A Halloween Treat!

Last year, Sophie surprised the staff and students at a local village school with a complimentary author visit on Halloween. This year, Sophie still feels just as generous despite her witch-like persona.

Do you know of a Primary School that deserves a free author visit? A school where children are eager to uncover the secrets of an ancient captive dragon, where they'd prefer to conjure a baby dragon from a bubbling cauldron and experience a theatrical, poetic performance rather than suffer the intricacies of mathematics and algebra?

If you do, please tag/nominate the school on the Facebook post , using the link below

and share the post with your nearest and dearest. The most deserving school with the most votes will be contacted to enquire whether they are willing to host a visit from a witch and her dragon on the 31st of October, 2023! (Or thereabouts if more convenient)

Enter now!

T&C's The offer is open to any Primary School in the United Kingdom, with the exception of schools that have hosted an in-person visit from Sophie in the last 18 months.

All fees, including travel costs, will be waived if the winning school is within the Ribble Valley or Lancashire. Schools outside Lancashire may be asked to contribute toward travel costs at 0.45p per mile and accommodation costs if an overnight stay is unavoidable. A free virtual author visit may be offered as an alternative. The visit is only suitable for children in KS2 and is limited to 60 children per session. A maximum of two sessions in total, to be held on 31st October or, if preferred, on a date and time convenient to both parties.

The final decision, 'the most deserving school with the most votes', will be made jointly by Sophie and Stonehill Press. Their decision is final and irrefutable. To be considered for entry, all votes must be cast by midnight of October 7th 2023. The winning school will be contacted on Monday, 9th October.

Magical Missives

Here at 'The Best-Kept Secret', we've found ourselves in the midst of handling over two hundred 'letter from the author' requests from schools before the start of the new term. A task not dissimilar to deciphering the pages of a spellbook penned by a witch moonlighting as a GP while simultaneously endeavouring to tame a formidable dragon. This is further complicated by the unpredictability of Adobe magic causing digital disruptions... Despite these challenges, we are still offering magical missives to inspire children and help promote reading for pleasure. If you would like a free personalised letter for the children in your class or the children at your school, please get in touch with us!

Get in touch!

Personalised author letter for schools

Virtual Author Visits

Conjuring up class creativity via crystal ball!

As World Book Day 2023 drew ever nearer it became abundantly clear that Sophie could not split herself into quarters to visit schools in Burnley, Staffordshire, Sheffield and Ribble Valley. So she conjured up plans for bespoke 'virtual author' visits, recorded from her witches hovel, enabling her to spend World Book Day with children from schools far and wide - with the aid of a crystal ball. These were such a resounding success that 'Virtual Author Visits are now available all year round alongside in-person visits - as authors are not just for World Book Day and witches are not just for Halloween!

'The video was fabulous and so motivating for the children. It was a magical day!' 'I will be using this again- it is the best I’ve done for WBD and this is my 28th year of teaching!'

'It was an amazing day!' 'They absolutely loved your book and were over the moon you’d dedicated it to them. When I shared your message they were over the moon.You certainly inspired them and the e-book brought the story to life with the beautiful illustrations.' 'The children loved the video which really hooked them in, we then listened to the audiobook and some of them read it out using props such as microphones.' Sophie was very touched to receive these beautifully written, thoughtful and heartfelt thank you letters from pupils in Year 6 at St Saviours Academy after their personalised virtual author visit and Q&A session.

For further information please visit https://www.stonehillpress.co.uk/teachers