Acclaimed Author Returns to Alleyn’s

Thank you to acclaimed children’s author and alumna, Katya Balen (Cribb’s 2008), for returning to Alleyn’s to inspire Year 7s about writing, mudlarking and October October which they have been reading in English. 

“As a children’s author I get paid to lie to children!” was the humorous opening to Katya’s talk! She captivated Alleyn’s budding readers and writers with her tips for taking an idea she's made up and developing and evolving it as a storyteller. With a quick-fire game of ‘two truths, one lie’ she showed them the ways they can layer little details to create a character who feels real.  

She explained to Year 7s that there is no one right way to write a book. She said:

"You don’t need a fixed plan, and you don't need to write 1,000 words at a desk every day. What works one day may not work the next."

And she talked about the development of her book October October, from the initial idea of a setting that was inspired by her father-in-law moving off-grid. Without any more of a plan, this was her skeleton story arc and she talked about how the story and the characters evolved and grew as she wrote. 

But she said there is one thing that writers ask themselves all the time: “What if?” and Katya encouraged Year 7s to do the same to develop their own story ideas – whether that starts with just the idea of a setting, an object or a person. 

“You don’t have to have everything in place and linked up”, she said. “Your brain will do that for you. But keep practicing and keep writing.”  

During the Q&A session that followed, Year 7 pupils asked Katya insightful questions from “Are there any other authors who inspire you?” (David Almond and his book Skellig which Katya said she had read countless times and discovers something new every time. Though Katya explained that every book she's ever read, whether she has enjoyed it or not, has made her the writer she is). To “How old were you when you realised you wanted to be an author?” (she wrote her first book aged four and always knew she wanted to be a writer). And also “Is Stig a metaphor for October’s journey?” (yes!)  

Thank you, Katya for capturing the imaginations of Alleyn’s Year 7s who loved hearing about your work.  

Katya’s book October October was awarded both the Carnegie Medal and Shadower’s Medal in 2022. Her book, The Light in Everything was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. And, Foxlight, which was published in 2023, won the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Children’s Writing, inspiring readers to embrace nature and respect the environment.