Ray Star

www.raystarbooks.com

Booking enquiry

Available for

Workshop, Talk, Reading, Interview, Commission a book

Audiences

Age 5 to 7, Age 7 to 11, Age 11 to 14, Age 14 to 16, Age 16 to 18+, Further Education, University, Adult

Genres

Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Humour, Magical realism, Mythology, Picture book, Poetry

Book types

Fiction for young-adults

Awards

Organisations

Details

Multi-award-winning author from Essex with a passion for nature, animals, and the Earth.

Writing fantasy fiction is an absolute joy, other than spending time with my children or animals, it is my all-time favourite thing to do; creating an alternative world and exploring its depths, and I love encouraging students of all ages to find their passion for writing (and reading!) stories too - with a nature-based twist...

I'm able to teach creative writing workshops for all Key Stages, and love brainstorming with students on ways to help Mother Nature through the arts whether that be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or creative works. I regularly visit schools, libraries, and local youth groups to find eco-initiatives we can roll our sleeves up and tackle together for the community, and have spoken on multiple podcasts and radio stations about the power of literature as a form of peaceful activism.

I'm available within my local community of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas, and I can offer virtual events for schools further afield.

Options available: Half Day Visit / Full Day Visit / Virtual Sessions

*School assembly (Journey as an author / power of words in literature / what is climate fiction / writing for nature etc)

*Discussion groups (as above or based on one of my titles ie: Earthlings - what is your favourite Earthling and how can we help them etc)

*'Behind the books' group sessions

*Read along with Q&A session

*Writing for nature workshops (these are a firm favourite with students!)

*Poetry workshops (another firm favourite with students!)

TESTIMONIAL

"Ray came to our school on World Book Day and made the day very special. She addressed a whole year group of year 7 students, talking about her passion for the environment and her inspiration for writing ‘Earthlings.’ She also took creative writing workshops with groups of year 8 and year 9 students, helping them craft their own stories about the environment. The results were excellent and we were very proud of what our students were able to achieve with Ray’s help.

Definitely the best World Book Day that I’ve experienced and well worth the effort to organise the day. Ray’s enthusiasm is infectious and she was a delight to welcome to the school."

- Helen Harrington, School Librarian, Robert Barclay Academy.

** Read more testimonials here.

BOOK REVIEWS

"Earthlings is a coming-of-age novel set in a world turned upside-down, a magickal and absolute joy to read"

- WATERSTONES BOOKSELLER

"Stunning. An unputdownable debut from Ray Star"

- TBHONEST.CO.UK

"An Enid Blyton of the social media age"

- THE HECKINGTON POST

"The most important book I've ever read, I couldn't put it down."

- CEO VEGAN CHOICE AWARDS

"Genre-defying. A magickal unique tale of loyalty, respect, and love. Left me breathless."

- BUTTERFLY BOOK CLUB

“Powerful. Immersive. Compelling. Absolutely Brilliant.”

- BETTY’S BOOK SHOP

"Beautiful writing. The Narnia of our time."

- INDEPENDENT REVIEW

“Superb storytelling with a real-world message.”

- HENRY & HENRY

Event feedback

Ray is such a lovely author to meet and the children loved her workshops. I really enjoyed how Ray started the workshops by talking about she invented her book characters and what made them special. Ray created resources which were appropriate for the children and she shared how important it is to visualise the settings in a story. Thank you for enriching the children with a love of reading and I would love for Ray come back to us soon!

Jemma Wykes (Springmead Primary School)

We had a wonderful visit from Ray Star on World Book Day. Ray did workshops with each year group where she talked about her journey as an author and the books she has written. She helped the children develop their own stories by thinking about the types of characters and what might happen. Ray was really engaging and brilliant with the children - we all loved her visit! Thank you Ray Star!

Emily Stevens (Brushwood Junior School)

Books by Ray Star

Ray is an award-winning author of Young Adult Fantasy and Climate Fiction. Ray's books are published on recyclable paper where possible, and she is planting 1 tree per book sale via Ecologi. Ray is best known for her bestselling trilogy 'Earthlings', and her debut children's picture book series 'The Adventures of EnviroGirl' is due for release in 2024.

978-1914529122

Earthlings (The Beginning)

Peridot has lived a sheltered life, never having left the comfort of her home or met another child before. Until the night of her thirteenth birthday, when a strange boy appears at her window, claiming to have escaped captivity from the mainland. Her mother insists that the ways of the world are to remain concealed until her sixteenth birthday, but she unveils why they live in hiding, the mainland isn't safe for their kind - they are born of magick. Not magic from stories and fables, but real magick from the days of old. On her quest to learn the truth, Peridot leaves the island only to finally comprehend why the truth was kept from her. Life on the mainland is unlike anything she could have fathomed possible, humanity is enslaved, and an unlikely dictator is in charge. Peridot finds herself thrown into a world she wasn't prepared for, caught amongst an ongoing battle between those trying to save humanity and the tyrants seeking to keep them enslaved, struggling to command magickal abilities she doesn't fully understand or know how to control. Peridot's abilities may be the helping hand needed to save humanity from an awful way of life, but at what cost?

W

Waterstones Amazon

On author's website

Dominion (Earthlings Book Two)

Peridot has fallen, taken to the one place a magick-born does not want to end up. The Descendant's headquarters. Alone, she must learn to embrace her magick in order to break free. Elsewhere on the mainland, with the treaty unsalvageable, The Descendant’s new plans hold dire consequences for all who remain loyal to humans. The Resistance have no choice other than to prepare to make a stand and fight. Whilst all hope may seem lost, with the help of her friends, Peridot may be the saviour humanity needs to end The Descendant’s tyrannic way of life, or the catalyst that could kickstart a war deciding the fate of the Earthlings world, once and for all.

Photos and videos

Keywords

ACTIVISM ANIMAL RIGHTS ANIMAL STORIES ANIMALS CLIFI CLIMATE CHANGE CLIMATE CHANGE FICTION CLIMATE CRISIS CLIMATE FICTION CONTEMPORARY FICTION CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS DOMINION EARTH DAY EARTHLINGS ECO FICTION ECOFICTION ENVIROBOY ENVIROGIRL ENVIRONMENT ESSEX FANTASY FRIENDSHIP GREEK MYTHOLOGY GRIEF HOPE IDENTITY KEY STAGE 1 KEY STAGE 2 KEY STAGE 3 KEY STAGE 4 KS1 KS2 KS3 KS4 LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY LGBTQ MAGIC MAGICK NATURE NATURE WRITER PAGANISM PERSEPHONE PRIMARY SCHOOL SECONDARY SCHOOL SELF EXPRESSION SUPER HEROES TEEN VEGAN VEGAN BOOKS VEGANISM WILDLIFE WITCH TRIALS WITCHES WORLD BOOK DAY WORLD BOOK DAY WEEK WRITING WORKSHOPS YA YA FANTASY YOUNG ADULT YOUNG READERS