John Fardell

I write and illustrate picture books with comic strip elements and children's adventure novels, which combine excitement and humour, and often extraordinary inventions and places.

My sessions and workshops are interactive and fun, with an emphasis on the imaginative scribbly processes behind creating books, with lots of joining in drawing and story inventing activities, and lots of tips and inspiration for children to create their own stories. This illustration-led approach seems to work well for enthusing pupils who don't see themselves as confident writers and readers, as well as those already keen.

My sessions work well for any ages of primary school children, as well as teens and adults interested in the techniques of creating illustrated fiction, and a mix of all or any of these ages in the one session, for example whole schools or family sessions is fine. I can work with groups of any number - from small groups to a whole hall full. The format of my events can vary from: general sessions on creating illustrated stories, workshops on creating stories in comic strip form, multi-session residency projects, out-of-classroom sketching-for-inspiration tours, and sessions geared to a particular topic.

I'm pretty flexible and always up for new ideas and requests! (Photo credit: Camilla Rockwood)