Meeting of Ally Kennen!

Some Sidney Stringer students, who are part of Book Club on Thursday lunch times went on a trip to Ernesford Grange Primary School on 21st October 2011 to meet 36 year old book writer, Ally Kennen.

Ally managed to write her first book at the age of 29 in 2005. She is now a famous, inspiring writer to many children around the world.

When students from other schools asked her about her constant inspiration she gets, Ally replied “I grew up with lots of foster children and so I was obviously inspired by my childhood, brothers and sisters.” She also stated “when I was young, I was deeply passionate about books.”

Ally grew up on a farm and the way she described when she is writing a book is by ‘writing simple plans’ and that ‘ghosts come into my head, gives names and characters’.

Ally Kennen also studied Archaeology and history at Birmingham University. Her first book, Beast, was created during an MA in creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

The few questions that were asked by many young students were as follows:

• What’s your favourite part of writing a book?

Here Ally replied – “When the Editor says ‘right Ally we need a new book.’”

She said “It’s like arriving on a completely different landscape.”

• What book did you enjoy writing the most?

She stated ‘the book that I enjoyed writing the most, was ‘Beast’.”

Ally Kennen is an enthusaiastic, captivating writer. She mentioned that the first time she heard one of her books was going to be published she ‘lay on the floor and hyperventilated.” She has still kept her diary from when she was a 7 year old child, still containing many of the stories she came up with at that age.

During the trip, before the students got time to ask the young writer any questions they had, she made it a sort of challenge amongst the group of kids that ‘whomever asked the most intriguing , most brilliant question may get my new book; signed and get a picture taken with me.’

But amongst all the students competing for this moment of fame, a Sidney Stringers pupil manages to steal away all the praise from the writer, herself, Ally Kennen. Liam Kelly, a Lanchester student in Sidney Stringer Academy asked the writer ‘Why did you choose to add plot elements, such as the wasp or Judges list, and then not follow them up?’ He won the challenge.

Liam Kelly got his signed book, ‘Bedlam’, and photograph taken with the writer, along with other students of Sidney Stringer that attended on the trip.

At the end of the day, everyone had a great and enjoyable time and all schools got a signed poster for their school library along with signed Ally Kennen books.