PRIMARY AUTHORS - emirateslitfest.com · PRIMARY AUTHORS 1 2 Alexander McCall ... work and talk about his ... Gary Northfield is a cartoonist and children’s author best known for

0 1 Afra Atiq

0 2 Harry Baker

0 3 Floella Benjamin

0 4 Eric Broug

0 5 Elissa Elwick

0 6 Craig Glenday

0 7 Rachel Hamilton

0 8 Katy Hudson

0 9 Julia Johnson

1 0 Andrey Kurkov

1 1 M.G. Leonard

PRIMARY AUTHORS

1 2 Alexander McCall Smith

1 3 Gary Northfield

1 4 Guy Parker-Rees

1 5 Korky Paul

1 6 Andy Riley

1 7 Stephen Ritz

1 8 Tony Ross

1 9 Wafa’ Tarnowska

2 0 Julie Tottman

2 1 Holly Webb

AFRA ATIQ

PRIMARY

Age: 10+

Year 5+

Date of Visit: Flexible

Audience size: Flexible

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http://www.afraatiq.com/

Born in Dubai, Afra Atiq, the first female Emirati spoken word artist, says, ‘Where

will the world be without the poets, writers, artists, painters and sculptors?’ Be

prepared to be mesmerized when Afra performs her poems.

Afra will present her poems, share some tips about performing spoken word, talk

about the importance of poetry and spoken word in today’s world and answer

questions.

Afra Atiq is a spoken word artist and the first Emirati to perform at the legendary

Nuyorican Poet’s Café in New York and winner of the Poets NY poetry slam.

HARRY BAKER

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PRIMARY

Age: 10+

Year 5+

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Audience size: Flexible

Small to Large

http://www.harrybaker.co/

Harry Baker loves words, and he has used his love of words, combined with puns

and poetry, to travel the world giving awe-inspiring performances and become

the youngest ever World Slam Poetry Champion. Harry will share some of his

work and talk about his personal journey of how he started writing in Secondary

school and where it has taken him. He will touch on the themes of fitting in and

bullying, and present some playful and silly poems about falafel and dinosaurs.

Harry Baker, author of The Sunshine Kid, and the UK Poetry Slam Champion is

known for his wordplay and rhymes.

FLOELLA BENJAMIN

PRIMARY

Age: 9+

Year 4+

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Audience size: Large

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http://www. floellabemjamin.com/www.floellabenjamin.com/Welcome.html

Floella Benjamin speaks from the heart about her childhood journey to England

as a ten year old girl. Her account is both funny and thought provoking, full of

inspirational messages and uplifting anecdotes. She goes on to talk about her

transition to creating and producing TV programmes, her philosophy of life and

how she overcame obstacles by learning to face them with a smile.

Baroness Floella Benjamin is a Trinidadian-British actress, best known for her

children’s television.

Programmes; Play School, Play Away and Fast Forward, a singer, television

presenter and author of Coming to England, Sea of Tears and Skip Across the Ocean.

ERIC BROUG

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PRIMARY

Age: 10 to 11

Year 6

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Audience size: Large Lecture

or Workshop. Up to 40

http://www.broug.com/

Geometric Design can be found throughout Islamic cultures in mosques, schools,

homes and palaces. Although complex, it can be created with only a compass and

a ruler. Eric will introduce students to Islamic Geometric Design using examples

from art and architecture. He can provide a lecture for a large group or a

Workshop for up to 40.

Eric’s Workshop would be 75-90 minutes and include:

A 20 minute introduction to Islamic Geometric Design showing how

patterns work

Developing skills to better read these patterns

Drawing, colouring and tessellating two patterns

Eric Broug is an artist specializing in Islamic art and the author of Islamic Geometric

Design which was hailed as essential reading by Islamic Arts Magazine.

ELISSA ELWICK

PRIMARY

Age: 8-10

Year 3-5

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Audience size: Workshop

30 Students

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http://www. elissaelwick.co.uk/

Elissa Elwick, children’s illustrator and author, brings the fun of Finnegan, Sprat,

Floss and Peanut’s escapades to life with her creative illustrations in the Little

Adventurers series. Elissa will present a drawing Workshop to help students

create their own mini picture book with simple characters and a simple story. She

will discuss ideas with the children and offer help as they draw.

