NON-FICTION AUTHORS IN SCHOOLS

LATEST CONTACT LIST -- JANUARY 2008 -- PLEASE CIRCULATE

Group website: www.education.deepspace.org.uk/Author Visits to Schools.html

Dear Headteacher / Literacy Co-ordinator,

Would you like a children's non-fiction author to visit your school?

The children's non-fiction authors named below are experienced school visitors, and are available to visit your school for talks, readings and workshops. They offer a range of sessions suitable for KS1, KS2, and KS3.

A non-fiction author visit is very different from that of a fiction writer or poet, providing opportunities for a range of lessons, not only in literacy and more obvious subject areas such as history and geography, but in D&T (designing book covers), ICT (researching information on the Internet), PSHCE and Citizenship (teamwork, negotiation and co-operative learning).

To find out more about an author, their events and costs, and to make a booking, please contact the author directly. Most of the authors have websites giving full information about themselves and the school visits they make.

Each author has indicated where they live and which regions are most convenient for them to visit. We are aware that not every area of the UK is specifically mentioned. This does not mean that an author will not visit you - please contact an author to see what can be arranged.

Yours sincerely,

John Malam
(on behalf of the authors named here)

PS:
Plan now for World Book Day 2008 (6 March) and for Children's Book Week (6-10 October)!

Photographer/author: Children's non-fiction

Books include: How to Make a Book, Living In... series (Watts); Global Cities series, People Who Help Us series (Evans); Helping Hands series (Wayland); Reading Roundabout series (Watts); Look Around You series (Wayland). Over 800 titles written or contributed to.

School visits: Talk in the form of instant question and answer format that takes children all around the world on a journey seeking out the materials and the people that are needed to actually make a book. Time permitting, I finish with stories and questions about my travels to any one of the 60 countries that I have visited over the past 30 years. Allow 60 to 90 minutes per session. Suitable for upper KS1 and KS2.

Tel: 01428 713090 / 07768 735771 (near Petersfield, Hampshire)

Email: chris@cfwimages.com

Website: www.chrisfairclough.co.uk

Will visit: All UK, including Northern Ireland

Writes: Children's non-fiction

Books include: Adventures in Science: Earth and Space; Forces and Motion; I Can Remember: World War II, 1960s; Taking Part: An Eco-School, A Pupil Parliament.

School visits: Interactive talks and workshops on writing and creating non-fiction books. Can be adapted to age groups and topics of interest. Topics include 'Adventures in Science', 'Discovering History Through Personal Memories'. Suitable for KS1/KS2.

Tel: 020 8948 8581 (Richmond, Surrey)

Email: sallyhewitt@blueyonder.co.uk

Will visit: All UK

Writes and illustrates: Children's fiction and non-fiction, adult non-fiction

Books include: Art in History: Prehistoric, Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman, Tudor and Victorian; Biographies: Leonardo, Monet, Picasso; Medieval history, ancient history, the Forbidden City; How to Draw and Paint; Art Attack; Design and Make puppets, picture frames and masks; creative crafts; animals, global warming and environmental issues.

School visits: National Curriculum-linked Creative Workshops for KS1, 2 and 3; Communicating through Work Journals and sketchbooks for GCSE, AS and A2 (am happy to adapt these to fit in with ongoing school projects).

Tel: 01702 344117 (Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex)

Email: susiehodge@hotmail.com

Will visit: Essex, London, Kent, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Sussex

Writes: Children's fiction, young adult fiction, and non-fiction

Books include: The World of French (Letts), Einfach Lesen, Kaffee und Kuchen, Jason's Crystal (9-11), Nick's Gallery (14+ Fiction but good for discussion in Citizenship).

School visits: Creative writing workshops in French, German, and Spanish; talks about fiction, non-fiction, the publishing process, and short cuts to language learning.

Tel: 02380 405827 (Southampton) and 01248 361740

Email: gill.james@btinternet.com

Website: www.gilljames.co.uk

Will visit: Hampshire; other places within 40 miles radius of Southampton; anywhere on the route between Bangor, Gwynedd, and Southampton

Writes: Children's non-fiction

Books include: KS1 Biographies: Florence Nightingale, Queen Elizabeth II, Vincent van Gogh, and others; KS2 popular histories: You Wouldn't Want to be a Victorian Schoolchild, You Wouldn't Want to be a Roman Gladiator, You Wouldn't Want to be a Sailor in the Spanish Armada, You Wouldn't Want to be a Worker in a Victorian Mill; KS2/KS3 narrative non-fiction: 1066 The Battle of Hastings, 1605 The Gunpowder Plot, 1939 Hitler Invades Poland, and many more.

School visits: Fiction reading for R; biography reading for KS1; talks for KS2/KS3 on 'The Journey of a Non-Fiction Book'; hands-on role-play workshop for Y5-Y8 where children work in teams to create their own non-fiction books (focus on co-operative learning and teamwork).

Tel: 01606 863540 (Winsford, Cheshire)

Email: johnmalam@onetel.net

Website (an NGfL site): www.johnmalam.co.uk

Will visit: Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire, North Wales, West Midlands, and will consider other areas

Writes: Children's non-fiction and adult non-fiction

Books include: Winston Churchill (biography for KS2), 100 Things You Should Know about Gladiators (KS2/KS3), Triceratops (KS1). Also The Battle of Thermopylae (adult) and Haunted Places of England (adult). Plus over 100 other books. Regular contributor to BBC History magazine.

