Local News
Hannah George and James Whitehouse lead this group of students in a session on writing for the small screen
We may have missed a rather important account of the Schools Programme in last weeks issue of the County Press. Thomas Seal came along to see what we were up to. Here’s what he had to write about us.
We have had a blast this weekend! There’s been barely a second to write about it, that’s for sure! If you haven’t made it over to Northwood House yet, there’s still some time left. From 10-12.15 today, Phillida Gilli, Linda Newberry, Julia Golding, Sally Prue, Sarah Holding and H. Clarke and S. Conacher have some great sessions not to be missed! You won’t be able to attend them all though as some times over lap, so choose carefully! Later on in the day there’s lots more interesting talkings and seminars. Check out exactly what’s what on the main website http://www.isleofwightlieteraryfestival.org
We’ll be doing some more interviews with our competition winners- 9 year old Gabby from Gurnard Primary and 6th formers Will and Verity from Ryde School. They did an amazing job yesterday interviewing Anne Widdecombe, Richard Benson and Simon Callow. I don’t think it’ll be long until Will steals Paxman’s job!
Alex Milway, Elspeth Giddens (organisor), Cecilia Busby, Dianne Hofmeyr and Julia Golding
Students and staff a like were blown away yesterday with what was a hugely successful day. All involved are to thank- Firstly the students for being so willing to interact (the youngest children were wiggling and jiggling with Dianne Hofmeyr). One year 9 boy even claimed it was “the best day of his life so far” in Sarah Holding’s SeaBEAN session. What a result! The staff at Ryde school did a fantastic job at making sure the day ran smoothly with authors kept well fed and watered (hugley important!) and knew where they were to be at all times. The teachers from other schools who brought children along from many other local island schools also did a fantastic job shipping in bus loads of enthusiastic students to take part in the days madness. The filming side with Word on The Curb gave pupils another angle to the festival with tips for camera techniques and shooting being exchanged. And then in a “pooooof” the first day had ended so soon, boohoo, we can’t wait for next year already!
Today, Cowes Enterprise College and Christ the King College will each be hosting full day events of more great authors, workshops and even poets (at CEC). 9 acres Primary, Northwood Primary, Gurnard Primary and Lanesend Primary will also be joining today’s fun. Check out the full list of who will be at each school.
Sabrina Mahfouz will be performing tonight at Moo Cow cocktail bar and restaurant in Cowes with an evening of Words and Surprise for those who won’t be able to catch her at CEC today (due to not being invited… we know it sounds harsh…!) You’ll need to purchase your ticket from http://www.isleofwightliteraryfestival.org
HOORAY
Evening y’all,
I hope you’re excited as we are because in 5 hours time it will officially be Thursday, and after a good nights kip, we’ll be rising to a full day of action over at Ryde School with Cecilia Busby (“Adventures in another world, Creative writing workshop & story telling”) Medina Publishers (“Publishing Presentation”) Sarah Holding (“The BIG Write”) Julia Golding (“Historical Adventure Fiction, Creative writing workshop”) Hannah George & James Whitehouse (“Writing for the small screen, Presentation with discussion and Q&A”).
What’s more is Word On The Curb will be covering tomorrow’s events, and the festival weekend in general. You might not have heard of these guys but let me tell you… they’re awesome. The young men, in their early 20’s, met during their studies at University and turned their hobbies into a very successful community based project- if you can call it that- Spoken word poets give their say on current political topics and societal issues in a fresh and exciting way, and the team capture it all; delivering snappy little videos that leave you wanting more. So if you have a bit of time to kill, don’t waste it, snack on some of their videos.
Remember, all the writers listed above will also be appearing at the main festival, so purchase a ticket and make sure you don’t miss out! There’s a huge variety on offer this year to satisfy every literary taste. Go to the main website to purchase your weekend pass. Youth passes for under 16’s are only £10 for the whole weekend and give free access to most events. If you’re older than 16 but still a student… you can get a student pass!
Try and imagine for just a second what your life may have been like with a Spy for a Dad. For most kids, they might immediately envy the idea. I even caught myself dreaming about how exciting it must be for kids whose family members who live out a day-to-day James Bond movie. How glamorous. Yet in reality, as Bill Bristow portrays in his personal account of ‘My Father was a Spy’, the dynamics of such a relationship, shrouded in secrecy and with so much time spent apart, wouldn’t be so desirable at all. We are usually left to speculate on the reality of such a career and how it impacts on homelife, but in a surprisingly honest and open account which father and son wrote together, former agent Desmond Bristow and his son Bill have given a deep insight into such a life, disclosing far more information at this stage in their lives than ever might have been able to be shared before.
