A Selection of Lauren's Books
Lauren James
Type of Artist:
Talks and Workshops
I’m always happy to do events in person or on Zoom. I work with students aged 11+ years old in the UK, Ireland, and internationally, as well as aspiring adult writers.
Available talks and workshops for Secondary Schools:
‘True Crime Thrills and Cold Case Conspiracies’ talk – Join Lauren James on a journey into the world of internet detectives who set out to solve real-life crimes online. Find out about the real true crime inspirations for her murder mystery novel Last Seen Online and learn how she crafts the perfect plot twists and spine-tingling thrills in her writing. (1 hour, any number of students)
‘Writing with STEM’ talk – Lauren James talks about her writing, with a focus specifically on how she came to write science fiction after studying Chemistry and Physics at Masters level. She discusses how scientific research she’s done inspired events in her novels. She shares spreadsheets used to accurately calculate the figures involved in her writing, such as spaceship travel times and time travel figures. Includes discussion of climate change, Einstein’s theory of relativity, extinction and evolution, all talked about in an enthusiastic, easy-to-understand way. Includes a Q&A session. (1 hour, any number of students)
‘World-building’ writing workshop – a group exercise using pictures of real world locations to write a story. Students will use their senses to create atmosphere and setting, building out a story from the location. It includes examples taken from writing I did at the age of 18, which later became part of my debut novel. (1 hour, less than 40 students, years 6-9)
Science fiction writing workshop – a group exercise about writing science fiction based on articles in the news. We will choose a recent news topic based on a scientific subject and use the ideas and concepts to create an engaging story. It will teach students how to research science online, and be creative with a typically factual subject. (1 hour, less than 40 students, year 7 and up)
Climate Change in Fiction – a workshop about researching climate change solutions and politics in order to create a hopeful, optimistic story about the future of Earth. (1 hour, less than 40 students). There is a version of this workshop aimed at Years 7 -9 and a more academic version of this workshop available for older year groups from Year 12 to university level
Available workshops for older students (Year 12 – University level):
Writing Diversely – an explanation of the core concepts of diversity in writing, and a guided group discussion about why it is important for writers of all kinds to make their work inclusive. Students will learn how to research identities and avoid stereotypes, using case studies and examples of diverse works in Young Adult fiction. We will research a diverse identity for a piece of fiction. (1- 2 hours, less than 40 students) – read a review of this workshop by University of Nottingham here
Climate Change in Fiction – a workshop about researching climate change solutions and politics in order to create a hopeful, optimistic story about the future of Earth. (1 hour, less than 40 students) – watch part of this lecture here or here
Building a Bestseller – a guided workshop turning a story idea into an outline and pitch ready for agent submission. We will discuss plot development, narrative structures and beats, common errors in opening scenes and formatting a synopsis (2 hours, less than 40 students)
Working professionally with agents – a breakdown of the author-agent relationship, and explanation of how to find a shortlist of agents which will suit different projects. We will work on the language used in writing short pitches, author biographies and query letters, focusing on ways to improve your submission and draw out the commercial elements of the plot. We will also discuss how to self-edit your work, and choose an extract of your project to send out. NB: students will need a rough idea of their project for the activities, or they can use their favourite novel as an example, e.g. Harry Potter (1 – 2 hours, less than 40 students)
Working with publishers – an explanation of the process of editing with a publisher, with guided exercises in editing a chapter extract, swapping work and line-editing each other’s writing using Microsoft Word tracked changes and comments. NB: students will need to bring a scene or short story along to edit (1 – 2 hours, less than 40 students)
Details
Preferred age range:13 year olds -18 year olds
No of sessions per day:
Maximum of 3
Session Length:
Workshop (1 hour)
Talk with reading (1/2 hour)
Areas prepared to travel to:
Anywhere if travel & overnight expenses are paid Local to Midlands
Transport:
Train
Fees:
Website:
Titles include:
Heartstopper Character Cards and Heartstopper Volume 5 hardback
Last Seen Online
Green Rising
Future Hopes: Hopeful stories in a time of climate change
The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker
The Starlight Watchmaker and The Deep Sea Duke
The Loneliest Girl in the Universe
The Quiet at the End of the World
The Next Together and The Last Beginning
Testimonials:
“Lauren speaks with humour and knowledge. I would recommend booking her for an event without hesitation.” -
Emily Tristram - Kenilworth School Literacy Coordinator
“Lauren is a talented presenter and she connected really well with the audience at the event. She also happens to be a very lovely person and quick to respond to my emails about the event details. I’d definitely recommend her for running or taking part in other events.” -
Anne Smart, Digital Communications Manager, The University of Nottingham
“Lauren talks so well and was definitely one of the best author visits that we have had at the library.” -
Sorrelle Clements, Coventry Libraries and Information Services
Published work:
Photos: