Writer Keren David is the cherry on top of the cake.

Beaumont students were lucky enough to meet writer Keren David at the recent Children's Book Award (CBA) Discussion Day at Sir Frederic Osborn School. Keren joined the students to discuss the three shortlisted books and to talk to them about how she became an author.

Keren told us it all began when she was very young. As a child she "read and read and read". At about 8 years of age, Keren was asked at school to draw a picture of what she wanted to be when she grew up. Keren said she wrote "I want to be a lady writer" and drew a picture of a lady with bright red fingernails and red hair, sitting at an old-fashioned typewriter! Keren had to admit that, despite this early determination, becoming a writer "has not been the most straight-forward path".

Keren described her schoolgirl self as "a daydreamer who loved stories". Throughout secondary school, Keren wrote a story in her head, every night before she went to sleep. This story was a dark, gothic murder mystery about someone coming out of a forest with a secret to keep, scared of everyone around him and not knowing who to trust. As a lover of stories and books, Keren's dream was to study English at university but failing two of her A levels meant she couldn't pursue that path. It was at this moment, Keren explained, she had to face failure head-on and make a choice: give in, or show the world what she was capable of? She chose to show the world!

Keren re-took her A levels but instead of going to uni she went to work on a newspaper. Over the years she has been a reporter and a news editor and still works as a journalist today. Journalism suited Keren as she enjoyed interviewing people and telling their stories but deep in her heart she wanted to be a writer of books for young people. This is because she believes that the books you read as a child are the ones that stay with you and shape you as a person.

To help her with this, Keren did a course on writing for children. She shared with the students some of the things she learned and some advice she would give to budding writers:

You don't have to have the whole book set out before you start.
Have a vague outline but make the story up as you go along.
Try to write a little each day.
Don't be too critical and hard on yourself!

Keren has now published nine books for young people. Her first book When I Was Joe was the winner of six awards. Keren introduced us to some of her stories, including her new title Stranger which is based on the forest story she made up in her head as a girl!

It was a pleasure to spend the day with Keren. The Beaumont students certainly enjoyed meeting her, as you can see from their comments:

"Keren David gave an inspiring speech about her books and the work and thoughts behind them. She even replied to the email I sent her." Alla C. 8S

"The highlight of the Children's Book Award event was meeting Keren David. She talked about all of her books, including her latest one, 'Stranger'. I bought a signed copy and so far it's a page turner. When I finish reading it, I plan to read all her other books." Rita S. 7E

"Keren David told us about her life as a writer and how hard it was to get published. I also bought a signed copy of her book and so far it's amazing, I don't want to stop reading it." Rebecca F. 7E

"She was definitely the cherry on top of the cake at the 2018 Children’s Book Award event!" Mia S 7R