Bryher Mackenzie

Bryher Mackenzie

Children's Author

Booking enquiry
Bryher Mackenzie - author tools

Available for

Workshop, Talk, Reading, Interview

Audiences

Age 3 to 5, Age 5 to 7, Age 7 to 11

Genres

Fiction, Picture book

Book types

Picture book

Organisations

Details

ABOUT ME 

Hello! My name is Bryher Mackenzie and THE NIGHT WHALE (illustrated by Gillian Eilidh O'Mara and published by Walker Books) is my debut picture

book. I like to write books with big feelings and magic, too. My literary agent is Lorna Hemingway at Bell Lomax Moreton. 

 

SCHOOL VISITS:

It would be rather dreamy to visit your school and share my love of stories with you all.

Underneath is a rough guide of what I can offer on a school visit but please do say if you have any other ideas in mind.

 

Assemblies: With lots of behind the scenes peeks, assemblies can cover topics from WRITING HOW WE FEEL and MAKING A BOOK, from initial ideas

to publication, to WHAT IS AN AUTHOR? and my own experiences. All assemblies will include the message that anyone can be an author. 

 

Workshops:

Magical beings (and big feelings)

A workshop where children will create their own characters. Children will answer a number of questions to build their own character profiles. They will 

then be able to draw their own characters ready to a craft a story for them to star in. There are optional add-on activities such as constructing quests

and discussing how we can use goals and obstacles in our storytelling and/or how we can explore feelings through our characters when writing and

illustrating. 

 

Where would you go? 

If you could take a trip on the Night Whale's back, where would you go? Who would you take? And what snacks would you pack?

Become an illustrator and draw your own spread for The Night Whale.  Includes a class discussion about the importance of setting. 

Workshops can be adapted for KS1 and KS2.

 

Session length: Assembly, up to 30 minutes. Reading and Q&A plus time for signing, up to 45 minutes. Workshops, 1 hour. 

For EYFS, a reading and Q&A is always good.

This is flexible so please do ask.

 

Travel: I live in Shropshire and I am prepared to travel anywhere if schedule allows, and if return travel and (where necessary) accommodation 

expenses are covered.

 

Fees: My fees are based on The Society of Authors recommendations. I am aware of the current pressures on school budgets and will try my best to 

work with you and your budget.

https://societyofauthors.org/SOA/MediaLibrary/SOAWebsite/Guides/A-Guide-for-Schools-Organising-an-Author-Visit.pdf

 

Please feel free to contact me about possible visits without feeling that you are then obliged to book. Questions are always welcome. 

Thank you!

Event feedback

Thank you so much for visiting our school. The children have been really inspired by your visit and two of them even sent their stories to me via email the very next day after your visit. The children enjoyed the workshops and assembly and staff were positive about the experience too. We all wish you look with sales of The night whale and are all looking forward to hearing about any more new releases of yours as they come up. You now hold a special place in our reading culture across the school. Thank you once again for your visit and inspiration. x

Sally James (SS Mary and Johns Catholic Primary Academy)

Year 2 Teacher My feedback for the author: Thank you so much for attending our school. Your story was beautiful and inspiring to the children, but also myself. Your presentation was engaging and has left a lasting impact on the children who have been asking when we can write a book in school! Your workshop allowed the children to express creatively, and you accommodated to all learning needs and abilities. The extra resources you brought in allowed the children to support their learning which was fantastic.

Emily Guess (John Randall Primary School and Nursery)

Books by Bryher Mackenzie

9781529506600
The Night Whale

The Night Whale

Nana whistles to the wind and, whoosh, we are away. Over vast oceans and thick forests we soar, Nana, the Night Whale and I. We had been stargazers for so long. Now we are explorers. Painters of the night sky. A tender tale about shared adventures and the difficulty of goodbyes.  

Keywords

ADVENTURE CHILDREN'S AUTHOR CLIMATE EMPATHY EYFS FEELINGS FICTION MAGIC MENTAL HEALTH PICTURE BOOKS PRIMARY SCHOOL Q&A RELATIONSHIPS STORYTELLING TALKS WORKSHOPS WORLD BOOK DAY