Elissa is the illustrator and author of The Princess and the Sleep Stealer and one

half of the book collaborating duo Ardagh and Elwick in The Little Adventurers

series. When she’s not thinking up stories or inventing new characters, she

loves to create monsters, glue eyes on whatever she can find, draw and scribble,

and have fun with watercolours.

CRAIG GLENDAY

PRIMARY

Age: 7-12

Year 1-6

Date of Visit: Thurs, 8 March

Audience size: 150+

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http://www. guinnessworldrecords.com/

Craig Glenday will bring to life the new edition of the Guinness World Record Book

2018, focusing on the theme of ‘Real Life Superheroes’. He will highlight the stories

behind some of the biggest and most unusual records.

Craig Glenday has been the Editor-in-Chief at Guinness World Records for the

past 13 years. He started off as Editor of the website and in 2005 took over as

publisher of the best-selling annual Guinness World Records book, with more

than 132 million copies sold.

RACHEL HAMILTON

PRIMARY

Age: 8-11

Year 3-6

Date of Visit: Flexible

Audience size: Flexible

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http://www.rachel-hamilton.com/

Rachel Hamilton has a passion for story-telling, loves making people laugh and

has a special place in her heart for geeks. She puts all these together to come up

with ideas for her fantastically successful books. Her laugh-out-loud detective

stories are an ideal read for boys and girls who love a good mystery. Rachel

divides her time between the UK and Dubai, creating funny books and talking to

young people about the joys of reading and writing.

Rachel can talk about either her Unicorn book series or her Exploding book series.

Rachel Hamilton is the author of the children's books, The Case of the Exploding

Loo, The Case of the Exploding Brains, and Unicorn in New York. She has been

awarded the Emirates Woman of the Year 2015, Artist Category, the Worcester

Awesomest Book Award 2015 and the Ossett Riveting Reads Award 2016.

KATY HUDSON

PRIMARY

Age: 4-7

Year FS2, 1-2

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Audience size: Workshop

Up to 25

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http://www.katyhudson.co.uk/

How many carrots are too many? What can Rabbit do with all his carrots? In Too

Many Carrots, Katy uses her creative talent with both art and words to explore the

important life lessons of taking only what you need and sharing with others. Join

Katy in an interactive Workshop as she shows some of her original drawings and

tells how she comes up with her characters. Watch a video of her process for

drawing a rabbit and participate in an arts and craft session.

Katy Hudson first started drawing, as a child, on the walls in her home. Her

parents gave her paper and pencils and she never looked back. She is the author-

illustrator of Bear and Duck, Too Many Carrots, Runaway Egg, and most recently, A

Loud Winters Nap.

JULIA JOHNSON

PRIMARY

Age: 6-10

Year 1-5

Date of Visit: Flexible

Audience size: Workshop

Up to 25

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http://www. juliajohnson.ae/

Julia Johnson is a drama teacher turned children’s author, storyteller and

performer who loves to write books about the Arabian Gulf. She can speak on

many fascinating topics based around her stories. Their cultural and historical

context includes life in the Gulf in days gone by, conservation and wildlife.

She can talk to a large group about being an author, what inspires her and why

she chooses the subjects she writes about or she can hold a Workshop with a

smaller group and talk about her books including storytelling, character

development, and issues surrounding the story.

Julia Johnson’s many books include The Pearl Diver, The Leopard Boy, One Humpy

Grumpy Camel, The Cheetah’s Tale and The Turtle Secret, which won the Best

International Children’s Book Award at Sharjah International Book Fair.

ANDREY KURKOV

PRIMARY

Age: 6-10

Year 1-5

Date of Visit: Thurs, 8 March

Audience size: Workshop

Up to 25

1 0

http://www.emirateslitfest.com/authors/andrey-kurkov/

Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian novelist who writes in Russian. He has always used

animals in his stories and his first piece of poetry as a young boy was about the

loneliness of his pet hamster. In his children’s book about a hedgehog, Andrey

tells a story of a sweet but lonely hedgehog that envies other animals because

humans can pet them. The hedgehog is sad until he meets a cute and friendly

mouse. Andrey will present a Workshop for children teaching them how to invent

stories and fairy-tales.

Andrey Kurkov is the author of 20 novels and 9 books for children, including The

Adventures of Baby Vacuum Cleaner Gosha and Why No One Pets The Hedgehog? His

work has been translated into 37 languages. His literary awards include the Swiss

Readers’ Prize, Ukraine’s Writer of the Year, the International Nikolai Gogol Prize

and The Reader’s Choice Prize.

