NLT News - the interview

Tommy Donbavand
August 2009

Each month, NLT News interviews a well-known figure in the world of reading and literacy. Here, international bestselling author Tommy Donbavand talks about how to get kids excited about books, the necessary trend for authors to embrace new media and the importance of setting up a positive school reading environment.

You are the author of the Scream Street series of books, aimed particularly at boys, how hard do you think it is to capture boys’ imaginations when it comes to reading?

It can be hard to 'grab' boys with a book - especially when there are more immediate forms of entertainment available, such as computer games and DVDs - so I see the first page as being incredibly important.

With my Scream Street books, I always open with an action scene that quickly twists into becoming part of the story. My thinking is that, if I can get my readers to turn past that first page, I've got a chance of keeping them hooked for the rest of the book. If the first page is full of description or back story, you're facing an uphill battle with reluctant readers.

You also wrote the Too Ghoul for School series under the pseudonym of B. Strange – what was the thinking behind adopting this pseudonym, other than the obvious?

I'd love to say this was down to me but, as I was one of four writers working on the series, it was the publishers (Egmont Press) who came up with the name B. Strange.

I recall asking what the pseudonym would be early on in the writing process, and was amazed to learn that while the publishers hadn't chosen a name yet, it would definitely have a surname starting with an 'S'. This was so the finished books would sit on the shelf near to popular authors such as Francesca Simon and Jeremy Strong and within easy reach of potential readers!

As my own surname begins with 'D' and features on the covers of my Scream Street series, I'm now very happy to be stocked alongside Roald Dahl!

You were also writer in residence at Seven Stories Museum – what did your role there involve?

I loved my time at Seven Stories! I ran creative writing workshops, visited local schools to stage drama sessions that brought books to life and even wrote and directed a short film with a group of children who have to care for unwell or disabled parents. The weekly film-making sessions gave them a well-deserved break - and we had a wonderful movie about Victorian ghosts at the end of it.

Seven Stories' also collect original manuscripts, notes and artwork from children's books in order to preserve them for future generations to enjoy. I donated the manuscripts for my first six Scream Street books to the archive.

Do you think the concept of a story museum is an effective way to engage new readers, or do you have a better idea?

The downside to having a venue dedicated to children's books is that it primarily attracts families of existing readers, and may not appeal as a day out to children who see books as school work rather than something fun. The team at Seven Stories try to counter this by bringing school groups in from around the region, hoping that pupils who enjoy their visit will encourage their parents to take them back again.

When I visit schools, I make my visits as exciting as possible so as to encourage new readers to give books a try, and I'd love to see Seven Stories doing the same - perhaps with some sort of schools roadshow.

It has long been known that there is a gender gap in achievement between boys and girls; the recent Key Stage One teacher assessment results once again confirmed this, with boys performing less well than girls particularly in reading and writing. What do you think can be done to combat this trend?

I'm not sure whether this trend can, or even should be combated. So many reports conclude that girls learn faster than boys - then all we hear are suggestions as to how that can be changed. Perhaps it would be better to simply allow boys to learn at their own pace, letting the gap close naturally as pupils get older, rather than force them to keep up with girls.

I appreciate this would need a radical shake-up of the curriculum, and I'm certainly not suggesting that boys and girls should be taught separately - but using different stimuli within the classroom might be the answer. In my experience, many boys respond better to physical tasks than written work, so including a 'hands on' aspect to each subject could help get the lesson across.

This already happens in subjects such as science, but wouldn't be impossible to introduce to literacy classes. So, for example, if the topic is a specific book - a combination of written reviews, drama adaptations and even making props that appear in the story could be used to explore the author's work.

If you could change one thing about schools what would it be?

Tough question! When I arrive at a school for a visit, I immediately get a sense of whether it is a 'book school' or not. From shelves of books in prominent, easy to reach places to wall displays and more - book schools appreciate the importance of reading and writing and help bring stories to life. Some other schools, however, simply don't do it that way...

I visited a school in the north east last year and was invited to sit in the staff room at lunchtime between sessions. Not one of the teachers knew who I was, or that an author was visiting the school that day. One even asked if I wrote 'findy-out' books or 'madey-up' books, then sighed and turned away when she realised I wasn't famous enough for her to recognise! I have no problem with people not having heard of me - but I doubt the pupils at that school are encouraged to read much at all.

So, if I could change one thing about schools - get the staff just as excited about author visits as the pupils. That way, they can use a visiting writer's work to inspire creative endeavours and get more children reading. (Oh, and don't use an author's visit as an excuse to catch up on your marking! Get involved!)

The Campaign for the Book is arguing strongly that school libraries should be statutory; do you have an opinion on this yourself?

Libraries are so important to schools. I frequently get emails from children and adults asking me to send them a book for free - and I always reply that books ARE free in every library in the country. The problem is that we're making libraries harder to access (when I lived in Northumberland, my local library opened for just four half-days a week), or replacing book space with computer workstations. While new technologies are vital, they should be an addition to a library's facilities, not a substitute for books.

