Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Birmingham East
I offer full and half day school visits, including an assembly and creative writing workshops.
The sessions can be flexible and I am happy to talk with you about any particular outcomes you have for the day.
Creative writing is my passion and enabling others to write creatively is a fantastic privilege.
My workshops are fun, fast and all about inspiring the young people to write as soon as possible in the sessions. I encourage sharing our work and the results always surprise and delight me.
I have been leading monthly creative writing workshops for children and young adults for six years now with Writing West Midlands, I was commissioned twice to work with the ReadOn EU Project, and I have visited schools, colleges, and universities.
I am DBS checked and hold public liability insurance.
I write young adult books, with strong female and male leads, and plotlines involving demons in Victorian London, time travelling dinosaurs and a supernatural pirate tale.
I also write horror and thriller novels for adults, and pocket novel romances for the My Weekly range.
I’m also a member of the Association of Speakers Clubs, and meet twice a month to hone my public speaking skills. I am also on the committee, and responsible for education.
I love visiting schools and running workshops, and I believe it is more important than ever that we equip our young people to write and read well, extensively, imaginatively and with clarity, and able to be inclusive of all cultures and groups whilst celebrating our differences.
'An inspiring visit to our academy from author @KenPreston100 today. Thank you so much for coming to see us and for the fantastic creative writing workshops with our students.' Olive AP Academy, Thurrock
'Hannah has loved writing club from night one and has probably never been as enthusiastic about any other club. She has continued to write stories in her spare time and I can only imagine it would have helped her work in school. The main thing is she has had fun!' James Cole
'It was very informative and met my expectations. Great advice and practical tips. Thank you.' Jane Webb, How to Write a Pocket Novel Workshop
'I’ve repeated the words “thank you” so often that somehow, they don’t seem adequate enough to express my feelings of gratitude. You’ve provided me with not just an online formatting service but generosity of spirit, speed and efficiency, dependability and trust. I regard these as rare qualities, rare qualities indeed. Caroline agrees with me and has also expressed her gratitude. A big thank you from both of us.' Ian Smith
'Ken’s workshops manage to be extremely practical but not limiting. You feel able to explore the topic, to try out ideas and just to enjoy the atmosphere he creates. Yet throughout it all, you are getting specific, informed, useful information from a writer who has done exactly what you want to do. I came away having had a good time and feeling fired up, ready to write.' William Gallagher, Scriptwriter
'Both Milo and Matilda have thoroughly enjoyed creative writing this term. Matilda has said that she feels it has helped her with her SATs this year, and helped improve her vocabulary and spelling. Milo loves anything that allows his imagination to run riot!' Gemma Willetts-Court
'This course was ideal for me, as someone who has been away from the writing world for a long time and talking about formats and structures was great. I would have enjoyed a longer course as I was enjoying it so much.' Jennie Walker
Ken was brilliant. His workshops were thoroughly enjoyed by all the students. He worked with the whole of year 8 in a large workshop and also in small groups with year 10 and 9, all the students were engaged. It was amazing how quickly he got them writing creative pieces. Ken also did a year 7 assembly, we had some ICT issues which he was unfazed by and delivered the session with out his ppt, which really helped us. Would certainly book Ken again
Ken was fantastic; his writing workshop was engaging, with plenty of ideas that the students could interact with. They created some really imaginative pieces, and were inspired to write extensively. Ken's assemblies were also engaging; he allowed students to believe that publishing is a career obtainable to them, and he answered their questions with warmth and patience. We loved having him at our school!
Ken delivered an engaging workshop to some Y2 and Y3 pupils at our school. The children were so excited to meet a real author and Ken answered their many questions patiently. All pupils were inspired to write and loved the variety of activities they did. Ken has a lovely gentle manner with the children and they were all really keen to share what they had written with him and each other. We will definitely invite Ken back for another workshop in the future. Thank you!
Ken worked with Year 7 to create some suspenseful creative pieces which the students really enjoyed! After the session, students were keen to share their writing with each other and a few have been inspired to start writing short stories at home! Ken was enthusiastic, engaging and adaptable. Thanks Ken!