M.G. LEONARD

PRIMARY

Age: 7+ / 9-11

Year 2+ / 4-6

Date of Visit: Sun 4, March

Audience size: Large Assembly

or Workshop Up to 30

1 1

http://www.mgleonard.com

Do you love beetles? Would you like to have a beetle as a pet? M.G. Leonard

thinks, ‘there isn’t anything as wild, crazy or majestic as the beetle’. To find out

more about the many splendid coleoptera in her Beetle series, join M.G. for a

combination of storytelling and beetle information. M.G. can give a large

assembly style event for age 7+, or an interactive Workshop for up to 30 students

ages 9 to 11. The large event will combine storytelling with information about the

variety and incredible nature of beetles, the environment and how important

beetles are to our world, entomophagy; (the practice of eating insects), and the

concept of using beetles in fashion. In the Workshop, M.G. will use beetles as a

focal point to help students gather the ingredients needed to write their own

story.

M.G. Leonard is an author, poet and screenwriter. Her Beetle series has been

critically acclaimed, with Beetle Boy winning The Branford Boase Award 2017.

ALEXANDER MCCALL SMITH

1 2

PRIMARY

Age: 11-12

Year 6-7

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Audience size: Medium

up to 40

http://www.alexandermccallsmith.co.uk/

From African stories to adventures aboard the School Ship Tobermory, there is

always fun to be had with Alexander McCall Smith, one of the most prolific and

best loved authors across the world. Be prepared to ask Alexander questions as

he speaks about his books for young readers and discusses what it takes to write

a good story.

Alexander McCall Smith is the creator of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and has

written many popular children’s books including The School Ship Tobermory, The

Sands of Shark Island, the Precious series, and the Akimbo series.

GARY NORTHFIELD

PRIMARY

Age: 6-11

Year 1-6

Date of Visit: Thurs, 8 March

Audience size: Large

1 3

http://www.garynorthfield.com/

Full of Roman and Egyptian facts and drawing tips for budding young cartoonists

this event will have you laughing out loud as master cartoonist Gary Northfield

introduces the hilarious world of Julius Zebra. Julius is no ordinary Zebra – he’s a

Roman Gladiator! In his latest adventure, Julius has landed in Egypt and been

mistaken for a Horse God. What luck – Julius and his friends are pampered like

gods, until a stolen jewel and an ancient curse begin to unravel everything…

Gary Northfield is a cartoonist and children’s author best known for his Julius

Zebra series and his comics Gary’s Garden and Derek the Sheep.

GUY PARKER-REES

PRIMARY

Age: 5-7

Year 1-2

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Audience size: Large

1 4

http://www.guyparkerrees.com/

Guy Parker-Rees’ illustrations in Giraffes Can’t Dance wonderfully enhance the life-

affirming story. Can you spot the cricket, and the red, yellow and blue beetles on

every page? Join Guy for a fun-filled interactive session and learn to Tango along

the way. Guy will talk about how he comes up with animal characters and the

process of creating illustrations for books. Then he and the children will each

draw a brand new animal character. He will finish with an interactive reading of

Giraffes Can’t Dance, Tango lesson included, and his friend Gerald the Giraffe

might come out for a dance.

The children will need a sheet of A4 paper and a pencil.

Guy Parker-Rees is the award-winning illustrator best known for Giraffes Can’t

Dance, the Tom and Millie series and the Dylan series.

KORKY PAUL

PRIMARY

Age: 6-11

Year 1-6

Date of Visit: Wed, 7 March

Audience size: Workshop 30 to 50

1 5

http://www.korkypaul.com/

Magical moments with Korky Paul and Winnie the Witch mean speedy sketching

and spellbinding story telling. Experience an energetic Workshop, full of wit,

enthusiasm and lots of audience participation.

Korky plays name games, getting the children to come up with a quirky name, and

then encourages the children to help him draw that quirky name using their

imagination. As a memento of his visit, he signs, dedicates and gives his drawing

to the class or school.

Korky Paul is an award-winning children's illustrator most famous for Winnie the

Witch and The Sir Scallywag Capers.

ANDY RILEY

PRIMARY

Age: 7+

Year 2+

Date of Visit: Wed, 7 March

Audience size: Large

1 6

http://misterandyriley.com/

Andy Riley’s event is high-energy and loads of laughs. Andy begins with a barmy

game drawing any crazy thing the kids can think of. He then walks them through

the three main elements you need to write a story: place, hero and villain, with

readings from King Flashypants in between each segment, followed by a 15 min Q

& A.

