Guest Blog post from Author Teresa Flavin!

Teresa Flavin writes us a special blog post that reveals the highlights 

of meeting her young fans on her tour of schools in West Sussex

Thank you, West Sussex!

Teresa Flavin with some Year 7 pupils from
Holy Trinity CE Secondary School, Crawley, West Sussex

One of the most exciting things that can happen to a new author is meeting children who have read and loved your books. I have been introducing school and library groups to The Blackhope Enigma and The Crimson Shard for a year and a half and I never get tired of telling them about the paintings, labyrinths and sea monsters that inspired the books. I often get lovely feedback after my visits but nothing beats arriving at an event and finding excited kids waiting to have their copies signed.

That’s why the West Sussex Children’s Book Award has been so brilliant. As a short-listed author I was privileged to visit school libraries in November and again last week. This is the tenth anniversary of the Award and the West Sussex Library Service have done a fantastic job of bringing authors to meet the children who have been reading the nine short-listed books over the past months.

I toured the county, from Steyning to Haywards Heath and Horsham to Crawley, speaking mainly in secondary school libraries to reading groups from several schools. Students from the host schools mixed with Year 6s from surrounding primary schools, discussing the short-listed books and working on creative projects inspired by the stories. It was fantastic to see enthusiastic young people connecting through their love of books.

The Blackhope Enigma shortlisted

I loved the children’s questions after my presentations. They were intelligent, sensitive and even pithy at times! And how could I not love it when a girl waited till her classmates had had their books signed to tell me that The Blackhope Enigma is her favourite book? Or when a boy announced that he read my book and it made him write his own story? To know that my stories have touched even a few children makes all the hard work so worthwhile.

The children finished voting for their top read last week and the winner will be announced on World Book Day. Of course it would be great if The Blackhope Enigma is chosen, but I already feel like a winner, and that’s down to the wonderful young people, librarians and teachers of West Sussex and the warm welcome they gave me.

Teresa Flavin
@TeresaFlavin

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