‘Just to let you know that
Over the past eight years I have done hundreds of school, library and other events all over the world. I specialise in giving talks to all age groups and cover all aspects of being an author. I love to do events and am happy to consider most ideas and proposals.
I also teach creative writing. Most of my workshops are based in schools and my sessions can be tailored to fit your individual needs. I work across the school year range (from Yr5 upwards). I have also worked with adults on evening, one day and residential courses.
Below you will find details of what I do and contact details. If you are interested in booking an event with me, please get in touch and I will forward your request to my agent. I am extremely busy and most of my bookings are made well in advance of appearance dates.
SCHOOL VISITS
OLDER PUPILS (Yr7 upwards)
My sessions with this age range focus on two areas: talk/q&a about my books and being an author and creative writing sessions.
For the talk/q&a sessions I am happy to talk to any size group, up to and including entire school years. The sessions revolve around the older books and are geared towards getting your pupils excited about reading. My style is very informal and I am more than happy to talk to pupils across the ability range. I am increasingly asked to concentrate on reluctant readers, especially boys, and am experienced at doing this. I feel very strongly about pushing reading and my older novels are very popular with young people who don't normally read for a number of reasons.
I also talk about issues surrounding multi-culturalism, ethnicity, citizenship and politics. I am very flexible and can tailor any of these sessions to suit the needs of your pupils. In the past I have contributed to Carnegie shadowing events, Book Prizes, Prize Giving events, Question Time events, debates etc... The usual time for these sessions is 50mins to 1hour.
Please note that the subject matter and content of some of the older novels may not be suitable for Yr7's. I am happy to provide more information on this if you get in touch.
The creative writing sessions are also very flexible. I can either follow a pre-arranged framework, agreed between ourselves, or do my usual sessions which focus on dialogue, character building, writing about the pupils' own environment and using imagination. I like to tell the pupils that they don't have to have been on an amazing journey or involved in extraordinary situations to be able to write great stories. The stimulus for much of my writing is everyday life and I encourage pupils to draw from it. Again, these sessions are always very informal.
Group sizes for creative writing need to be much smaller than those for the general talks. As a rule groups should be no bigger than 10-15 pupils if possible (although I can accommodate more pupils if they work together). At lest one hour is required for the sessions to be effective (50mins at a push) and pupils need to be aware that they will be writing something during the session. You'd be surprised how many sessions I've turned up to where there is no paper to write on!
YOUNGER PUPILS (Yr5 - Yr8)
My recent Soccer Squad series has led to an increasing number of visits to primary and lower schools. These sessions are very different to those for older pupils and I enjoy them immensely.
Again there are two types of session, as above. For the author talks, I'm happy to speak to single classes, reading/book groups, combined classes and entire year groups. For years 5&6 these sessions are usually limited to 45mins although I am flexible. My focus in these talks is to give an idea of what an author goes through to write novels. I speak about the creative process and tell stories about my own childhood and my love for reading and writing. I'm also happy to answer any questions that the pupils may have. Once again these sessions are informal.
The creative writing sessions focus mainly on the use of imagination in writing. I try to make the sessions fun-packed by encouraging the pupils to add elements of absurdity/fantasy to everyday situations like going shopping or walking to school. I also help them to make simple plans for stories and to think about characters and developing ideas.
Group sizes for the younger sessions are one class or fewer. Any more than this and the quality of the written pieces tends to suffer.
For further details on all school visits please use the contact information below.
PUBLIC LIBRARY EVENTS
I adore libraries and feel very strongly that they are a undervalued resource. I have done countless library sessions over the years and am happy to do more. But there have been some problems with previous events and because of this, there are a number of points I need to make.
As a rule I do not do library events during half terms/school holiday periods. This is because it is very difficult to guarantee an audience and as a result the events become a waste of time and money for the organisers as well as for myself. The same applies to evening events at libraries, for which a premium is charged, mainly because I do most of my writing during this time and also because they are very difficult events to get right. Having said that I will consider events linked to outreach work, festivals and the like. Please get in touch if you require more info...
During term time I am happy to visit libraries so long as they guarantee attendances by inviting in local school classes. I have done many such events and they are always wonderful.
FESTIVALS, BOOK AWARDS, CREATIVE WRITING FOR ADULTS ETC...
For these events or any others I haven't mentioned, please do get in touch. I am happy to consider any event which promotes reading and literacy. I am also available for panel discussions around Multiculturalism and any related aspects. Amongst others, I have worked alongside the following groups/organisations in the past eight years:
The Book Trust, Guardian Children's Book Prize, Kids In Museums and Museums Liverpool, The British Council, NILE/BritLit, IBBY, Library Service of Victoria (Australia), BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Asian Network, DESI DNA, many regional radio stations and newspapers...
If I've forgotten to mention your organisation, please forgive me!
I am also an East Midlands ambassador for The Prince's Trust.
OVERSEAS EVENTS
I am very happy to work overseas and in the past eight years have been lucky enough to travel all over the world to give author sessions, do school visits and particpate in events. Much of this work has been through The British Council, International Schools and the like. If you would like to enquire about an overseas visit please do get in touch.
A Few Comments On Past Events:
‘Thank you for helping to make our conference go so well. It was obvious from delegates’ reactions both during your opening talk and during the break that you had struck a chord with them (a number of chords!). It was clear that your passion and commitment shone through.’
'Bali Rai is just as exciting as his books. His books are written like no others, tackling things than happen in everyday life from a teenage perspective, they are thrilling to read.'
FOR ALL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:
Please note this is for event enquiries ONLY. Please do not use for any other purpose. Any unsolicited mail will be deleted/blocked.