School visits: Talks on most historic subjects, some in character; Toys of the Past (R/KS1) with 1920s train set, 1950s doll, 1970s walking dog, etc. Romans in Your Area (KS1/KS2/KS3) workshops and activities, including archaeological artifacts for children to handle. Also, in-character presentations: Victorian Careers and Life in World War 2 (KS1/KS2/KS3) with objects to handle. Educational Funsheets available (see website for details).

Tel: 01737 356197 (Epsom, Surrey)

Email: rupert@bretwalda.demon.co.uk

Website: www.rupertmatthews.com

Will visit: Surrey, Kent, Sussex, London, Berkshire, Hampshire, plus other areas on request

Write: Children's non-fiction, fiction and poetry

Books include: Dinosaur World, Blue Planet - Ocean World (BBC); The Boffin Boy series by David (Ransom) and the Siti's Sisters series by Helen (Ransom). Around 300 titles between us.

School visits: Poetry and fiction writing workshops (David) and non-fiction writing workshops (Helen). For both of us on the same day, buy one author, get the other half price!

Tel: 01962 712062 (Winchester, Hampshire)

Email: mail@davidorme.co.uk

Website: www.magic-nation.com

Will visit: all of UK, though most visits are in the south of England

Writes: Children's and adult non-fiction

Books include: Ultimate CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; The Human Body Book; Eyewitness Skeleton, Eyewitness Electricity (Dorling Kindersley); Your Body: A-Z from Allergies to Zits (A&C Black); 100 Things You Should Know About Sharks, Whales, etc. (Miles Kelly); The Solar System and Beyond (Wayland); Body Focus series (Heinemann); Mammals (DK/Smithsonian); Science Files: Energy, Materials, etc. (Heinemann); Our Bodies, Black Holes and Beyond (Hodder Wayland). About 240 titles as author plus 100 as editor or contributor.

School visits: Talks and interactive workshops on all aspects of life sciences from dinosaurs and conservation to human body and health, also technology, general science.

Tel: 01379 678991 (Diss, Norfolk)

Email: steve@steveparker.co.uk

Website: www.steveparker.co.uk

Will visit: East Anglia and the South East, but prepared to break out occasionally

Writes: Children's fiction and non-fiction, mostly history-based

Books include: Pirates, Plants and Plunder, Greed, Seeds and Slavery (both Random House); Coming Alive!, Start Up History and Flashbacks series (all Evans Brothers); Survivors series (Hodder); Tales of the Dead series (Dorling Kindersley), etc.

School visits: Lively talks and interactive workshops to any requirement, any number, any age, including INSET. A term's notice much appreciated.

Tel: 01227 784617 (Canterbury, Kent) - initial contact by email preferred.

Email: words@stewartross.net

Website: www.stewartross.net

Will visit: Anywhere south of, say, Preston (Lancs) but will go further if several schools are able to co-ordinate visits

Writes: Children's non-fiction science

Books include: Materials Detectives (KS1 series); Life Cycle of a Sunflower (and other plants and animals in same series); Living in Space; Eco-Action (a series about global warming and new technology); My Amazing Body series - and more than 200 other titles; Longman Digitext CD-ROMs: Extreme Weather, Extreme Habitats, Space Probe, Ice Bricks and Straw Roofs.

School visits: Talks and workshop on how books are created; creative science-writing workshops - different topics for Y2-Y6, including materials used in printing a book, friction, living in space with no gravity, desert habitat, and global warming.

Tel: 0207 263 8600 (London, N7)

Email: angela@roystonmail.co.uk

Website: www.angelaroyston.com

Will visit: London and places easily accessible from London; will consider further afield

Writes: Children's non-fiction and fiction

Books include: Adventures in Literacy (24 titles about writing fiction and non-fiction for Y1-Y4); Adventures in Art (KS2); Reusing and Recycling (KS2); A Victorian Childhood at School, Work, Home and Play (KS2).

School visits: 'Storywriting Secrets and Surprises' - improving writing and telling stories (KS1 and 2); 'Ready, Steady, Recycle' - an exploration of materials with object handling (KS1 and 2); 'Exploring Greek Myths' through art and drama; 'Vivid Views of Victorian Children' using original Victorian photographs, games and artefacts to bring the period to life (KS2).

Tel: 0207 607 4623 (London, N1)

Email: ruththom@hotmail.com

Will visit: All UK, including Northern Ireland

Writes: Children's non-fiction and fiction

Books include: Painful History of Medicine / Childhood / Crime / Science (series)

School visits: Talks/workshops for KS2/KS3 on story-writing or strange but true stories. Presentations feature 'Yucky Yarns to Make You Squirm' or the 'Weird, Wacky and Wonderful'. Pupils can choose from 'No Snoring in The Library', 'Don't Have Nightmares" or 'You Won't Believe This But...' about books on crime, mysteries, incredible creatures and more.

Tel: 01886 884397 (Worcestershire)

Email: john.towns@lineone.net

Website: www.nibweb.co.uk/johntownsend.htm

Will visit: Midlands, south central, East Anglia (sometimes)