Age guideline 13+
About the event
Carnegie Medal-winner Anthony McGowan in conversation with Phil Earle about his series of books for dyslexia-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke, of which Lark is the conclusion. Brothers Nicky and Kenny’s background is one too little represented in fiction for young people - a life of poverty, a missing parent, a parent with alcohol issues and, for Nicky, the responsibility of being a young carer for his learning-disabled brother.
Both Anthony and Phil are from working class backgrounds in the north of England. They chat about the influences that got them into writing, including local theatre, film and television, and the importance of celebrating the drama, emotion and pathos in apparently mundane and everyday lives.
How to access the event
Listen to the event on SoundCloud here.
Teacher Resources
Find out more about some of the authors, filmmakers and companies Anthony and Phil talked about in their event:
Hull Truck Theatre: https://www.hulltruck.co.uk/
Shane Meadows - Shane Meadows is a self-taught, British film-maker who hails from the Midlands in the UK. He is best known for his film This is England, and the following 3 sequels made for TV. You can see more about Shane and his work here: http://www.shanemeadows.co.uk/
Ken Loach is a director and filmmaker, who has been making socially engaged films since the 1960’s. His most recent films include Sorry We Missed You and I, Daniel Blake, winner of the Palme D’Or at Cannes. You can see more about his films at https://www.sixteenfilms.co.uk/
Alex Wheatle – click here to check out Alex’s event on Thursday
Patrice Lawrence – Author of YA novels such as Orangeboy and Indigo Donut, see more about Patrice here: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/authors/l/lawrence-patrice/
About the authors
Anthony McGowan is the author of many critically acclaimed YA novels and won the 2006 BookTrust Teenage Prize, the 2007 Catalyst Award and has been shortlisted for a raft of other major children’s literature prizes. He won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in 2020 for Lark. McGowan was born in Manchester, attended school in Leeds and now lives in London.
Phil Earle was born in the great city of Hull in 1974, and spent the next eighteen years playing a lot of sport, messing around in plays and trying to sing in bands. He has had jobs as a care worker in a residential kids’ home and a bookseller, and now works as sales and marketing director for David Fickling books. Phil is the bestselling author of various children’s books such as Being Billy and The Bubble Wrap Boy for teens and Demolition Dad and Superhero Street for younger readers. His work has received critical acclaim and been nominated for numerous awards, including a longlisting for the Carnegie Medal. In 2016, Phil was appointed as reading charity Book Trust’s new writerin- residence. He lives on a hill in Yorkshire with his three children and his favourite place to write is on the bus.
About the festival partner
This event has been programmed by Bath Children’s Literature Festival
Bath Festivals is a charity that brings you the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, Europe’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival with a vibrant array of talks and activities for children. They are also responsible for The Bath Festival in the summer which bring the city alive with a celebration of music and books in the beautiful venues and spaces of the world heritage city. By creating innovative and diverse programmes, their festivals inspire and provide unique experiences for residents and visitors to Bath and surrounding areas. Their year-round creative learning programme of hands-on music and literature projects gives children and young people opportunities to gain real-world experience, building their inner confidence and improving communication skills through the arts.