Teen author, Anthony McGowan, visited Highworth Warneford School on Thursday 12th November to speak with year 9 students about his life and becoming an author. He told the audience about himself; where he grew up (Leeds) and what inspired him to write. There were stories of his school life that were quite shocking and brutally honest. Beforehand, he told us that one story was true and one false, but afterward when asked which one was false, he smiled mischievously and said “You’ll never know!”

He read one chapter each from his three teen novels: Hellbent, The knife that Killed Me and Henry Tumour. We learned that one of his first books got rejected loads of times and he was on the verge of giving up. But finally, it WAS published. So his advice was: Don’t Give Up! Anthony answered questions for the last 10 minutes – here are some examples: Robert Milsom: “What advice to you have for any of us thinking of becoming a writer?” Anthony: “ Read a wide variety of books and carry a notebook with you always to write down your ideas.”

Josh Harper -“Why are your books between life and death?”

Anthony – “Well as a teenager a lot of things are just that, life and death and I hope I’m getting this right, but teenage years are a lot darker than any other but a lot more vivid”

Josh Hitt - “Did you ever think you’d be famous when you were younger?”

Anthony – “Well no, not really. I thought of being a footballer, but the love of writing outgrew my dream to be a footballer.”

I strongly recommend all three of these books to all aged 12 or over; not only do they deal with the realities of the modern day, but also the gripping horrors of his own past.

By Ben Dickinson, Year 9, Highworth Warneford