Author visit

Date: 12th Oct 2018 @ 8:16pm

A special visitor came into school today - a former pupil who has just become a published children's author.  After twice being a runner-up in Bloomsburys writing competition and the competition run by the publishing house Chicken House, Jamie was offered a contract with Chicken House, run by Barry Cunningham, who was J.K.Rowling's first editor, and the first person to see the potential of Harry Potter.

Jamie spoke to all the children in assembly about his writing journey and how he has got his book, Frostfire, published, then spent the rest of the day talking to Class Three and Class Four, inspiring their writing and the children really seemed to enjoy their day, and the chance to meet a 'real author'!  His book is aimed at 9 -12 year olds, and many of the children were thrilled to purchase a signed copy.

Returning to my primary school was a strange feeling, but it was somewhere that gave me a great start.  The children are lucky to benefit from such a happy atmosphere, which is well resourced with books to stimulate children's creativity.

It was fantastic to see so many Duddon pupils engaging so enthusiastically with writing - they were brimming with ideas and seemed to look forward to taking them further. I can only hope they enjoy reading my book as much as I enjoyed helping them discover some of the magic of fantasy writing. Thanks for the chance to spend some time with them.

Jamie Smith - author of Frostfire
jhbsmith.com
Twitter:  @JamieHBSmith