Book a visit/event
Book Gill for a Visit or Event
Visits/Events
One of the best parts of being an author is the chance to meet and interact with readers. I love delivering events in schools and libraries and at literary and science festivals and I’m always happy to be approached to come and talk.
I am happy to tailor sessions to the age and number of people in the audience and provide a fun and informative event. I have spoken to audiences ranging in size from 1 to over 300 and from pre-school to 80+.
Here are some event ideas:
Writing
Writing (Ages 8 and up)
Where do Stories Come From?
This is a question authors are asked during almost every school visit, and looking at the answer in detail stimulates pupils’ own writing. Stories are important in non-fiction too, helping to engage an audience almost by stealth. Find out how to capture ideas from the wild, how place names can inspire a whole book, and why you should always eavesdrop on public transport…
Writing (Ages 8 and up)
Writing Non-fiction
How to go about tackling a non-fiction writing project, from selecting your topic to making sure that you’ve got your facts right and ensuring your audience can’t wait to read your work. The event uses examples from my science and history books.
Writing (Ages 8 and up)
Writing About History
This is a project delivered over 2 or 3 one-hour sessions, suitable for P5-S2. Session 1 looks at identifying resources, using research for A Secret Diary of the First World War as the main example. Between sessions 1 and 2, pupils are encouraged to choose a topic for their own writing. Session 2 looks at how to make sure sources are reliable, using examples from a variety of my non-fiction titles, and at how to connect with your readers. Between sessions 2 and 3 pupils are encouraged to work on their own piece of historical writing. In Session 3 (if included) I talk to pupils individually about their own writing. Each session includes time for Q&A.
Non-Fiction
Ages 8-Adult (Non-Fiction)
Balloon to the Moon
Humanity’s journey into space started in 1782 when a sheep, a duck and a cockerel were passengers in the first hot air balloon. In July 1969, science fiction became fact when Apollo 11 touched down on the moon. The journey from one to the other takes in the development of aircraft, satellites and rockets; the cold war, animals in space and astronaut training. The event combines science and history with a peep into the future.
Ages 8-Adult (Non-Fiction)
From Shore to Ocean Floor
We took to the sea at least 10,000 years ago, but it’s only in the last decade that the number of people to have reached the deepest part of the ocean has overtaken the number of people to walk on the moon! The oceans are enormously important to our future and this book shows why. A Shore event can include history, technology, geology, ecology – and it’s a trip through over 10,000 years of time.
Ages 8-Adult (Non-Fiction)
From Cells to Ourselves
Life began about 3,800 million years ago, but we’re still not sure exactly how or where. The story of evolution, the amazing creatures and – in some cases – the deeply strange people who worked out how we got from the first cells to the range of living things on earth now is a great way to engage an audience. It invites them to think about biology, geology, scientific research, conservation and our responsibility to care for our planet.
Ages 8-Adult (Non-Fiction)
A Secret Diary of the First World War
The amazing true story of James Marchbank from Dalkeith near Edinburgh, who went to fight on the Western Front in 1914 – even though everyone knew he was only 14! He kept a trench diary throughout the four years he was on the front and survived to bring it home. His writings bring the conflict alive for readers of any age. Battles in the air, on land and at sea; rats and homing pigeons; tanks and trenches – it’s all here, through teenage eyes.
Ages 8-Adult (Non-Fiction)
Microbe Wars
Microbes get a bad press – especially after the pandemic. It’s important to understand why some of them are a threat to us, and how science and our own behaviour can protect us. But it’s just as important to know about all the ways in which microbes help us, from making food, to acting as tiny factories, and we are only now beginning to understand the power of our microbiomes to affect our health.
Ages 8-Adult (Non-Fiction)
The Amazing Life of Mary, Queen of Scots
Queen of Scots at six days old and of France at seventeen, Mary’s turbulent rule ended with her imprisonment in England for nineteen years and execution aged forty five – but every British monarch since then is descended from her. See her court through the eyes of Alec, a young servant at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Find out about her husbands and other animals, the importance of crowns and try to decode a secret message.
Non-fiction (Ages 8-12)
What Makes You You?
An introduction to DNA. What is it and what it does. Why you are unique yet like your family – and also more like a banana than you might think. The story of genes from Charles Darwin to Dolly the sheep and beyond. Includes an opportunity to extract DNA from strawberries.
Non-fiction (Ages 8-12)
What Makes Your Body Work?
What Makes Your Body Work? An introduction to the organs of the body. The session includes a number of simple experiments for the audience to take part in.
Non-fiction (Ages 8-12)
A Beginner’s Guide to Life on Earth:
The characteristics of life and a whistle-stop tour of some of the most extraordinary examples. What audience could resist hearing about farting herring, the mite that dies before it’s born or the tiny mammal that eats the equivalent of a human dining on 150 pizzas per day?
Fiction
Ages 3-6
Fiction
Events based round my picture books Lost at the Zoo and The Giant Panda Party, both of which are set in Edinburgh Zoo.
Ages 8-12
Fiction
Events can be based round my Edinburgh-set novels The Chaos Clock and The Chaos Quest, or my Fife-based novels Winterbringers and Dark Spell.
Ages 11-14
Fiction
Events can be based round my teen fantasy novels Beneath and The Keepers’ Daughter.
how much does it cost?
Book Gill for a Visit or Event
My usual fee is in line with Scottish Book Trust Live Literature suggested rates, but do contact me with details of what you have in mind and I’ll let you know my fee for your event.