David Almond in Lothians and Borders in last Scottish Friendly book tour of 2016
The Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour is bringing award-winning children's author David Almond to secondary schools in Midlothian, Lothian and Scottish Borders between 31 Oct - 4 November.
Heavily influenced by his roots in the north-east of England, David Almond’s novels combine the realism of ordinary places with magic and mythology. His first children’s book, Skellig, made an immediate impact in the writing world and beautifully captures the complexities of growing up.
The tour, which is provided completely free of charge to schools thanks to funding from Scottish Friendly Assurance, will provide the perfect opportunity for over 960 pupils from Midlothian, Lothian and the Scottish Borders to hear from one of the UK’s most inspiring and imaginative writers.
David will share his notebooks and drafts of his novels in order to demonstrate how a novel writing process develops. He will also discuss how his work is grounded in the ordinary world of his childhood and ask pupils to take part in activities that exercise their imagination and creativity through story writing.
Commenting on the tour, David said:
I'm really looking forward to my Scottish Children’s Book Tour arranged by the wonderful Scottish Book Trust. What a great chance to visit so many schools, and to share my love of words and language with so many young readers and writers. And it'll be great fun to travel around in that very bonnie car!
The tour is sponsored by Scottish Friendly Assurance and organised by Scottish Book Trust. Every year schools in up to 12 local authorities in Scotland and two in England receive author visits to inspire a love of reading, writing and illustration. The tour visits both primary and secondary schools and has enthralled over 70,000 children since it began in 1998.
Commenting on David’s tour, Calum Bennie, Communications Manager at Scottish Friendly said:
We’ve had outstanding authors on the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour in 2016 and closing the tour this year with David Almond is a real highlight. The point of these tours is to inspire the next generation of authors and David is sure to do that in his sessions in theLothians and Borders, as he will get young readers really involved in the storytelling process.
Beth Goodyear, Schools Events Manager at Scottish Book Trust, organisers of the tour, added:
We’re really looking forward to touring David Almond around schools this October and November; it’s is a fantastic opportunity for pupils to get creative and excited about reading and use their imagination to create their own stories!
Scottish Friendly has sponsored the programme for the past 18 years, touring some of the finest children’s authors and illustrators including the Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, Malorie Blackman, Michael Rosen, Jacqueline Wilson, Melvin Burgess, Steve Cole, Michael Morpurgo and Sophie McKenzie.
Press photographers are very welcome to attend the tour on the dates below. Please RSVP to [email protected] or call 0776352003 to confirm attendance.