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Welcome to the Eagle House Festival Blog page. Click Here to return to the Festival homepage Find out what's been going on during the week: Sunday 13th June We are all looking forward to a great week. The marquee arrives at the crack of dawn tomorrow and the school is awash with excitement. Months of planning is about to come to fruition. We look forward to welcoming all our authors. Monday 14th June Up early to welcome the marquee crew but as it turned out they weren't quite as early as we'd expected! After last night's rain it was fingers crossed that the day would be dry, at least for the setting up. Just before 7.00am the marquee began to be unloaded and the Festival preparation began in full. A quick interview with BBC Radio Berkshire and then off to introduce our first author. As school began there was a different feeling around and Years 3 & 4 were immediately part of the Festival when poet James Carter began his first show of the day. James is amazing, a wordsmith of wonder but also a great guitarist and pianist. He performed to all year groups and had them spellbound. Then certain years were treated to a workshop. If the Year 8 one that I went to was anything to to go by the standard of the poetry that the children produced was something special. I am still amazed at the ideas that our students spun together on the theme of Space and the Cosmos.
There was a race to get the marquee up for the first speaker and to get the KidZone sorted but as lunchtime arrived things were almost in place. Waterstones had arrived and the Capers cafe was set and ready (do drop in for a coffee - it is delicious!). The Great Monino was all set for his opening magic show in the KidZone and we were all set for Tom Palmer. James Carter still had some workshops to do and Year 7 were heard rapping whilst Year 6 worked out some thoughtful kennings.
At 3 o'clock it was time to welcome Tom Palmer into the marquee. There was an excited audience for Tom as he began his talk. He asked some questions to the audience and those who answered got to take part in a penalty shoot out. The penalty shoot out saw 13 players take a penalty against Mr Edwards (goalie extraordinaire!). After a knockout competition (and some excellent goalkeeping - Mr Capello I am available!) Richard Morgan came out as the winner.
Tom took us back into the marquee and told us about how he became a writer and read from his first Foul Play book. After a Q & A session there was a a lot of eager book buyers waiting for Tom to sign. This was a great first session in the marquee and Tom brought a bit of football magic to Eagle House.
Linda Buckley-Archer was next up in the marquee and she spoke about her Time Quake trilogy with some images and a look at life in the 18th century. First book in the series, Gideon the Cutpurse, is a real adventure and fuses science fiction and fantasy. Linda gave a fascinating talk and the audience enjoyed learning about the world her characters, Peter and Kate, ended up in.
Finally for the day Jeremy Strong filled the marquee and talked about his life and why he wanted to write. Jeremy has written 84 books and was much appreciated by his fans who had turned up to see him. Jeremy's talk was filled with laughter and his story was told on the screens through pictures, a few of him as a child having to deal with his 'big, evil' brother!
A wonderful day. Thanks for all the hard work from everyone and the enthusiasm from the children. I am looking forward to tomorrow right now! Tuesday 15th June What a wonderful day today has been! Some amazing authors, illustrators, poets have graced the Literature Festival stage! First off the Film Academy Workshop arrived to do a workshop with 25 students. They spent the day learning the art of film making and then got to shoot their own ten frame movie. I have yet to see the finished movies but I know that all the kids did an amazing job and that Killer Coin - The Movie won. Well done and thanks to the Young Film Academy for all their hard work. In the marquee we welcomed the magnificent duo that are Knife and Packer. They gave a truly amazing workshop based around their character Fleabag Monkeyface and some of the evil adversaries that he has to face in the six books so far produced. The workshop began with a drawing of a mosquito who with audience input became a French artist who made cheeses in his spare time!
All the audience had pen and paper and we were treated to a masterclass of cartoon illustrating. You could have heard a pin drop in the marquee as we all tried out our drawings of Fleabag and his evil enemy Nostrildamus! This was a great session and Knife and Packer showed how their stories had developed and how each of us could become a cartoonist! A book signing followed and plenty of audience members are now drawing their first comic strip as we speak! Brian Patten arrived before lunch and Year 4 were given an exclusive poetry reading by the master of contemporary poetry. We were very honoured to have Brian visit us and murmurs of excitement swept the school when he arrived. As the books started to fly off the Waterstones shelf it was clear that we were in for an afternoon of great presentations. Sally Nicholls was next into the marquee and her in-depth talk about how Ways to Live Forever was written as well as her next book Season of Secrets was compelling. Sally is one of our most talented writers and she gave a real insight into how she writes and how the characters like Sam and Molly end up on the page. After her talk Sally kindly signed some books. We are all awaiting her next book that is being written at the moment. Brian Patten came into the marquee for a performance of his poetry and we were treated to a whole range of his work. From the very young to the adults in the audience we were all treated to something special. Children clutched copies of Gargling with Jelly and Brian led us on a journey through some wonderful poems including some fables he has written but not yet published. The performance was amazing and Jacob was chosen to help with a poem - a CATegorical piece! Brian was a huge highlight and we were delighted that he came to our Festival. He stayed on to sign books before leaving for home. Our final author of the day was M.G.Harris, author of the wonderful Joshua Files. M.G gave a compelling presentation, using videos introducing the books and telling us about her fascination with Mayan culture and her Mexican roots. We were treated to a chapter from book 4 and shown a little insight into how Joshua came about. This was a great way to get behind the books and learn about what makes the stories come to the page. A very eager audience asked questions and a lucky few managed to win some Joshua goodies by answering some tricky questions. This has been a remarkable day and I hope that there are lots of excited readers out there. I certainly am. Wednesday offers yet more excitement. I can't wait! Wednesday 16th June The sun is much brighter today and the skies are blue. Day 3 in Festival week and once again we are up and running early with our first author and illustrator, Hannah Shaw. Year 3 were lucky enough to have a workshop with Hannah and the inspiration from her wonderful books encouraged the children to draw some amazing characters. Hannah went to Pre-Prep for a workshop then onto the KidZone. It is a bumper day for Pre-Prep as Sue Mason, wonderful illustrator, came in to show her books and get the children to produce their own characters. Sally Prue was the first author into the marquee. Sally's talk was an inspiration to young writers. She talked about how a story could be created and gave us a humorous look at how stories come about. Her funny and thoughtful words were a hit with the audience and we were left with some ideas about stories, no matter how crazy the ideas! Don't be afraid to write and create your own worlds - an important message for those starting out as writers. After a short break and a farewell to Sally, Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon arrived. The "Tunnelers" were in great form and gave us a super presentation about how the books came to be and the story so far in the series. Both writers had an element of mining history in them from past family members and their talk and Q&A session were brilliant - funny and compelling. We were treated to a reading from Closer and then they very kindly signed a load of books from very enthusiastic readers. One of our dorms in the Boarding House is called Freefall after their 3rd book and so we managed to get Brian and Rod to have their picture taken by the door to the said room. Our final author / poet in the marquee was Pauline Stewart. Reciting her poems and using lots of audience participation she delighted everyone. Her words floated around the marquee and the evening sun and her sense of fun and performing skills made this one of the most fitting ways to end a brilliant day. Pauline even had us all dancing along to one of her poems. Her mixture of fun, timing and getting everyone to feel part of the session helped put a spring into the step of those leaving the marquee.
