As is tradition, on Monday 14th November, Leighton Park’s book shop opened for business; a hallmark feature of the annual event that is Book Week. In English lessons, breaks, lunchtimes and free periods, students visited to browse from a generous selection of fiction and non-fiction titles.
Librarian, Grace Ritchie, enthused “We have a really wide selection this year, including staff-recommended picks; perfect if you want an early start on Christmas presents! All proceeds from the bookshop will be divided equally between the four house charities.”
Midweek, the wonderful Dean Atta joined Years 9 and 10 to read from his new novel in verse Only on the Weekends, before responding to burning questions from his audience.
When asked “what difficulties have you encountered writing your books?” the author spoke about the process of fictionalising his experiences, and in turn, his fear of appearing disloyal to the memories that inform his ideas; “when characters or events are inspired by people or experiences, I worry that people might recognise parts and think it is them.”
Dean’s work has already been the subject of much discussion amongst our own book groups; the award-winning poet and author released his debut The Black Flamingo to critical acclaim in 2019.
Speaking about the writing process itself, Dean explained how he really gets to know his characters by writing much more than will ever be published, for example character diary extracts!
Amongst Dean’s favourite things about being a writer, he cited collaborative events such as the Tottenham Literature Festival, which he attended earlier in the week to read extracts from More Fiya: A New Collection of Black British Poetry, with other celebrated writers.
“I thought the talk was really great. I love how Dean has been inspired by so many other writers and how the story of The Black Flamingo reflects his own experience growing up.” commented Idil in Year 9, after picking up three signed books. Whilst chatting with Idil, Dean recommended looking at the other authors a writer may recommend at the back of their books for some inspired reading.
In addition to author talks and seminars, Book Week would not be complete without a quiz and competition. Whilst Library goers tested their knowledge on non-fiction, Year 7 were invited to explore Andy Seed’s Interview With… non-fiction series of books.
Part 1/2 – Read about Author, Luke Palmer’s visit
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