Annabel Pitcher - My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

Scottish Book Trust and Orion Books brought Annabel Pitcher to James Gillespie's High School in Edinburgh a week after her debut novel, My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece, was published. The pupils were luck enough to hear her talk about the inspiration behind the novel as well as being given the opportunity to think about childhood memories and loss.

The 80 strong-group of S1 pupils listened intently and asked intelligent and thought provoking questions not only about Annabel but also of her book.

The book itself is storytelling at its most poignant and moving and is widely being tipped as the debut novel of 2011.

Event Footage

Annabel Pitcher talking about her debut novel, My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece, following her event at James Gillespie's High School

Author Biography

Annabel Pitcher is a 28 year old author and script writer from Yorkshire, who taught English at a local secondary school before being inspired to write. She is a fresh and exciting new talent to watch. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece is her first novel. To find out more about Annabel and her writing life visit her website.

Feedback

Pupil Feedback

I really liked the event because Annabel answered our questions thoroughly. She also described her book in great detail. James, 13, James Gillespie's High School

I really enjoyed Annabel's visit, it was really interesting and very inspiring how well know her book is and how short a time it took when she started out with hardly anyone knowing about her or her book. Mia, 12, James Gillespie's High School

I really enjoyed her book I thought it was sad but had a good ending. It was really good to be able to meet her and hear how the book was made. I hope she writes more books in the future. Laura, 12, James Gillespie's High School

The event was really interesting and I wish I had remembered money now! I really enjoyed it. Annabel read a part from chapter 8 which made me really want to read the book more. I also really liked the activities she set us remembering when we were children. I also found it interesting to find out what she was like when she was little. I found out a lot about the book and I will hopefully find the book so I can read it! Thank you for the talk! Alice, 12, James Gillespie's High School

I found the talk really interesting and informative. I really loved the book and can't wait to read the rest of it. It was really nice to hear all about the book and how it was written. It was a really good talk and even convinced me to write a book of my own some day. Rosie, 13, James Gillespie's High School