allowing the children to understand the stories more fully. They will also have the opportunity to create their own characters.
Ann an Gaidhlig: In Gaelic
For S1 – S2: Gaelic creative writing workshop with Author Catriona Lexy Chaimbeul.