Author Alan Gibbons Inspires Creative Writing

Award winning author, Alan Gibbons, recently delivered a creative writing workshop to students at Saint Paul’s. He spoke to a group of students about his journey as a writer, his writing, themes, books and the inspiration for his ideas.

Former school teacher, Alan Gibbons, now works as a full-time writer and independent educational consultant. He is also a regular contributor to education newspapers and magazines.

He has written many books for children and young adults, including the Total Football series (1997-1999), the Legendeer, the Hell’s Underground series and the fantasy sequence, Lost Souls.

The Number 7 Shirt (2008), a book for reluctant readers, is the latest in a series of other books he has written for Barrington Stoke, namely: The Cold Heart of Summer (2002); The Night Hunger (2004); and The Greatest (2006).

His books for teenage audiences often deal with difficult issues, and have included stories about bullying, domestic violence and the effects of terrorism. His most recent novels are no exception dealing with the issues of gun crime (Raining Fire (2013)), hate crime (Hate (2014)) and difficult father son relationship (End Game and Street Corner Dad (2015)). He occasionally writes with his twin daughters Rachel and Megan, the most recent collaboration being Weirdibeasts Weird School Day (2015).

“It was a pleasure to have Alan Gibbons visit the school,” said Mrs Irena Savova, Librarian at Saint Paul’s. “Alan’s workshop was extremely engaging, he is very keen to encourage children – particularly reluctant readers – to read a wide range of fiction. Alan was very engaging and imaginative and so really appealed to the pupils.”

“The pupils really enjoyed their time with the author, Alan Gibbons, and asked some very interesting and thought-provoking questions,” said Mr Jamie Sharrock, English teacher. “I am now looking forward to seeing how they transfer this learning into their creative writing!”

“I was delighted by the interest shown by our pupils about Alan’s writing. The visit has inspired our pupils to want to read, write, and learn more about the process of writing,” commented Mr Mike Whiteside, Deputy Headteacher at Saint Paul’s. “The experience of having an author visit the school is one of the valuable gifts we can offer our pupils. It brings to life the magic of books and the joy of reading in a very special way.”