Blackpool bound... but no sign of a tower!

Another fantastic week meeting lots of primary school children and their teachers. Monday got off to a grand start with a trip to Homelands in Torquay. The students loved the Bradley Baker showcase and queued to buy signed copies in the hall... here is class teacher Hannah with her pupils proudly holding their new books;

I then headed up to the TeignValley to present at a lovely village primary school in Christow, where headteacher David Lamoon hosted a fabulous event. An audience of 80 children were totally enthused by the showcase presentation with a very high percentage of all three BB books purchased following the visit.

Mid week fast approached and it was time for a return visit to Cockington Community Primary School for our second literacy workshop. It was great to see all 60 children again with their stories ready to be loaded onto the T-Drive. The pupils were split into teams and they worked very hard to start the publication process for their very own school book! Westlands School in Torquay followed and I hosted their third literacy workshop... we are now ready to complete the project during the final session next week! Exciting stuff and I'm looking forward to seeing the completed book of short stories finally come together :)

The working week finished at Blackpool (no not the one with the famous tower) ... the primary school in Liverton near Newton Abbot. The 300+ audience were astonished at the site of a smoking bath but absolutely loved the presentation. I spoke with Diane Boyden who organised the event and she was delighted at the site of children busy writing their own stories in wet-play straight after the event. Very inspiring and good to see the youngsters so enthused!!! I'm really looking forward to my return visit on Monday.

If you haven't had the chance to see the new Bradley Baker book trailer... you can view it on YouTube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwzGQx-HRM

That's all for this week folks, except to say that my events schedule is looking very busy leading into the Summer term and indeed beyond with bookings appearing in the diary for Sept & Oct!!! Fabulous!

Catch up soon and best wishes from DLJ

Abbey to Whipton... another busy week!

It's been another very busy week... starting at Abbey School in Torquay on Monday to meet the children again following my showcase event before the weekend. The old school building provided a perfect setting and the enthused students queued patiently to have their Bradley Baker books signed.

I headed up to Exeter in the afternoon (and what a contrast in buildings - a large modern school packed with very excited children indeed) to meet teachers and pupils at St Michael's School. What a reception... there were posters advertising my visit on every entrance, with 300+ students waiting in the hall to see the Bradley Baker showcase extravaganza! A brilliant event and special thanks to Sally Baker (no relation to the boy hero) for organising the day and for really promoting the visit.

I attended an arranged awards ceremony at KEVICC on Tuesday morning... children from all 12 Totnes Schools were in attendance with their respective Headteachers and parents. Here are three of the students representing Broadhempston Primary with their certificates.

A return to St Michael's School in Exeter followed in the afternoon and I was delighted to be interviewed by the local press and have pictures taken of the signing event. I'll post some more updates when the news story appears in the Express & Echo.

A paid a return visit to Torre Primary in Torquay on Wednesday morning to meet classes 1 & 2 to hear about their storytelling and creative writing exercises. Its great to see so many young children stepping onto the literary ladder and producing such fantastic work. Thanks to Sue Julyan for inviting me into school again. I then headed over to Westlands Secondary School for the second of four literacy workshops... we are well on the way to producing a fantastic book, which will create 30 new authors who will be published online. Great stuff!!!

Thursday soon came around and it was time to visit the children at Topsham Primary School. The showcase was absolutely brilliant with lots of pupils taking part and recreating the characters form my Bradley Baker adventure books. This was followed by a busy book signing event...

 

The week was topped off with a return author visit to Whipton Barton... this time it was the infants turn to enjoy the Bradley Baker showcase and we all had a great time. It's such a wonderful school (both Juniors and Infants) and I'd like to thank Sarah Ronson for looking after me on the day.

 

 

That's all till next week folks... thanks for viewing this week's blogspot.

Best wishes DLJ

 

World Book Week... what a blast!

What a blast!!! That has to be the busiest World Book Week I have experienced so far...

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the teaching staff at the six schools that hosted their fantastic events this week... and to over 3000 children that displayed a copious amount of excitement and enthusiasm during the Bradley Baker Showcase Events.

