Proud to be a Writer

Monday 09 September 2024

Schoolchildren across Guernsey will have a visit from the renowned LGBTQ+ author, Sarah Hagger-Holt this week.

In the spirit of the Channel Island's Pride celebrations, the Guille-Allès Library with the generous support from Ogier, has organised for the award winning author, known for several popular books focusing on LGBTQ+ characters and diverse families, including Proud Of Me and her new novel, The Fights That Make Us, to visit schools.

Sarah Hogger-Holt will be visiting children in Years 7 and 8 to explain what it means to be a writer and the importance of representation in fiction.

As well as this, she will be holding a workshop at the Library about writing mystery stories.

Children aged 8-12 are invited to come along from 16.00-17.00 on Monday 9 September to learn more simple steps to creating a story full of twists, turns and surprises. Tickets are free and can be found on the Library website.

Jodie Hearn, Head of Children and Young People's Services said: "We're extremely excited to be welcoming Sarah Hagger-Holt to Guernsey next week. Sarah's books appear regularly on shortlists for children's book awards, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal in 2022. I'm sure students will be inspired when they hear her talk about her life as a writer and why it's important to her to write about LGBTQ+ characters."

Pictured: CI Pride was held on Saturday with events in Market Square. 

The author herself commented - "I'm really looking forward to coming to Guernsey and talking about books.

"The books I write include LGBTQ+ characters and diverse families, as I believe it's important for all of us to be able to see ourselves in the books we read.Exploring characters with different perspectives opens all of our eyes to new and interesting ways of seeing the world. And these are the stories that inspire me and the ones that I want to read!"

In addition, William Hussey, a popular author with more than a dozen bestselling novels for children, teenagers and young adults, many of which centre around LGBTQ+ characters, will be hosting a series of virtual events in schools. 

Mr Hussey's virtual workshops will be delivered to students in Years 9-13 and will draw on over a decade of experience of working with children in schools to inspire a love of reading and creative writing. 

Sandie Lyne, a Partner at the sponsoring company, Ogier, said: "Ogier is proud to support the Guile-Allès Library, and to make Sarah and William's participation in the schools possible. Ogier is dedicated to championing diversity and inclusion, and we find it incredibly inspiring when we can work together with local communities to help foster inclusivity and acceptance even further."

She added "we hope the children enjoy their time with Sarah and William, who will undoubtedly impart their passion, creativity and expertise for creating inclusive storylines and their love of reading and that the sessions will inspire some future local storytellers to pick up their pens and get writing!".