Andy Riley is an author and illustrator, cartoonist, screenwriter and television

producer best known for writing HBO’s Veep, the King Flashypants book series

and The Bunny Suicides series.

STEPHEN RITZ

PRIMARY

Age: 6+

Year 1+

Date of Visit: Sun, 4 March

Wed, 7 March

Thurs, 8 March

Audience size: Flexible

Large room

Classroom

Workshop

1 7

http://stephenritz.com/

Stephen Ritz is comfortable speaking about a range of topics from his own

odyssey as a professional to his weight loss, health, wellness, STEM / STEAM

initiatives, urban gardening / farming, whole school development and asset-

based community development. Stephen says, ‘I enjoy sharing my experience,

strength and hope rooted in passion and purpose. I like talking about being

relentlessly unafraid of failure and how to get to ‘yes!’ I'm told I am a motivational

speaker but I prefer to be a motivational doer and inspiring people to reach deep

within and burst their own bubbles!’

Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator, innovator, and author who believes that

students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a

better one. He was named a Top 10 Finalist for the prestigious $1m Global

Teacher Prize in 2015. He is also the Founder of Green Bronx Machine. His

recently released book is The Power Of A Plant.

TONY ROSS

PRIMARY

Age: 10+

Year 5+

Date of Visit: Thurs, 8 March

Audience size: Large

1 8

http://www.tonyross.co/

As soon as you see the name Tony Ross on the cover of a book, you know you are

in for a treat. He is a prolific illustrator and author of many children's picture

books combining humourous text and imaginative illustrations. Tony will talk

about his writing and drawing method, show some of his work and do some live

drawing. He welcomes audience participation and questions.

Tony Ross is an award-winning illustrator and author of more than 800 books,

including the Little Princess series, Horrid Henry, Pippi Longstocking, and books by

Roald Dahl and David Walliams.

WAFA’ TARNOWSKA

PRIMARY

Age: 8+

Year 3+

Date of Visit: Thurs, 8 March

Audience size: Flexible

1 9

wafatarnowska.co.uk/about-wafa

In The Arabian Nights, Lebanese author Wafa’ Tarnowska opens a window into the

Arab world with her translation of eight stories from A Thousand and One Nights.

Wafa’ will introduce students to the origins of the Arabian nights and continue

with storytelling. She will also give the teachers a quiz for the children to complete

and a signed copy of her book as the prize.

In her work, Wafa’ Tarnowska creates a bridge between East and West, helping to

break down the stereotypical images people have of one another. Wafa is also

the author of The Seven Wise Princesses. Her awards include the American Folklore

Society Aesop Accolade, the Moonbeam Awards Gold Medal Winner and the

Smithsonian Magazine Notable Book for Children.

JULIE TOTTMAN

PRIMARY

Age: 8-9

Year 3-4

Date of Visit: Wed, 7 March

Audience size: Small

Up to 27

2 0

http://www.emirateslitfest.com/authors/julie-tottman/

Trick-training is a simple and fun way to bond with your pet while keeping him or

her stimulated and active, and there is no one better to show you how to do it

than Julie Tottman. Join her as she tells stories and shows pictures of the animals

and film productions she has worked with, talks about training animals and

discusses her books in a conversational setting.

Julie Tottman is a film animal trainer who has trained dogs, cats and owls for the

Harry Potter films, and seagulls for the Dark Knight. She is the author of Superstar

Cats and Superstar Dogs.

HOLLY WEBB

PRIMARY

Age: 6-9

Year 1-4

Date of Visit: Wed, 7 March

Audience size: Flexible

2 1

http://www.holly-webb.com/

Do you love animals? Do you feel animals think and have feelings? Growing up,

Holly Webb had several pets; cats, dogs and gerbils, all with interesting

characteristics that inspired her writing. Holly will talk about her books and

explain how the real animals she has owned have inspired her writing, especially

the Animal Stories series, show pictures and a short video of her animals, and

answer questions.

Holly Webb is the author of over 100 books for children between the ages of 5

and 9. She has written Return to the Secret Garden, the sequel to Frances

Hodgson’s The Secret Garden, along with many popular books including, the

Animal Stories series, Emily Feather series and Maisie Hitchens series.