Elle McNicoll: Main character energy for autistic girls

Bestselling Scottish author Elle McNicoll joins us on Authors Live to talk about carving out space to centre autistic characters in books, writing about difficult experiences, and connecting with people through stories. We are treated to readings from A Kind of Spark and its prequel Keedie, and an insight into the process behind the creation of these two bestselling titles. Elle also answers questions from the Authors Live audience about her experiences as an autistic author, finding inspiration, and trusting your own voice.

Win a set of Keedie

We have a set of 8 copies of Keedie by Elle McNicoll to be given away to one lucky school! To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is enter your email address and the name of your school in the boxes below.

A winner will be drawn and notified on Monday 9 December. Terms and conditions apply.

If you only do one thing...

We know time is tight, so here is just one activity you can complete with your class before or after watching this broadcast.

Character descriptions (LIT 3-07a, LIT 3-17a, LIT 3-26a, LIT 3-27a)

Keep a track of how Elle describes her characters throughout the broadcast. What words does she use? Try and note down any adjectives you hear. Now, either use these to inspire your own character, or try and think of the total opposite. What would Keedie, or Addie's total opposite look like? From there, you can try and flesh out your character further, e.g. making a fact file with key information on them, or imagining what they would do if they were the protagonist in one of the excerpts that Elle reads aloud.

To find more resources on Elle McNicoll's books, see our discussion guide on Keedie or our classroom learning resource on A Kind of Spark below: