Josh Lacey

Type of Artist:

I regularly visit schools to talk about my books and see these visits as an integral part of my work as a writer. I enjoy meeting readers and working with young people on developing their own creativity.

During a visit, I’ll talk about the books that I've written and will always read aloud from at least one of them. I’ll discuss why and how I write. I’ll talk about my ideas and inspirations. And I'll leave lots of time for questions.

I’d be happy to talk to children through the Primary age range. If I was going to spend a day in a school and talk to everyone, I could do something like:
A short assembly with the whole school
Talk about the Dragonsitter with Key Stage 1 (45 mins.)
Talk about the Dragonsitter and the Grk books with Years 3 and 4 (1 hour.)
Talk about the Tom Trelawney books with Years 5 and 6 (1 hour.)

Or
Talk about the Dragonsitter with Years 1, 2 and 3 (1 hour.)
Talk about the Grk books and the Tom Trelawney books with Years 4, 5 and 6. (1 hour.)
Spend the rest of the day on creative writing workshops.

Or
A assembly with the whole school focused on the Dragonsitter books (because they really do appeal to all ages) followed by creative writing workshops with different classes.

I also offer a joint event with Garry Parsons, who illustrates the 'Dragonsitter' books. Please have a look at Garry's page for more information.

1 - Teachers as writers
This workshop will treat the teachers as creative writers, encouraging them to write their own poetry and prose, writing either for children or for adults.
I will encourage the teachers to think of themselves as writers, giving them a forum to experiment with their own writing, and using this to think about ways of teaching children to write. By working on their own writing, the teachers will build their confidence and develop their creative skills. I will particularly focus on the topics that all writers find difficult, whether they are adults or children: how to begin, creative blocks, the fear of the blank page, false starts, the uncertainty of exploration and experimentation, our emotional engagement with our own writing, and the vital connection between reading and writing. I will provide teachers with lots of useful exercises, ideas, and inspirations which will work both for their own writing and for teaching writing to their pupils. In a longer session, I would also focus on particular topics: beginnings, middles, endings; how to create characters; structuring a narrative; revising and editing your work.

2 - Using fiction to teach history in primary schools
This session is based around my own series, the Time Travel Twins, and focuses on cross-curricular learning, using fiction to bring history to life.
Each of the books in the Time Travel Twins series provides a model for children to use their own imaginations and create their own history-based stories. The series draws on some of the subjects recommended for study in the National Curriculum: the Stone Age, the Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons, the Romans, and the Maya. I use the device of a time machine to send modern characters back to a historical context, and see history through modern eyes, which is a particularly straightforward and easy way for children to write about the past. I will discuss the use of research, and the way historical records and objects can be incorporated into stories. I will look at ways of using different texts, both contemporary sources and modern novels, and drawing inspiration from both. The session will focus on cross-curricular learning, focusing particularly on history and literacy, using them together to develop children’s knowledge, skills, and creativity.

Details

I'm happy to talk to both KS1 and KS2 children

Adults - usually primary teachers (CPD for teachers)

Happy to fill the school day, providing there are a few breaks.

45-60 mins for a talk including questions.
A creative writing workshop could last anything between an hour and a whole school day.

I live in London, but will travel anywhere, provided expenses and overnight accommodation (where needed) are funded.

I don’t charge travel expenses for events in London, but would ask to be reimbursed for a return train ticket or mileage cost for travel outside the M25.

Please email us for details

Please indicate which author you are interested in.

Yes - provided by NAWE

Josh Lacey website

Bearkeeper
The Island of Thieves
The Sultan's Tigers
The Dragonsitter - and 8 more titles in the series
A Dog Called Grk & 7 more titles in the Grk series.

"I really enjoyed Josh Lacey's visit. He taught me how to be creative and helped me expand my imagination." 

"When Josh Lacey came to our school, he was amazing. The way he put expression into his writing, it made me want to read his books." 

"The children were excited in advance about meeting you but even more so afterwards - you engaged with them brilliantly and inspired them in many different ways. I think you would be very pleased if you could see how many Grk books are still being read in the playground at breaktime more than a week later! The Year 5 and Year 6 children enjoyed your workshops enormously and some have continued working on the ideas by themselves at home. It was a very special day for us all and thank you so much for all that you put into it."

Josh Lacey Amazon site