I’ve spent most of my life as an English teacher in secondary schools, and my writing for teenagers grew out of that. I found I was wanting to do the homework I set. (And I sometimes did ...)

My first young adult novel was What’s Your Problem?, about bullying. My second, Is He Worth It? is about a girl with an emotionally abusive boyfriend and my third, Disconnected, published May 2002, is about exam pressure and the struggle for identity.

These are bleak themes, but in my experience teenagers appreciate the chance to work through difficult issues in the pages of a book, not the least because they provide rattling good stories!

I’m passionate about getting teenagers to enjoy reading - why is it that so many of them stop reading as they hit adolescence? And what can we do to counter it? Also I’m alarmed at the way creative writing has been squeezed out of the school curriculum. It’s an essential part of teaching teenagers to see things from another’s point of view.

To this end, school visits are vitally important to me as a working writer.
I’ve also written non-fiction for teenagers - The Alternative GCSE Guides to English Language and English Literature (Scholastic) and Fat, about body image.
Apart from my teen novels, I have written for adults, am a freelance journalist, review fiction, broadcast frequently and teach creative writing.
I live in Manchester with my husband, two daughters and two cats who are the only people in my life that give me uncritical affection.

School Visits

The nature of my fiction and my background mean that I’m best working with years 8-13. I can offer any of the following, but am more than happy to work with teachers to provide the support they need.

The Author Talk
I talk about how I became a writer, the life of the writer, and the processes involved in publishing a book. I read snippets from my books and allow plenty times for questions, even the personal, such as, how much money do you make and what’s your favourite colour? For this group sizes can vary between 15 - 150. A session would be approximately one hour.
The Mini-Literary Festival
For this I visit a school for one or two days and can work with a whole year group with teacher support. In groups and with guidance students plan their own novel, working on plot, character development, jacket design, sample chapters for display at the end of the project. It’s easy to make this mixed ability.
GCSE Coursework support
I talk to year 10 and 11 about different types of writing linked with GCSE requirements - i.e. explore, imagine, entertain: analyse, comment etc, illustrating with examples from my whole range of writing, including journalism, and sharing tips. This should kick-start their coursework.
Writing workshops
W working with smaller groups, approximately 15 - 20, the students work on developing and improving their own writing, with tips, guidance and encouragement from me.

I’m happy to travel to any part of the country and my availability is generally good.

Details supplied by Sherry Ashworth. Last Updated November 2002.

To book an author for your school
To book an author for your school contact Jubilee Books using the contact details below:

Jubilee Books
Address of head office
31a Vanburgh Park
Blackheath
London SE3 7AE

t. (020) 8293 6060
f. 056 0150 8125
e. e-mail Jubilee Books

Our office is open Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5.30pm.