Online sessions available through the autumn/winter term. Please do get in touch!
‘Amy’s visit to our school was definitely one of the highlights of the children’s year. Her interactive talks were engaging, exciting and a real imagination trigger. She included all the children in a way that let them set their creativity free.
‘They learnt about using fantasy in their own writing and how to create characters that zing. Lots of them still talk about the day they met a real author and ‘A Girl Called Owl’ has become a firm favourite during group reading sessions.
Thank you Amy, if only we could have you visit on a regular basis!’
Caversham Primary School, Reading.
I am taking bookings for virtual visits over the autumn term. Do drop me a line if you’d like a Q&A session for your class/school, I’m very happy to tailor my sessions.
‘Our Year 7 cohort sat on the edge of their seats as they worked with Amy. She is a natural story-teller who hooked her audience in – but she also did so much more. With her guidance, we collectively built a storyline for our own novel, and so the students got a real insight into the craft of writing. This visit was one of the highlights of our year.’
The Castle School, Thornbury
Assembly
My powerpoint presentation lasts around an hour, with lots of interactive elements and time for a Q&A. I’ll do a short reading and discuss my reading and writing practises, inspiration, editing and what I know of the publishing industry. We’ll discuss the magic of reading, and of writing (see workshop themes below for an idea of what I focus on) and where inspiration can be found, and touch on themes of friendship, empathy and self-discovery.
“Amy’s workshop sessions build on the imaginative worlds she creates in her novels. They are a wonderful opportunity for pupils to character build and develop empathy through writing and role play.”
Alison Brumwell, Reader Development and Literacy Consultant, West Yorkshire
Workshops
Magical Creatures: the legends and the realities, looking at everything from unicorns to narwhals and how we draw from nature to fuel our imaginations; children will think about the sort of creature – real or imagined – they would like to meet or create, what is special about them, and how they might describe them and their setting for a short story.
SuperYou: If you had a magical super power what would it be, and why? Think about who you are, what you’d love to be able to do most, and how would that would affect your life and friendships. What would be the consequences? How could you describe it all in a short story, so that other people can see it just as you can, in your mind?
Magical Worlds: Snowglobe sees my characters journeying through a multitude of worlds, each one ruled over by a magician. If you were a magician what would your world look like? What would happen in that world? What powers would you have, and how would you use them?
Over the Bridge: Lightning Falls is set in a Ghost House, by a viaduct bridge, over which can be found the magical, dangerous world of Orbis. If you had your own portal bridge what would it look like, and where would it lead?
(This is the latest member of my school visits team. If you know Snowglobe you might be able to guess his name…!)
Free Resource:
Here is the Snowglobe worksheet I use for some of my workshops – please feel free to download and have a go at your own world-building!
There are also some wonderful free resources for Lightning Falls, courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Books – a quiz and more, all to be found here:
Click to access LightningFallsActivityPack2.pdf
To book an event with me please contact me at ajwilson@hushmail.com