Another day awaits - what wonders are lined up for tomorrow? Thursday 17th June Can the days get any better? The week has been full of the most wonderful writers and today has been no exception. An early marquee session was with Craig Simpson and what a great session it was. Craig was kind enough to wait for the boys and girls in 8E & 8W to get their Common Entrance results and then gave a compelling talk about the inspiration for his WW2 stories. Hearing about the spies who risked their lives and how gadgets were used kept our audience intrigued. Craig signed a mountain of books after his presentation. We then had the wonderful moment when Marcus Sedgwick appeared to do his workshop with Year 7 and Tim Bowler arrived to work with Year 8. Within school at the same time and working with two groups simultaneously were two of the best authors writing at the moment! This was topped as Jamila Gavin arrived for her talk and our 'green room' had three legendary authors chatting over a sandwich. Jamila spoke brilliantly on the theme of human rights in her novels and she gave an inspirational talk that provoked some of the most perceptive questions we have had all week. Tim was next on the marquee agenda and after his workshop earlier in the day there was plenty of interest in his talk. Tim immediately engaged the audience and spoke about his novels and the way he writes with an idea that needs to be resolved. We were given a world premier of his new book - Buried Thunder - as Tim read the first chapter. It was brilliant and we all can't wait to read the book when it comes out in February 2011. This was a superb session and Tim was kept busy signing books after his talk. Our evening session was the multi-talented Mark Billingham. What a way to end the day! Mark was funny, warm and delighted the audience who had turned out to see him on a beautiful June evening. He spoke about his young adult books, Triskellion, which he writes under the pseudonym of Will Peterson. Mark read from the third book in the series and then moved onto his adult crime series about Tom Thorne. This is about to be televised and he spoke about the experiences his crime books have created as well reading the opening of book 9 in the series. It was a superb presentation - yet another to add to the week! Friday 18th June The final day of the Festival arrived and there was such a buzz in school about the whole week and everyone was talking about their favourite author and looking forward to another great day listening to and meeting writers. Year 8 were lucky enough to have Nick Lake run a workshop for them. Nick's recent book Blood Ninja (a great read) is on the summer reading list for many and we were given a great workshop on how to construct a story, looking at the hero, his quest, the people and things that help him or her and the villains that stand in the way. It was a great session and gave us the chance to plan out a story and be ready to write the first chapter in the future. The Years 5 & 6 and 3 & 4 were treated to storyteller Ed Wicke who entertained them with his stories and array of accents. The Year 7s who had been given a workshop by Marcus Sedgwick were waiting for him to return and speak in the marquee. There were many who wanted to listen to Marcus and we were joined by pupils from The Dolphin School and Ludgrove for this wonderful presentation. Marcus spoke about the themes running through his novel My Swordhand is Singing and we were lucky enough to glimpse a copy of his new book White Crow, being released shortly. It was a pleasure to see so many people wanting books signed after the talk. Marcus' books are one of the reasons children's fiction is at such a high point at the moment. At lunchtime Reception children, all dressed as characters from story books, assembled outside to let off their blue balloons, having spent the last few days talking about the Blue Balloon. We wait to see how far the balloons travel. In the KidZone the Great Monino performed his closing act and it was, as usual, a triumph. Chris Priestley was the penultimate author in the marquee and we listened to his ideas behind the Tales of Terror series. He read us a short story by Saki and then an extract from a story yet to be released in the Tales of Terror trilogy. Chris has a love of the short dark stories of the past and brilliantly creates his own in his popular books. To end the Festival we were hugely delighted to welcome Anne Fine. Anne's popularity and skill as a writer for all ages made her the perfect writer to close the week. She spoke brilliantly. Her talk was funny, full of ideas about how stories develop and she shared her views on many topics. The audience were thoroughly entertained and Anne made sure that all her fans had books signed before she left. A truly great session to end our Festival. What a week this has been. So many highlights but the best thing has been to see the impact the Festival has had on children. They have been inspired and one cannot walk around school without seeing readers engrossed in a book, no doubt signed to them by the huge array of talent that has joined us this week. Reading is alive and kicking at Eagle House.
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