Details
*Presently taking bookings for September 2026 onwards*
**Please note from now I am only available on Wednesdays for school visits during July 2026***
Reviews for The Imagination Thief:
'A fast-paced, fun-filled fantasy adventure, 'Kelpie winner, Mark A Smith, author of Slugboy Saves the World.
'Quick, witty and very funny.'
Acclaimed children's comedian and author of the Boyface books, James Campbell
I am an author, illustrator, comic creator and ex-primary teacher with over ten years of classroom experience. Throughout my career, I have led creative writing and illustration projects that inspire children to develop confidence in their ideas, storytelling, and artistic expression.
Creativity has always been at the heart of my teaching. I am passionate about helping children discover the joy of reading, writing, drawing, and imagining. Whether through stories, comics, character design, or illustration, I encourage young people to see themselves as creators with ideas worth sharing.
My comic work has been featured in Paperbound Magazine and the poetry publication The Dirigible Balloon. In 2020, I was commissioned as part of the Arts Council-funded Stitch Stowe project to create a large-scale duck-themed mural for the local community.
In 2023, I was awarded funding through Arts Council England's Develop Your Creative Practice programme, enabling me to work with an experienced mentor to further develop my illustration practice. I also began studying for a Master's degree in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University, combining academic research with professional creative practice.
Today, I bring together my experience as a teacher, author, illustrator, and workshop leader to deliver engaging school visits that inspire children to read, write, draw, and imagine.
School Visits.
School visits usually involve some sort of assembly where I talk about my work, engage the children with some funny stories and comics, and then work together to create a character.
I can then provide a variety of different workshops depending on the need or requirements. Comic Creation is a very popular one
Author Talk
An engaging and inspiring presentation about my creative journey. I share the challenges, surprises, and moments of inspiration that led me from drawing pictures to creating stories, along with insights into the publishing process and the development of my books.
The session typically lasts 45 minutes, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session, although both content and duration can be adapted to suit the age, interests, and needs of your audience.
Suitable for audiences of any size and for children aged 5 and above.
The presentation includes illustrations and visual material displayed via PowerPoint. Hosts are asked to provide the necessary equipment, including a laptop, projector, and screen or interactive whiteboard.
Comic Creation Workshop
These highly interactive workshops introduce pupils to the art of visual storytelling. Participants create their own comic-strip double act before developing characters, ideas, and storylines for an original comic adventure.
Sessions typically last one hour, although shorter workshops can be arranged. They are suitable for all age groups and work best with classes of up to 30 pupils.
Where possible, I begin with a short PowerPoint presentation demonstrating comic techniques, character creation, and storytelling principles. Workshops conclude with a celebration of pupils' work, including discussion and feedback. A visualiser is particularly useful for sharing and discussing artwork, although it is not essential.
Creative Writing Workshop
These workshops are designed to encourage imagination, develop storytelling skills, and help pupils generate original ideas with confidence.
Best suited to Key Stage 2 and above, sessions typically run for one hour with groups of up to 30 pupils, although larger groups and shorter sessions can also be accommodated.
Activities are often linked to themes, characters, or concepts from my own books. Examples include creating ghost stories, inventing unusual characters, or exploring imaginative scenarios that challenge pupils to think creatively and develop engaging narratives.
The focus is always on helping young writers discover that great stories can begin with the simplest of ideas.
Interactive creative session
A lively and entertaining session in which the audience becomes part of the creative process. Using suggestions from pupils, I create a completely original story on the spot while illustrating it live—sometimes brilliantly, mostly hilariously badly!
These sessions are particularly popular with younger children and provide a fun introduction to storytelling, creativity, and imagination. They encourage participation, laughter, and the understanding that ideas do not have to be perfect to be valuable.
For the best experience, my visualiser connected to a projector or screen is recommended so that everyone can watch the illustrations develop in real time. A flip chart can also work effectively where a visualiser is unavailable.
Please note that these sessions can become wonderfully energetic and enthusiastic, which is all part of the fun.
Fees:
Full day: £200 plus VAT
Half day: £120 plus VAT
If the school is over 30 miles from IP22 1RY then I charge expenses of 0.45p per mile outside of the 30 miles (for example: 40 miles would be 10 miles over so 0.45 x 10).
Equipment needed
For me:
Flip chart or white board with working marker pens, or a calibrated smart board
Ideally a PC/projector to show a PDF images that I could bring on a USB stick or email over in advance
For the participants:
A4 paper, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners and coloured pencils
Copies of worksheets that I would email over in advance
This story is perfect for children in Lower Key Stage Two, celebrating the joy of imaginary friends and holding onto childhood wonders for as long as possible. Readers are sure to love the brilliant combination of animals (the Bumblebunny is fab!) and urge Eva and Toby on as they do all they can to defeat the Imagination Thief.
Kate Heap, Scope for Imagination
This is a shorter story, perfect in length for children aged 6+ who are looking to increase their reading stamina and have a fantastic adventure. The celebration of imagination and imaginary friends is lovely and will inspire children to invent their own friends. There is no limit to the imagination!
Erin Hamilton, My Shelves are Always Full
A book perfect for Lower Key Stage 2 pupils, The Imagination Thief is pure adventure with a great pace and some surprising twists. I liked the open ending to keep the reader intrigued about book 2 as well as the imaginative animals the pair discover – the Hippocrocopig is a great name! Ultimately, it’s a story which will relate to young children – who didn’t have an imaginary friend? This book celebrates creativity and the importance of belief.
Tom Griffiths, Check 'em Out Books.
