A Selection of Jess's Books
Jess Butterworth
Type of Artist:
Interactive talks, creative writing workshops, talks
For Y1 – Y3: An hour interactive storytelling workshop based around The Adventure Club series and the real-life inspiration behind it.
Y3 to Y8: flexible options including a one hour focused talk on one of Jess's books, or a mixture of Jess's writing journey and the inspiration behind her books along with an interactive story creation exercise, a reading and time for questions.
Examples of writing workshops:
Lost on Gibbon Island: Students create their character before imagining them lost on an island. They develop their island setting, thinking about the terrain and climate, before drawing a map and working out the hazards/problems facing their character.
Into the Wild: How to create great characters and settings.
Details
Preferred age range:Y1 – Y8
Maximum number in any one session:
Up to 30 in a workshop. Hall capacity for assembly style talks.
No of sessions per day:
Preferably max. 4. Jess can be flexible to meet the school’s timetable.
Session Length:
45-60 minutes for a talk
60- 75 minutes for a writing workshop
plus time for signing afterwards
Areas prepared to travel to:
Anywhere if travel and overnight expenses are met.
Jess lives in Gloucestershire.
Transport:
Car: 45 per mile.
Train from Stroud Station in Gloucestershire
Fees:
DBS/CRB:
Yes
Hold PLI (public liability insurance):
Yes
Website:
Testimonials:
We have been lucky enough to welcome Jess Butterworth to our school for the past 5 years to talk about her books 'When the Mountains Roared' and 'Running on the Roof of the World'. Jess captivates the pupils from the very beginning, sharing the stories behind her books and giving fascinating insights into her writing process.
Her sessions, whether online or in person, have been engaging, thoughtful, and perfectly pitched for the age group. The pupils were particularly inspired by hearing about the real places and experiences that influence her stories, and many left feeling excited about reading and writing in new ways. During the in-person visit, Jess ran a Writer's Workshop where she encouraged curiosity and creativity, reminding the children that great stories often begin with simple ideas and a willingness to explore them.
The girls were eager to ask questions, and Jess responded with warmth and enthusiasm, making the experience feel personal and memorable. We are extremely grateful to Jess for her meaningful and engaging visits, which our girls thoroughly enjoyed. We would highly recommend Jess Butterworth to other schools.
Theresa Donegan Y4 Teacher NHEHS
Our teachers and children really loved the author zoom we had with Jess. Both year 3 and year 4 children have really loved reading her books . We are reading Running on the Roof of the World and Into the Volcano (core texts for Spring). Jess shared some lovely personal details about her writing which helped the children think about their compositions differently. Her questions helped the children to consider ways to develop characters and use real life experiences to write authentic descriptions that would make their writing unique. Many found this inspirational with a few children asking teachers afterwards if they could also write books. Music to our ears! This invaluable contact with the warm, enthusiastic writer that Jess is, has helped our children to realise that being a writer is an achievable goal.
Thomas Hickman school
Thank you so much for a wonderful, inspirational workshop! The students absolutely loved it!
Richard Lander School