Bedales students learn from acclaimed author Niall Griffiths

Nov. 16, 2012 - PRLog -- Bedales welcomed novelist Niall Griffiths as the school’s official ‘writer in residence’ this week. During his stay Niall spoke at the Bedales ‘Civics’ assembly about his experience of having his third novel, Kelly+Victor, made into a film for which he and director Kieran Evans co-wrote the screenplay. The film premiered at the London Film Festival last month and Niall talked to the students about the challenges of ensuring his novel translated well on screen.

In addition to talking to the whole school, Niall led a creative writing group and met with 40 students individually to discuss their work. His seventh novel, A Great Big Shining Star, due out in February, delves into the world of celebrity culture written from his observations after spending a year of research into the tabloid press, celebrity magazines and autobiographies.

Commenting on his time at Bedales, Niall said: “It has been a good experience meeting so many bright, sparky, imaginative and enthusiastic kids who are keen to develop their writing.”

Bedales Head of English, Graham Banks, added, “During Niall’s civics talk it was fascinating to hear that his characters initially come to him as voices when he starts to write, therefore, for the film, it mattered less to him what the actors looked like. Altogether Niall put in four days of incredibly hard work and left a great deal of inspiration behind him.”