A school library - with a qualified librarian - is essential to developing a generation of readers and writers, skills which are crucial to almost every career available to pupils after they leave education. Yes, finding funds is tricky, but you simply cannot compromise on such a valuable resource. I support Alan Gibbons and the Campaign for the Book in everything they do.

How can schools make their libraries a more welcoming environment where children really want to go and discover the joys of reading?

The difference between a library with disorganised shelves of tattered, old books and one which brings reading to life is vast. It doesn't take much work to arrange and display books in an appealing way, or add features such as a table with book review sheets or a wall display of children's own stories - and these things can even be done by pupils who volunteer to become library assistants.

A library should be a place where pupils want to go, so don't close it at lunchtime - allow them to use it at their leisure; opening for twenty minutes after school so that parents could choose a book with their children before heading home would make a huge difference to the numbers of readers you have. Encourage teachers, dinner ladies and even the caretaker to borrow books and write single-paragraph reviews to stick on the shelves. Get pupils to make posters advertising new books in stock. Make your library exciting!

You have been doing a lot of work with our Reading is Fundamental project, including frequent visits to schools, how big an impact do you think authors visiting pupils can have on their subsequent attitudes towards reading?

I was honoured to be chosen this year as the first RIF Ambassador, attached to a primary school in Middlesbrough that even instigated the Tommy Donbavand Writing Hero Award! School visits are one of the most important parts of my job, because I know that an author's visit will always press home the joy and importance of reading with at least a handful of pupils, if not the entire class.

I have two main strands to my school visits - creative writing workshops and my Scream Street Vampires vs Werewolves Game Show...

In my writing workshops, I explain that the difference between reading and writing is the same as that between watching and playing a sport such as football. Anyone can read a book or watch a football match on TV, but it's only when you put pencil to paper, or head outside to kick a ball around that you appreciate the techniques involved. Writing stories makes pupils better readers, and vice versa - it's an upward spiral. In fact, I don't believe the two tasks should be separated at all. For every book your pupils read, get them to write a review, a synopsis or even create an alternate ending. Every stroke of the pen will lead to a page turned in a future reading book.

My Vampires vs Werewolves Game Show is designed to bring my Scream Street series to life. In the books, my three main characters have to collect ancient relics such as a vampire's fang, a bottle of witch's blood or a mummy's heart. I take those relics into classes and split the audience into howling and hissing teams to play a series of fast-paced activities connected to the items, explaining how the books are written as I go. The number of new readers I get after these events is incredible.

Along this theme, there has been a lot of talk in the media recently about authors needing to register on a database before they can visit schools, do you have an opinion on this? And do you think it will spell the end of author visits to schools or do you think the majority of authors will accept the new legislation?

You may want to brace yourself, as I have quite strong opinions on this topic! I think that any author who claims they should be exempt from registering with the Independent Safeguarding Authority is a fool. Children have to be protected at all costs and we shouldn't be above bursting a handful of egos to see that it happens.

It is NOT an insult to be asked to register, nor will you be suspected of inappropriate activity if your background is checked. Yes, you may have a teacher with you for the entire day on school premises, but the relationship with your readers doesn't end there. I get dozens of emails from my readers, many of which will have presumably been written during unsupervised access to the family computer. I'm also approached in the street by pupils whose schools I've visited, each one believing they 'know' me because they've sat though a fun, hour-long session and they like my books. Either of these situations (and many more) could be abused by those with wicked intentions.

EVERY author should sign up with the ISA and be checked. Those who say they'll boycott school visits if they're forced to do so are only depriving children of a valuable experience.

Children nowadays are constantly writing blogs and logging onto social networking sites often more frequently than they pick up a book – do you see this trend for online media as a new definition of literacy?

I see the proliferation of blogs and social networking sites as vital to the future of books. Children embrace new media as a completely natural method of communication and, as that's where our potential readers are, that's where authors should be as well.

To this end, I create websites to accompany my books, make video trailers to post on YouTube, produce a monthly email newsletter and podcast, and send out snippets of what I'm writing on Twitter. I even have a webcam set up so that schools can log on to watch a real, live author at work and ask questions about the book in progress. Each one of these things can be done very cheaply (if not for free) and with the minimum of research and experience - yet many authors balk at the idea of promoting themselves in this way.

As well as my own websites (see below) I set up a blog along with seven other children's authors called Trapped By Monsters (www.trappedbymonsters.com) The premise is that we were on our way to a secret location to write the ultimate anthology of monster stories when the monsters got to us first! Tired of being slaughtered on the page for the amusement of readers, the monsters are keeping us captive in a dark, dank cave and force us to write about great kids' books in return for food and toilet paper. The site has been very popular and we regularly attract guest bloggers such as John Dougherty and Elizabeth Kay. We run competitions for visitors to win signed books, post unique short stories and more.

I appreciate that some people fear the use of new media will lead to the death of books (it won't, of course) but, simply put, a story is a story whether it's read from the pages of a novel, between the covers of a comic or by browsing a website. Teachers, librarians and authors should capitalise on this explosion of technology rather than try to fight it.

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For more information about myself and my books or to enquire about potential school or library visits, please visit www.tommydonbavand.com or www.screamstreet.co.uk