LOCAL AUTHOR TO APPEAR AT ILKLEY LITERATURE FESTIVAL FRINGE
Yorkshire-born author, Sarah Lucas, is appearing at the children’s weekend of the Ilkley Literature Festival fringe in October. With her performance, Inspiration in a Tank, an inter-active session for parents, carers and their children, she tells the story of how she and her family moved into a village to be given an unusual welcoming present – a baby giant African land snail sitting on some peat in a fish tank with a stick of cucumber and a piece of cuttlefish.
With daughter Amy, then a 6-month old baby, Sarah began to write fictional stories about the snail who was given the name Grumpy. When Amy was six, the family test-drove their first story with younger brother George, his daddy, reading the story out loud at bed-time.
Given the thumbs-up, the story went to the public. As part of Sarah’s fundraising efforts for the village, The Mysterious Case of the Newton Valence Snail Trail was offered as a home-produced product to villagers at £10.00 a copy in December, all in aid of raising money for the local church.
In January, people came back for the next story. And the next. Then the next. On it went.
Amy drew the illustrations and together, she and her mother discussed plots and wrote stories. Snail Trail was published in 2007, Snails Don’t Burp! followed in 2008, then Snail Park again in 2008. Slime in Time is to be published this autumn, a story that deals with fame and friendship and the choices children can have to make.
Sarah, who is a regular visitor in schools, co-wrote The Secret Scroll, a UK first in published collaborative writing and a project that involved twenty gifted and talented schoolchildren over a period of fourteen months. She has also worked on a short story project in a primary school called Listen! I am a Short Story. Read Me! with sixteen children.
‘I’m thrilled to be appearing at the Ilkley Literature Festival,’ Sarah said. ‘I can’t wait for children to see what inspired us as a family to write. If you love snails and would like to hear our story, come and see what I have in my tank. Everyone can have a look – and a hold!’
Sarah, who was born in Pudsey but spent most of her life in Horsforth, attended Featherbank Junior and Otley Prince Henry’s Grammar. She is a member of the Society of Authors, NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education) and IBBY UK (International Board on Books for Young People).
If you have a child who enjoys snails and likes things that creep along very, very slowly, then Inspiration in a Tank, is a must for you. Sarah is performing at the Ilkley Playhouse Wharfeside on Sunday 9th October at 5.15 pm. Email her direct at sarah@madaboutsnailbooks.com and confirm your attendance or ask any questions (hand wipes will be provided on the day).
Sarah’s youngest chid, George, holding Grumpy, the snail who inspired the madaboutsnailbook series
See you all at the fringe!