Book Pen Pals (Part 1) by Sophia Bennett

It all started with an email from Kate Scott (@KateScottWriter on Twitter). She was setting up a scheme called Book Pen Pals. Very simple: she would pair up authors with schools, and each author would send the school one postcard a month, recommending books. Easy, no? I felt I was taking on a bit too much, what with various other things I do, but ... a postcard a month? I could do that. I said yes.

Kate set me up with two schools, in different parts of the country, and in both cases I'd be corresponding with Year 8, as well as any bookish Year 9s and 10s who were interested. Both Year 8s are big, multi-form intakes and contain avid readers and those who, quite frankly (and they've told me so), can't really see the point of books although they get that other people like them.

A postcard a month. Just recommend a book. Easy.

Not so easy. First of all, I found myself setting up a spreadsheet so I could keep track of which books I was recommending to each school and not repeat myself. Because I couldn't recommend just one each month, obviously. I mean, what about the readers who want to be stretched by the politics of The Hate U Give, the aspiration of Becoming or the wit and adventure of Skulduggery Pleasant? They're not going to want the same thing as those who want to be nurtured, not scared off reading and reassured that loving Tom Gates is PERFECTLY OK and I and my family do too. (And Liz Pichon is a genius, as well as being one of the very nicest authors I know, and the best at running a workshop, but I digress.) And what if one book will certainly appeal to many girls but not so many boys? I would say vice versa, too, but from experience, I have never found that girls are put off 'boysy' books. Not sure there's even such a thing. Boys, on the other hand, are very vocal about the fact - in Year 8 at least - that books featuring lots of girls on the cover are almost certainly not for them. (Like most of mine, for example.) They are polite but firm on this matter.

So, at least 3 books at a time. And you want to say something about why they're so good. A recommendation isn't just a title, it's a bit of explanation too. And you can't fit that on a postcard. Eventually each postcard ended up going out with a letter, and do you know what ...? I love writing to Year 8s. It's practically my job anyway. I've been doing it, in novel form, for the last 10 years. Try and stop me, basically.

At this point, I should say that Kate Scott is also a genius, and Book Pen Pals (@bookpenpals) should be spread around the country, and particularly aimed at Years 7 to 9 when kids tend to stop reading with their parents and start switching from stories in books to stories in games, and need to be reminded why reading is fantastic, relaxing and fun, rather than scared off by pre-GCSE testing on frontal adverbials and the inner meaning of texts they didn't choose and don't necessarily identify with or like.

But I digress again. Book Pen Pals is brilliant is because it puts real, live children's authors in touch with real, live students. If you're a practising children's author reading this, and you're not already in regular postcard/letter contact with a school, I recommend remedying that fact pronto. I think the Book Pen Pals scheme may be full for now, but keep an eye on it via Twitter - and there's nothing to stop you finding a friendly Year 8 teacher (or whatever year group works for you) and setting out on your own. Ditto if you know some school kids who'd love to talk to an author: if you know some children's authors, why not suggest they get involved?

The thing about writing to school kids is, though, that they start writing back. A lot. Some letters have been fairly frank. To paraphrase, 'I don't like reading and I can't see the point. I don't have a good vocabulary. I can't think of anything to ask you. I hope you are well. Goodbye.' These are from kids I would call future readers. They just haven't found the right kick-starter book yet. I want to hug every one.

Other letters have been all about what they're reading now, and why they do or don't like it, and how they've expanded their reading list because of the recommendations. They're expanding mine too, reminding me to include fabulous authors like Lauren St John and Sophie McKenzie. I get the sense that reading has come a bit more alive to them, because it's not just spines of books in the school library, but books are a thing made by a real person, who they can talk to - and maybe even one day they can copy and write books themselves. I never had that sort of person in my life at school: someone accessible, who did the thing I always wanted to do, and whom I could batter with questions about what it was like. I'd have loved it.

They batter me with questions, some straightforward, some more left field. I've so enjoyed answering them and try and make sure I answer every one. Here are some recent examples, along with some of my replies.

What would you have said?


How did you start writing?

Did you like English at school? 

Not always! I hated English comprehension and I was rubbish at it. I was 21 before I realised that there is no perfect way to ‘understand’ a book. Sometimes you just have to learn how they want you to answer a question and do that, regardless of whether you like the book or not. Most of the authors I know didn’t like comprehension either – we all just wanted to read. 

My perfect English lesson would be the whole class on beanbags, reading books, sometimes aloud to each other, and just talking about them. Followed by 25 minutes of writing your own story. Unfortunately, you don’t get good marks at GCSE for doing that. L

Having said all of that, I’m truly grateful for all the grammar I learned. I know how to construct a good sentence and why it’s good. That’s really useful. Thank you, all those English teachers from many years ago. 

How long does it take to write a book? 

How do you carry on writing once you’ve started? 

I plan. 

I used to write without a plan and I’d get to a point where I couldn’t work out what to do next, so now I have quite a detailed plot plan to follow. If you’re writing stories and this happens to you, I suggest that you 

a) make a big plot before you start (just write it up on a piece of paper, or draw it out in a cartoon strip – it’s fun) or 

b) keep thinking ‘what would be the weirdest/most exciting thing that could happen next’? If you really care about your characters, you’ll think of something.

How do you write a book and be social with everyone? 

Great question. It’s REALLY HARD! Writing a book often has to happen when you’re not doing other work, or with your family, and in order to get it done I have to miss social events, go off to my shed and just write. 

I’d say while I’m writing I’m really un-social (not anti-social because I don’t dislike seeing all my friends, I just don’t have time). But the great thing is that when the book is done I have a big launch party and spend lots of time celebrating, sharing it and making up for all the social events I missed.

Do you like Manga?

What do you do if you don’t like books? 

You set your school librarian a challenge to find a book you like. It’s there – you just have to find it. Maybe it’s a biography of someone who’s interesting to you. Maybe it’s a book for grown-ups, or a very, very funny cartoon series. It's worth persisting, because people who read books tend to get on better in life. A good book is waiting for you, don’t worry.