The week of activities began on Monday morning at Hazeldown Primary in Teignmouth, then onto St Sidwell's in Exeter in the afternoon. On Tuesday morning I visited the pupils and teachers at Chudleigh Community Primary and then returned to Hazeldown in the afternoon for a book signing event. I received a wonderful welcome from a group of 60 children at Stokeinteignhead Primary on Wednesday and then returned to Chudleigh for a record breaking book signing event in the school library.

The Bradley Baker roadshow continued at a rapid pace into World Book Day on Thursday when the Bradmobile arrived at Gatehouse Primary in Dawlish... it was an amazing reception and the hall was crammed packed full of children all dressed as their favourite book characters. I then called back at Stokeinteignhead before the final day of presentations.

It was a perfect finish to a perfect week, on Friday I attended Abbey School in Torquay and the children absolutely loved the Bradley Baker books. The local press were in attendance and took lots of pictures and I'm looking forward to returning to see all the students again on Monday.

Back to school next week (literally) and especially looking forward to Tuesday when I will be presenting awards at KEVICC to the Gifted & Talented students in the Totnes Learning Community. I will choosing a winner who will have their new character profiled in my next Bradley Baker adventure book "The Gullfather of New York", which will be published in the Summer.

If you get the chance, please check out the trailer for the new book... here's the link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxwzGQx-HRM

Best wishes for now and catch up again soon.
DLJ

A week full of adventure...

Wowzers!!! What a very busy week this has been... with lot's of school events in Devon filled with adventure stories and a great deal of creative writing from some very talented students!

On Monday morning I attended Galmpton Primary School near Brixham to host the third of four literacy workshops with a class of year 6 pupils. We are just one step away from completing their book publication project for the school, which will feature the children's "disaster-themed" stories. Then in the afternoon I visited Brixham C of E Primary School to complete their publication project... uploads were completed and class 6 have created a fantastic book of short stories, which is now available to purchase online and titled "The Mystery Piano"... please look out for it and support the project!

On Tuesday it was time to work with the Gifted and Talented children again from all 12 schools in the Totnes Learning Community. We held the final "Character Building" workshop in the library at KEVICC and I'm really looking forward to the awards ceremony on 12th March in the Aerial Theatre where the winning character will be chosen to feature in my next Bradley Baker adventure; the Gullfather of New York.

Cockington Community Primary School was my next stop on Wednesday morning... the first of four literacy workshops. Sixty children were chosen to take part in character profiling sessions, which will lead to the publication of their very own school book of short adventure stories. I'm looking forward to our next session in three weeks time... after the children have drafted their stories ready for editing!

Thursday was a very interesting day and a change to my normal routine... in the morning I was invited to judge a poetry competition at Abbey School in Torquay. Special thanks to Kirsty Porter for asking me to assess the finalists, who represented children from all age groups who were outstanding and it was a difficult task to choose the overall winners. I will be returning to Abbey School next week to showcase my Bradley Baker adventure books and affording the children an opportunity to have their very own books signed too. In the afternoon I whizzed upto Exeter to attend a showcase presentation at Countess Wear Community Primary School... and I returned the following day to host a book signing event. A massive thank you to Louise, Julie, Gilly and Bryony for all your help. The children were very excited when I arrived and I received a fantastic reception... following a presentation by the Lord Mayor in the hall, the eager students made their way to the library and certainly showed how enthused they were by purchasing copious amounts of books from my signing table!

On Friday, I also attended St Sidwell's Primary School in the heart of Exeter's Cathedral City and the children loved the Bradley Baker showcase... and a big thank you to Fliss for arranging the event. I'll be returning next Monday to meet all the children again to answer questions and hold a book signing event in the school library.

I'm very much looking forward to "World Book Week"... next week is crammed-packed with more school events and I'll update you on how they all went next time.

Bye for now and thanks for reading this latest blog update... have a great week!
Best wishes, DLJ

School 'Book Publication' workshops progressing well...

I am now working with more and more schools than ever before... word of my creative literacy workshops has created a huge demand for my services within Devon. And soon I'll start working with students in Gloucester during April and I'm very pleased to be breaking through the borders of Devon at last.

Current projects include 12 schools within the Totnes Learning Community... I've been working with a group of Gifted and Talented students over the past 6 weeks and this will conclude with an awards ceremony at Kevicc on 12th March where one lucky winner's character will be chosen to feature in my next Bradley Baker adventure.

