Sarah-Jane: OMG! Becca Fitzpatrick visits Notre Dame High School

We recently took the brilliant New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatirck to Notre Dame High School in Glasgow. Becca held the attention of the audience as she spoke all about her new book Crescendo. This Friday, Notre Dame's librarian Sarah-Jane stops by to talk about the event.

OMG, was my first thought when I took the call from Chris at Scottish Book Trust. Oh. Em. Geeee! I love talking to the people at Scottish Book Trust (they always have such happy news), but this one was an extra special, whoopee-doo, loop-de-loop kind of call. Becca Fitzpatrick – yes, THE Becca Fitzpatrick, bestselling author of Hush, Hush and soon-to-be megahit Crescendo – was flying across the Atlantic to come to our school, Notre Dame High! I was so excited I screamed! But quietly, because I was in the library.

Ever since I bought a copy of Hush, Hush for the school, the girls at Notre Dame have been telling me non-stop that they LOVE it. ‘Miss, this book is AMAZING’; ‘Miss, I read this book in two days and my mum was even shouting at me to put it down’; ‘Have you read this yet, Miss? you have GOT to read it’ – on and on and on they went. It got me thinking that if I could get someone like Becca to visit the school, I would be, like, the coolest librarian ever.

So having THE Becca Fitzpatrick (I’ll stop calling her that in a minute) actually coming to our school was a Big Deal. I set to work, contacting the school’s leadership team for the thumbs-up, arranging a time and space for the event and getting permission to take 200 pupils out of class for the afternoon. Once everything was in place, I asked some S6 girls to help make posters and spread the word about the event. After that, things started happening fast. Gangs of girls were feverishly running up to the library, asking for tickets, telling me how much they loved the book and that they couldn’t wait to read Crescendo. Excitement like this is infectious and pretty soon everyone was asking to borrow Hush, Hush. The book’s waiting list grew and grew. It was everything I had expected.

On a grey Monday afternoon, Becca arrived at the school, along with Catherine from Simon & Schuster and Jasmine and Kate from Scottish Book Trust. It had been a hectic morning, getting things ready for our visitors and for the event, including setting up a book stall filled with Becca’s gleaming new books. Planning an event like this can be quite stressful, but as soon as I welcomed everyone to the school, I was at ease – they were all so friendly, relaxed and happy to be here.

Pupils had been gathered in the Assembly Hall and they were being, well, noisy. Who can blame them? I was pretty crazy-excited myself. Everyone settled down just in time for Jasmine to introduce our special and talented guest and then Becca took to the stage.

Becca’s a natural. Don’t believe her when she tells you she’s shy and not good with big audiences. The pupils warmed to her straight away. We had a few technical hitches which meant we couldn’t show the presentation, but Becca assured me it was no problem and trooped right on like a pro. She told us how she got into writing and then she shared some of the real-life experiences that inspired scenes in her books. Her stories were very funny and sweet and the girls were charmed. After her talk, Becca stayed to sign books and posters, pose for photos and answer questions from her fans. S6 pupils served at the book stall and they were selling fast and furious. Jasmine, Kate and Catherine all thanked me for hosting the event, but it was really I who should have been thanking them. Having a popular author like Becca come to your school is worth years of promoting reading for enjoyment. I could probably coast on this for the rest of the term! (Mrs McFadden, if you’re reading this, I will of course continue to work hard. No coasting for me, ma’am.)

The feedback so far has been excellent. Teenagers are not always forthcoming with their opinions, but the pupils have been telling their teachers, family and friends that they thought Becca was really cool, that she was smart and funny and that they hope one day someone will fill a bathtub full of goldfish just for them.

And so ends my story of the day Becca Fitzpatrick came to Notre Dame High School. Which must make me, by my estimations, the coolest librarian ever…

For writing tips and more information about Becca and her books, visit her website. 

Early Years Residency: Alison Murray, Glasgow-based author and illustrator, is Scottish Book Trust's first Early Years Writer in Residence.
Over the next nine months, Alison will work with a Home-Start group in Renfrewshire, in an area of socio-economic deprivation, to support parents’ reading and writing skills and embed a love of book sharing with young children within the community.
Read all about the residency in Alison's blog.

Other News:

We are so pleased that a parent from Kaimes school, after writing about her experiences for us Meet Our Authors project, has set up her own blog! You can find out more by reading the blog now.

You can read all about the adventures Kaimes School, an Edinburgh Special School, are having with Charlie Higson in the new blog on our website.

You can register to take part in our next Authors Live event with Philip Pullman on  the 9th of December.

Everyone here at Scottish Book Trust would like to say a huge congratulations to Teresa Breslin, Corinne V. Davies, Nicola Morgan, and Alan Temperley for making the nominations for The CILIP Carnegie Medal 2011.Well done to everyone! To find out more about the medal, and to see the full list of writers, please visit their website.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get all the latest news from Scottish Book Trust. Have a fantastic weekend!