Rachel Delahaye

Details

I am a prolific children's writer with background in journalism and a love of sharing stories and celebrating the written word.

My books are predominantly middle-grade, with my Little Animal Series at the younger end of the spectrum, and my dark comedy series, Mort the Meek and Jim Reaper at the older end. 

As well as writing my own fiction, I am a reliable writer-for-hire, and have completed young fiction series for Little Tiger and Farshore (was Egmont). 

My books have been featured in THE GUARDIAN books round up, the GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S PICK and THE WEEK JUNIOR, among other review platforms, and I have done print, blog and radio interviews. 

SCHOOL VISITS

When it comes to school talks and creative workshops, I am an experienced schoolkid wrangler and I make it my absolute mission to inspire everyone in the room. From making stories out of thin air to moulding believable characters, creating news worlds and exploring descriptive language, I am supercharged and will not only entertain but educate at every event.

ASSEMBLIES and TALKS: My assemblies/talks often focus on why stories are so important - and involve my journey to becoming a writer, a call to the children to step up as future story-tellers, and also the importance of funny books. Using presentations and interactive games, the children will participate as well as listen. It's a raucous and unforgettable event.

WORKSHOPS: My most popular workshops are spark-a-story, create a character and build a world. However, in addition to the 'creative' workshops, I also run a joke-creation workshop that explores basic grammar elements, which is ideal for primary school children who are focussing on spelling and grammar for their tests. I am also running comedy workshops, teaching children how to create amusing scenes using observation and language.

HOW LONG IS A SESSION?: A full day will usually comprise an all-school assembly, followed by four one-hour workshops. But how we use my time is very much up to you, and if you need to me to fit more or less into the day, I will. I can also tailor talks to your curriculum or study topics, and while my events tend to be very lively and funny, the mood can be steered in any direction you like. 

***    I have only just opened bookings for next year, so there is still availability for World Book Day Week 2022   ***

www.racheldelahaye.com

TRAVEL: I am willing to travel anywhere in the world, dependent on time of year, convenience and whether travel expenses are paid! I am based in Somerset in the UK and have easy access to Bristol International Airport, Central London and major train lines.

FEES: I am not rigid on my fee structure; I am aware that school budgets are currently under pressure. So please do contact me and I'll send you a sheet with ballpark fees that we can manipulate according to circumstances, distance and travel needs. In work hours, I will reply to an email within four hours.  racheldelahaye@yahoo.com.au (despite the funny email address, I am based in the UK)

FOR DETAILS ON WORKSHOP CONTENT AND TALKS PLEASE GO TO: https://www.racheldelahaye.com/workshops--visits.html

WHAT SCHOOLS SAY

"The assembly was a huge hit and children and staff are still buzzing about it. The workshops were fantastic too. I hope you don't mind if I recommend ​you to other schools!" - Paragon School, Bath

“The children are still talking about the visit from Rachel weeks later. The children were truly inspired by Rachel and there was a real sense of awe and wonder around her visit.” - T.Hinkley, Interim Head, Woodthorne Primary School, Wolverhampton

"What a wonderfully inspirational afternoon for our KS2 pupils, but don't take my word for it; this is what one of our Year 5 pupils said: "Rachel Delahaye was the best author visits ever - it was very exciting! Rachel didn't just tell us how important books are, she released our inner story tellers." I don't think I could put it any better myself! Miss Cleveland, HLTA & School Librarian
Cannon Park Primary School, Coventry 

"The children are still buzzing - many of them went away over the weekend and wrote up stories which emerged from the sessions with you. Here are some quotes from Year 5 : "Thank you for coming - you inspired us to write stories", "You gave us lots of ideas and we thought you were really funny!", "I can't wait to read ​The Glove of Death!" Cirencester Primary School
 
"Rachel's visit was entertaining and inspiring. Our key stage two  pupils loved hearing about her stories and how her ideas evolve. She taught them how to create funny and exciting stories from random starting points. A few children started the day as 'aliens'
​(non readers/writers) and ended the day bursting with ideas!" - Cumnor Primary School, Oxon

"The pupils' feedback: 'exciting to do a workshop with'; 'fun and inspiring'; 'really thought about what she taught us'; 'she made me understand how to write a story'. So, I think you could call them 'happy customers'!" Wells Cathedral School 

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