Fabula Festival Schools Programme 2023

There are a number of upcoming author events for school groups during Fabula Festival!

Events include author talks, theatre shows, digital workshops and drama workshops.

This year we are delighted to host author Ravena Guron at Keith Axon and Fullwell Cross Libraries and award- winning writer Michael Mann at Kenneth More Theatre in Ilford.

Ravena Guron is an MG author, a superb new voice who brings her own captivating brand of energy, wild adventure and joy to the genre. Her book, The Thief of Farrowfell is the first in the series following Jude Ripon. It was shortlisted for Penguin’s WriteNow scheme, as well as being highly commended in the FAB Prize.

Michael Mann is a teacher and author whose book Ghostcloud was a Waterstones Best Children’s Book of 2021, a Guardian pick and included in the Book Trust Great Books Guide 2022.

Pupils will have an opportunity to buy the authors books in advance and both events will be followed by book signings by the authors.

This education programme is offered for free to Redbridge schools, on a first come first served basis.

Ravena Guron – The Thief of Farrowfell

Tuesday 11 July

Keith Axon Library     10.30am

Fullwell Cross Library 1.30pm

Welcome to a fantasy world where edible magic is the hottest commodity, traded between those who can pay or – in the case of Jude Ripon, the youngest thief in Farrowfell – those who can steal it! Twelve-year-old Jude Ripon has never been taken seriously by her family of magic-stealing masterminds. To them, she’s just the youngest, only good for keeping watch while they carry out daring heists. Desperate to prove her worth, Jude decides to steal valuable magic from the fanciest house in town . . . But Jude’s stolen prize was protected by a curse which threatens to wreak havoc on the family business. While attempting to untangle the mess she’s made (and wondering why anyone would want to curse an honest thief trying to earn a living), Jude discovers just how far her family will go to stay at the top of the criminal world. Suddenly, her quest to become a true Ripon isn’t straightforward any more . . .

Biography

Ravena Guron is a British Indian biochemist turned lawyer turned MG author, a superb new voice who brings her own captivating brand of energy, wild adventure and joy to the genre. The Thief of Farrowfell is the first in the series following Jude Ripon, and was shortlisted for Penguin’s WriteNow scheme, as well as being highly commended in the FAB Prize. Ravena also writes YA, including the acclaimed This Book Kills. Ravena is a Londoner through and through: born, raised and educated in London, she lives there still.

Twitter: @RavenaGuron

Signed copies of The Thief of Farrowfell will be available for purchase at £6 per copy.

This event is suitable for KS2 (YR 4 – 6)

Spaces are limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Please complete a booking form to register your interest.

Anyone Can be an Author with Michael Mann

Wednesday 12 July          10.30am

Kenneth More Theatre, Oakfield Road, Ilford, IG1 1BT

Local author and teacher, Michael Mann, will run a fun, interactive session for KS2 and early KS3 explaining how anyone can be an author and why reading is key. Includes author tips, Q&A, cloudspotting game and quiz, as well as a reading from his book, GHOSTCLOUD, a Waterstones Best Children’s Book of 2021 and BookTrust pick.

Michael is of mixed British & Indian heritage and will discuss how this influenced his writing. He will also sign books after, and provide follow-up writing activities for use in class or at home.

Book Blurb – Ghostcloud

Catch the wind. Find your freedom.

Kidnapped and forced to shovel coal underneath a half-bombed, blackened power station, 12-year-old Luke’s life is miserable. Then, he discovers he can see things others can’t. Ghostly things. Specifically, a ghost-girl named Alma. Alma, who can ride clouds through the night sky and bend their shape to her will, befriends Luke. And with Alma’s help, Luke discovers he is in fact a rare being – half-human and half-something else…

Then Luke learns the terrible truth of why children are being kidnapped and forced to work in the power station, and he becomes even more desperate to escape. Can Luke find out who he really is… and find his freedom?

Book Blurb – Nightspark

Having escaped from the half-bombed, blackened power station where he was being imprisoned, 12-year-old Luke is finally reunited with his family above ground. But though Luke tries to readjust, he can’t shake the guilt he feels for his friend Ravi, who was left behind, nor the feeling that someone – or something – is watching him from the shadows.

With the help of ghost-girl named Alma and his friend Jess, Luke must journey across the country and sea to find Ravi, the friend who was there for him in his darkest hours. And in doing so, he must face his past and confront his deepest fears…

A riveting, magical adventure set in the waterways of a richly reimagined England, and the epic conclusion of the Ghostcloud duology.

Biography

Michael Mann is a primary school teacher by day, and mostly writes when he should be sleeping at night. He was a winner of SCBWI’s Undiscovered Voices 2020, and the 2019 London Writer’s Award (Spread the Word) and is the author of Ghostcloud. He is passionate about diversity in children’s literature as a person of British and Indian heritage. Michael was born in London but moved to North Yorkshire when he was ten. He now lives with his partner and children in London. Nightspark, the sequel to Ghostcloud, is out now.

Twitter: @mikebmann

Signed copies of Michael’s books; Ghostcloud and Nightspark will be available for purchase at £6 each or £11 for both.

This event is suitable for KS2 (YR 4 – 6)

Spaces for this event are strictly limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Please complete a booking form to register your interest. A member of the library team will contact you to confirm your booking.