I've just finished a book publication project with the year 6 pupils at Brixham C of E Primary. The book has been written, edited and published by the children and is titled "The Mystery Piano!" It has it's very own ISBN and is now available online.

I'm currently working with 3 other schools in Torbay; Westlands Secondary, Galmpton Primary and Cockington Community. All three projects are running to schedule and the children's written work will be published very soon.

More updates to follow... I'll keep you posted.
Best wishes DLJ

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The word is out...

News of Bradley Baker is spreading like a wild fire throughout Devon... thousands of school chidren have enjoyed showcase presentations in many remote rural locations throughout East and West Devon. In particular... two schools near Winkleigh were so grateful that I had battled through the wind and rain to venture deep into the countryside to introduce my boy hero to audiences that rarely get the opportunity to meet anyone, never mind a real life author!

Dolton and Clinton are two primary schools that affiliate together within the Tarca Federation and are located in the North West of Devon where fields full of sheep and horses make up a patchwork of wonderful countryside. The #Bradmobile arrived fully laiden with props to provide two memorable events for around 80 or so children and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Executive Headteacher for both schools Gina Finch, who welcomed me and the Bradley Baker books with open arms. All the students were extremely enthused and totally inspired... some even wrote their own stories overnight in readiness for my return the following day.

I left West Devon behind and headed East towards the City of Exeter for two more fantastic events. This time it was the turn of Woodwater Academy and St David's C of E Primary School to host my interactive showcase presentations. No one was left disappointed and the shows went down a treat with record book sales following both events. The kids just can't seem to get enough of Bradley and it's so humbling to see so many children's eyes light up when they receive their signed copies.

Between the larger events... during the past few weeks I've also kept myself busy working in the classroom environment leading various creative workshops. Year 6 students from Brixham C of E Primary and Galmpton Primary have enjoyed learning about the process of publishing their own stories and creating characters to appear in the books. It's been great fun to work with such appreciative children and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished books when they go to print.

Gifted and Talented students in the Totnes Learning Community also gathered again for their second character profile workshop at KEVICC in the school library. Just one more workshop to go until we discover who will win the competition to have their character appear in my next adventure book; Bradley Baker and the Gullfather of New York.

As much as I enjoy visiting schools, I'm really looking forward to a well earned break from events during half term... and it will afford me some time to write more words for the fourth Bradley Baker adventure! Then it's back to school visits the following week... so there's plenty going on to keep me busy!

More updates to follow... catch up with you all very soon.

Best wishes DLJ

Totnes Learning Community visits a great success!

It has been a delightful experience working with the headteachers and pupils at all the schools across the Totnes Learning Community. My author visits have been a resounding success... enthusing children about reading more books and writing stories along the way! Over the past 3 weeks I have visited a total of twelve schools to showcase the Bradley Baker books to just over 3000 children.

This week will see the first of a series of literacy workshops at King Edward VI Community College in Totnes. I will be working with a select group of Gifted and Talented children from all twelve schools in the Totnes Learning Community to develop character profiles... and one lucky student will have their creation featured in my fourth adventure book; Bradley Baker and the Gullfather of New York!

Look out for more updates in the next few weeks... where I will also be venturing into some Exeter schools too! World Book Week is already fully booked to the brim with school visits and then over the coming months, the #Bradmobile will be visiting even more schools in Devon, Dorset and I'm really looking forward to a return to Gloucestershire after the Easter break.

On a slightly different note... I received some fantastic news this week. Bradley Baker will be going state-side!!! We're off to New York at last... a journey across the pond will take place later this year and I'll be taking part in a series of events to promote the new boy hero. I can confirm that the first event will take place in New Jersey at the Roseland Library, where I have been invited to speak and sign copies of my books. I've received many messages from well-wishes on facebook about this exciting opportunity and even requests to get the movie rights secured, whilst I'm over there... now wouldn't that be nice?!!!

I've got so much more to tell you but I'll have to leave it all for another blogspot, as I have to crack on with writing BB's fourth adventure (so many ideas in my head - got to get them down on the page before I lose them... you know what it's like!!!).

So that's all for now folks... and hope to catch up with you all very soon.
Best wishes, DLJ