Piers Torday

Awards

• Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
• Teach Primary Book Award
• Calderdale Children's Book of the Year
• Stockton Children's Book of the Year

Organisations

• Society of Authors
• Scattered Authors Society
• The Writer's Guild of Great Britain

Event feedback

Details

“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for coming to St John’s last week. You were an absolute highlight of the week with both the children and the staff. Our pupils have all been so inspired by your talk and learning about the real magic that stories hold. It was the perfect opening presentation for a wonderful day.”

St John’s College School, Cambridge 

Thank you for your interest in having me visit your school, either in person or virtually! Any chance to speak to children about reading and writing is a privilege, and one I do not take lightly.

The following give details of the type of event(s) I do, format, requirements and what we need to know from you when hosting an online visit.

Please give this document a read before getting in touch about dates. I'm very happy to make suggestions and answer any questions you may have.

CONTACT

For all event queries, please email Piers at info@pierstorday.co.uk

THE EVENT

What does a Piers Torday event involve?

I give a highly illustrated, animated and interactive virtual presentation exploring the values of sharing stories, and childhood reading and writing for a primary school-age audience. I will explain how I became an author, and what inspired me. I will also talk about how he learned to write books through The Last Wild, tell the very personal story which led to There May Be A Castle, and explain why he wrote the books in his Narnia-inspired series, The Lost Magician and The Frozen Sea, and how his latest book The Wild Before can inspire every child to make a difference.

The talk is ideal for ages 7 – 12, and lasts about 45 minutes, after which Piers will be happy to take questions, before signing books. The live, in-person talk is best suited to larger groups.

NB I am happy to speak to all year groups at a school - whether reading picture books to the very young or holding a reading surgery, or Q&A on writing for older children.

For virtual visits, the talk is for groups of any size and can be broadcast into multiple classrooms. We also offer pre-recorded sessions, to allow screenings for individual classes within the school’s timetable.

Piers also offers a 30-minute virtual Q&A session.

Book sales are still encouraged through a local bookseller or our bookshop partner and signed bookplates will be provided for any books sold.

"Piers speaks very clearly and passionately about his work and the craft of the writer. All those attending his talks were clearly captivated and engaged with his content and career as an author. They had plenty of questions to ask at the end of each session. His writers workshop really got the students imagination fired up, and they relished the opportunity to have a go at creating their own story. For some it was a lot of fun as the workshop had humour and challenging activities as a part of it. Others were inspired and were encouraged to think about seriously developing their own stories as a result. All the teachers that were supervising the students were impressed with Piers’ talks and felt they covered more than enough ground and have led to students wanting to read more of his books in their own free time.As school librarian for Rokeby School I would invite Piers back, and would recommend that if you are looking for author to visit your school Piers Torday would host fun, informative and inspiring talks."

Rokeby School, Kingston, Summer 2021

When is Piers available?

Piers does 1-2 school visits each week and tends to get booked up about 4-6 months in advance (more quickly around busy periods such as World Book Day and around publications of his new books). When requesting a visit, it is advisable to give an indication of preferred dates but be prepared to be flexible, so we can do our best to accommodate you.

“Huge thanks to Piers for such a wonderful talk today at Ashlyns School.  The talk was absolutely spell-binding and I've already received lovely feedback from the teachers from the session.”

Ashlyns School, Berkhamsted

Books by Piers Torday

Photos and videos

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