It’s great how the different aspects of my visit seem to speak to different children. I like to think my talks are like my books: hard-hitting but edged with humour. And I’m often blown away by how astute students’ questions are – keep them coming!
I’m happy to talk Crossing the Line to key stages 3, 4 or 5, and chat about Not Going to Plan to key stages 4 and 5. I love teaching creative writing workshops to any age. If you’re interested, get in touch and let’s talk about a visit.
One of the best bits of my job is talking to young people about their reading and writing, and reassuring them that you never achieve perfection. ‘Success’ is just trying to get better, writing because you love it.
An author visit is inspirational and helps to promote a culture of reading for pleasure – click on the links below to see what some students said after I’d been to their schools. Scroll down for details of my offering.
I usually talk to whole cohorts (Year 8 right through to Year 13) for at least 50 minutes, divided into chunks:
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Short readings
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Discussion about student’s experiences starting school
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Erik’s grooming and the true story behind the book
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County lines and the ways in which they or their friends could be exploited
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The missteps of my writing career (not getting it right the first time!)
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10 - 15 minutes Q&A – bookmarks for questions
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A raffle for a free signed book.
Let me know if you would like me to tailor this in any way, and don’t forget to check out the ready-to-use editable teaching resources.
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I usually talk to whole cohorts of Year 10 and above for about 50 minutes. Chunkable, and will include:
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Why I wrote Not Going to Plan
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Short readings
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Be a writer - character work
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Exploring the themes of book (abortion, contraception, consent, hate speech etc)
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The missteps of my writing career (not getting it right the first time!)
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10 - 15 minutes Q&A – bookmarks for questions
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A raffle for a free signed book.
Let me know if you would like me to tailor this in any way, and don’t forget to check out the ready-to-use editable teaching resources.-
A workshop is usually for a maximum of 30 students, and for a minimum of 50 minutes.
1. Narrative verse. Join me for an interactive poetry workshop where students work individually, blending story and poetry, unleashing their unique voices in formatted verse. With inspiration from Crossing the Line they will learn new techniques to help them express themselves in fresh and imaginative ways.
Choose from three different briefs for their work:
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Topic-based. As an antidote to the restrictions of the curriculum, students 'free-write' about a topic and craft it into verse.
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List poem. Write a list poem – maybe about why they don't want to write a poem! (Good for those who find creative writing more of a challenge)
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Missing Poem. Write a 'missing' poem from Crossing the Line. (Better for those who enjoy creative writing and/or know the book well.)
2. Story structure. We start by playing the 'consequences' game and work towards building a 'story spine' in groups. (Good for students who aren't so keen on creative writing).-
Face to face
Sessions are charged at £200 per one-hour session + travel and accommodation expenses.
I may be able to charge less, depending on the number of sessions booked and the travel involved. I live in Norwich: if you’re within a thirty-minute drive, there will be no travel charge. If you're a long way away, I would prefer to work with other local schools in the area, so I can do more sessions over a day or two.
Virtual visits
A great idea if you’re too far away or budgets are tight, I can offer an online talk or a workshop at £100 per one hour session.
If you’re interested, get in touch and let’s talk about a visit.
"I've never been the sort of person to read but you really inspired me and I now read Crossing the Line before I sleep and it reminds me of how to not take the wrong path in life and to take the good way. When you gave away the signed book I was crossing my fingers so tight would get it! Many thanks for providing the world with the best book I have ever read."
Morgan, Year Nine, Northampton.
"Tia visited Bromley Libraries and ran a wonderful workshop with a group of teenage students from different schools in the borough. The session was very inspiring as it involved exploring our feelings to write poems. Tia shared her experience and professional skills to engage all participants. We all had a marvellous time and really enjoyed and learnt a lot from her visit."
Jenny Hawke, Children's Librarian, Bromley Libraries
"Brilliant visit and writing workshop from Tia in the library today, students learning about verse novels, county lines, writing freely and the importance of finding your own path. Thank you so so much Tia!"
Alice Leggatt, Library Manager, Oaks Park High School
"You hit our brief exactly with your talks, which was to appeal to reader and non readers alike. Year 9 is a tricky year group and you had the students captivated."
Jackie Rice, LRC Manager, JCoss, New Barnet
"Hosting Tia has been one of the highlights of our year! She tackled difficult topics with sensitivity and humour, and commanded the room with a wonderful stage presence that kept our boys engaged. I could not recommend enough!"
Eileen Armstrong, Librarian, St Cuthbert's, Newcastle
"It was fantastic to be able to give our Most Able students the opportunity to work with Tia on developing and improving their creative writing skills. The workshops were fun, inspiring and challenging and the students had a productive and enjoyable time."
Emma Dixon, Most Able Lead, Claremont High School, Brent
"Tia's online talk on Crossing The Line was excellent - our students were fully engaged and the challenging subject matter was handled sensitively, honestly and with passion. Lots of students wanted to read the book after the event. Tia was organised and responsive when arranging the session and extremely easy to work with. Thank you so much Tia for everything; please come back soon!"
Jill Fenton, Librarian, Chey School
"I found the whole morning to be really engrossing; in particular I enjoyed learning more details about why Tia Fisher wrote the book. I read her original Author’s Note at the back of Crossing the Line last year, and it was fascinating to hear her expand upon this. The author herself was an extremely engaging and charismatic speaker, which is unsurprising, given that every stanza of this amazing verse novel was perfectly judged. It was a worthy Shadowers’ Choice.
The workshop itself was very educational, and I found her advice on how to write fiction to be both insightful and inspirational."
Year 9 student review, Chew Valley School, Bristol