Priory school will be hosting an evening with Bill on Thursday 16th October as he talks about his book and recounts what life was like with an MI6 officer as a father.
With a family history of contact with local theatre on the Island, her Grandmother was a founder member of the Apollo, she first performed here on stage in 1997, playing the role of Jacky in a four-hander called ‘My mother said, I never should’.
She has gone on to provide that learning experience to hundreds of young people. She organises workshops for nine to 19 year olds, summer schools and works within Island schools. All theatre skills are covered including the technical side.
There is an emphasis on political drama in all that she does and she finds that kids appreciate it and engage in political debate between themselves. “Disenchanted youngsters find getting into drama allows them to express themselves and support each other,” she told me.
We are delighted to have Helen on board with the IWLF Schools Programme. She has had a lot of involvement in helping put the programme together. Helen is injecting her creative flare into a Conflict themed performance (this years programme theme for upper schools). The staged production, which will take place at Priory School on Friday 17th October, is based on author Andrew MacKay’s gripping series ‘Young Lions’ and is sure to be an compelling and entertaining watch. The performance has also used samples from this year’s conflict competition entries, where writers from Carisbrooke College and Christ the King College competed from prizes. The Studio School also competed in a Conflict Spoken Word Competition with the 10 finalist’s entries included in the production.
Only 8 days to go! If you’re still not sure exactly which Island schools are hosting which authors over the weekend of the Isle of Wight Literary Festival (16th-19th October), then…
CLICK HERE TO GO TO PAGE WITH FULL LIST OF WHICH AUTHORS WILL BE AT WHICH SCHOOLS
Remember, no one has to miss out. If you aren’t attending an event as part of the dedicated Schools Programme on Thursday and Friday, the authors will appear again at the main festival, along side many other brilliant writers and performers.
TICKETS for Saturday and Sunday: Under 16’s can get a £10 pass with free access to each young persons event while older students get a discount on adult passes! A full programme and timetable for the main festival can be found on their website.
And please like us on facebook! www.facebook.com/iwlfschools
Phillida Gili- Paper engineering made easy!
Phillida Gili is best known for her beautiful pop-up books with renditions of classic tales such as The Nutcracker, Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty. One of her books, The Lost Ears, featuring the oh-so-cute teddy bear Harry who is a mere 2 and a half inches tall, has been captivating young audiences for over 25 years!
But despite the clever paper-engineered features which make her books so special, Phillida will admit she’s actually not very good at paper engineering. Her love of pop-up books was let down by her inability to create the ideas she had using traditional paper craft methods which drove her to come up with something new. The result was a technique so simple, that anyone can do it, with fantastic unexpected results.
Students attending the schools events at Gurnard Primary will be in for a treat as Phillida reveals her pop-up secrets. 2D stories, birthday cards, Christmas cards- infact cards for any occasion-will be transformed into 3D masterpieces that children will be amazed at and proud of. They say “it’s easy when you know how”…
Hilda Poppitt is a pseudonym for Miss Lilly Say. At the time of publication Lilly was still at school and it was decided that the use of a pseudonym would keep her from beings distracted from her school studies. This was probably a very good idea as her children’s book S.A.S.A.A.T.N really took off and Lilly is pretty much a HUGE success. Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice is a wonderful fantasy story that began as a homework assignment for Lilly. She was a finalist for The People’s Book Prize 2014 and also nominated for The Beryl Bainbridge Award for 1st Time Authors. She is currently working on her second title, Always Believe, a Christmas story due for release December 2014.
We’ve already been lucky enough to meet Lilly when she came to meet students at Christ the King College last term, with her publishers- Percy Publishing. We’re delighted that she’ll be back, this time at Cowes Enterprise College to once again inspire students and reveal some of her top secrets for turning boring homework assignments into top sellers! I’m sure we’ll see plenty of note-takers scribbling away during her visit!
C.J. Busby writes fantasy with packed with humour, pace and inventiveness. Her first book, Frogspell, is a magical adventure set in Arthurian times which was a Richard and Judy Children’s Book Club choice for 2012. The four-book Spell series brings together would-be wizard Max, his sister Olivia and an assortment of knights, wizards, evil enchantresses and a very dim dragon called Adolphus. Her new series is a multiple worlds trilogy set partly in modern times, with a powerful amber jewel, two sinister black-suited men who want to find it, and four children from different worlds who have to join forces to stop them. The first book, Deep Amber, came out in March2014; the second, Dragon Amber, has just been published.
IWLF SCHOOLS 