This week, Year 7 students were whisked away to the Canopy where they were given an exciting opportunity to hear from and meet, A.F.Steadman, author of “Skandar and the Unicorn Thief”. Her novel is a dazzling feat of imagination which combines fantasy adventure with nail biting epic battles, all of which make this novel a thrilling read for our students.
During the talk, Ms Steadman discussed how she came up with the idea of subverting the idea of traditional unicorns, which tend to be conveyed as magical, beautiful and tranquil creatures, into blood-thirsty, ferocious beasts. She spoke about how she hopes this will ignite an interest into fantasy literature for all genders and capture the imagination of young people.
As well as talking about her novel, Ms Steadman also provided an excellent insight into her own background, explaining how she switched from a Law degree to Creative Writing at Cambridge University, due to her life-long passion for the written word. She spoke eloquently about the process of writing and the need to persevere with ideas and explore one’s own interests.
This was a wonderful experience for our Year 7 students who thoroughly enjoyed hearing, learning and engaging with such an inspiring, enigmatic and creative author in person and gaining an understanding of the process of publishing.
