Patrick Ness Tour November 2010

• Watch an interview with Patrick Ness
• Feedback and Pictures
• Biography
• Watch a video of Patrick reading from his Chaos Walking series

Scottish Book Trust and Scottish Friendly were delighted to take literary sensation, Patrick Ness to Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire between the 23^rd – 25^th of November 2010 on Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour.

Patrick connected with his teenage audience immediately and had them laughing within seconds. Patrick spoke to them about his  multi-award winning Chaos Walking trilogy, where he gets his ideas and where they can find inspiration for their stories.

At every school we were greeted by enthusiastic pupils and teachers and were all taken aback by the reception. Uber-fans would take us to the venue, help us get set-up, show us work produced by classes and eagerly ask questions.

We had a great tour as you will see from the pictures below and feedback (more coming soon) from the schools but we also have an excellent interview with Patrick for you to enjoy.

Interview with Patrick Ness

Patrick talks to us about Chaos Walking while on tour.

Photographs from The Scottish Friendly Children's Book Tour

Pupil Feedback

Last Thursday on the 25th of November, Patrick Ness visited our school. Patrick Ness is an extraordinary author who has written books called; ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’, ‘Monsters of Men’ and ‘The ask and the Answer’. One thing I found interesting about his visit was that he was able to make up a character, by only using things about his life. From a young age, I have always had an interest in books and making up my own stories, (becoming an author has been an ambition for me). Personally, I find that Patrick Ness’s visit has shown me that you can become anything you want by simply trying hard. The three steps that Patrick told us about writing award-winning stories is that you; write, read and re-write. Once we met Patrick, I was astonished at the fact of a real life author being there. Patrick told us a lot about himself and how he grew up with the thought of becoming an author. I must say, I find it amazing that someone who was once our age had ambition to be an author was now standing in front of us, telling us how he had become one. On that day, I really did feel inspired by Patrick for taking the time to come and visit us. Overall, I thought that Patrick Ness’s visit to Clydebank was great, and he taught us some very interesting facts and information about how he became an award winning author. Nicole, Clydebank High School

For me, the Patrick Ness visit was amazing. I think it convinced me to be an author because it seemed to be really fun and exciting how he was telling us about it. The experience was brilliant, it was better than sitting in a classroom, and I would definitely go to another one! Patrick Ness author. Diamonds! Kirsty, aged 12

I enjoyed the Patrick Ness visit a lot. It was fun and interesting. It was a good experience to let an author speak with us because some of the people there want to be an author, including me. It was inspirational and now I have ideas for a book I am planning to write. Iona, aged 12

This experience was very enjoyable and funny, entertaining and one exciting event. If anyone hasn’t read his books I highly recommend them. He read with great enthusiasm and has brilliant ideas for stories. Becca and Mark

We really enjoyed the Patrick Ness event. It was funny and inspirational. When Patrick read the books to us, he made them sound mysterious and enjoyable. We will definitely be buying them now! Rebecca, Eilidh, Amber, Caitlin

I really enjoyed the Patrick Ness event. He was very inviting and made you want to listen. His books were very intriguing and made you want to read and buy them. He involved the audience very well, wasn't shy and also very funny. Erin, aged 13

It was good and he was funny. And it was interesting to meet an author who told us about his life and experiences. Pupils from St. Peter the Apostle High School

Yes, i enjoyed the event. I like learning about where his ideas for the novels came from and getting a book signed. Pupils from St. Peter the Apostle High School

Yes, it was very inspiring and Patrick Ness was very funny. Christina, aged 14

Teacher feedback:

'Excellent - the visit was very well organised and the pupils really enjoyed Patrick's talk.' Louise, Paisley Grammar School

'On behalf of all the pupils who attended yesterday's event with Patrick, thank you very much for organising it. The pupils really enjoyed it.' Teacher, Paisley Grammar School

'Once again many thanks for making the visit so successful. The pupils whom I spoke to afterwards said they found it both interesting and enjoyable.' Anne, Clydebank High School

Biography:

Patrick Ness was born on an army base called Fort Belvoir, near Alexandria, Virginia, in the United States. He then moved to Hawaii before moving to Washington state and then on to Los Angeles, where he studied English Literature at the University of Southern California.

Patrick is the author of the tremendous Chaos Walking trilogy. The first instalment of the trilogy, The Knife of Never Letting Go, won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2008. The sequel, The Ask and the Answer, won the Costa Children’s Book Award in 2009 and the final instalment in this stunning trilogy, Monsters of Men (published in May 2010), will undoubtedly be challenging for numerous accolades.

Patrick has also contributed a story to a new, moving and funny collection that deals with issue of teenage virginity, called Losing It, edited by Keith Gray with contributions from the likes of Melvin Burgess, Anne Fine and Bali Rai. He has also written for two novels for adults, Topics About Which I Know Nothing and The Crash of Hennington, both to great critical acclaim.

For more information about Patrick Ness please visit his website www.patrickness.com

	Watch Patrick read from the book.	Watch Patrick read from the book.