Author MA Griffin visits LSA

This week we had a great day of book readings and writing workshops small and large with the excellent author MA Griffin. Students came to the Library during their English lessons to meet Martin, hear about where he draws his inspiration from, discuss books and reading, and engage in activities to develop their own skills as creative writers. Students heard about how his favourite ensemble heist films feed his storytelling, learning how politics, Manchester, humour, crime and character development work together to form his stories.

As well as readings from his latest novel Payback, students got a strong flavour of the ins-and-outs of becoming an author and working with publishers. As well as smaller workshops, we hosted a larger event with Year 10 students to explore ways where they would improve their creative writing skills for GCSE exams next year. Martin's experience as a Teacher and Assistant Head Teacher tied together the world of creative work and delivered through practical activities allowed students to develop and hone their writing skills and consider paths into creative work as a viable way to make a living.

Throughout the day students had opportunities to approach Martin and chat with him, pick up a signed copy of his latest title and plan their summer reading. Others will have gone away with deeper, really inspiring ideas for the future.