All Saints’ Literature Festival was fantastic. It was also three weeks ago, time which has rushed past me in a haze of work and school holidays and, yes, even a little writing. This year’s festival, Storylines, brought together writers, illustrators, journalists, storytellers and a whole range of other people besides, to give talks and workshops, and to perform, debate and discuss.

This was my first time presenting (although I managed to sneak in last year to meet my Walker Books editor and fellow children’s writer Sue Whiting) and I had a great time. I did a range of presentations, including general ‘Meet the Author’ talks focusing on my recent books, ‘Meet the Poet’ talks, using my own work to talk more generally about some of the principles of poetry, a Japanese Literature classroom session with some All Saints students and a haiku workshop. I was so impressed with the students who attended ‒ they were attentive, thoughtful, engaged and, in some cases, very, very funny. What was also impressive were the distances some had travelled to get there, including a group from as far afield as Leinster, who worked with me to write what I’m sure is a world first ‒ a haiku about a pet moth.

In short, it was an excellent few days and an experience I hope I’ll be able to repeat in the future. Next on the agenda is Book Week, when I’ll hopefully be coming to a library or school somewhere near you.