Keith Gray Visit

Edinburgh based author Keith Gray will be visiting SMC on Monday 12th December.  Keith will be speaking to all of our S1 pupils during their English lesson but he will also be in the library from 1.30 pm for a Q & A session with pupils from any year group..  Keith will also be available to sign books and might even give you a preview of one of his new books! 

Here is some more information on the man himself...(taken from Jenny Brown Associates)

Keith was brought up in Grimsby and as a child tried to avoid books. Teachers urged and parents moaned, but all in vain. Books were a necessary chore and everyone was amazed when he raced through Robert Westall’s ‘The Machine Gunners’ from cover to cover - twice. This book was the starting point, making him want to write his own stories. His first book ‘Creepers’ was published when he was 24 and it was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award.

He has since written ten books including, Ostrich Boys, (shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal) Warehouse (shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Award and winner of the Angus Book Award), ‘Malarkey’ (shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize and winner of the South Lanarkshire Book Award) and for younger readers ‘The Runner’ (winner of a Smarties Silver Medal). 

He lectured for two years in Creative Writing at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, where he enjoyed working with people who shared the same interests and ambitions as he has. He now lives in Edinburgh with his partner Jasmine and their parrot, Bellamy.  He spends much of his time visiting schools to pass on his love of books and writing, as well as reviewing teenage fiction for the Guardian and the Scotsman.

Here is Keith talking about the book that changed his life...