Author in residence appointed at Forrester High School

The Scottish Book Trust has appointed author Victoria Williamson as author in residence at Forrester High School to work on a specific creative project with the pupils. This is one of nine residencies announced today.

This appointment runs until Easter 2019 and as well as the author themselves the school will receive a grant of £500 and an invitation to an induction day.

The project which the school and Victoria will work on will be shown on the Scottish Book Trust’s website.

The author worked as a science teacher and teacher trainer in Cameroon and Malawi, an English as a foreign language teacher in China, and as a special needs teacher in the UK. She writes with a particular focus on creating diverse characters reflecting the many cultural backgrounds and special needs she has encountered, both as a teacher and as a volunteer.

Victoria’s experiences with teaching young children in a deprived area, many of whom were asylum seekers, inspired her first novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of redemption and unlikely friendship between Glasgow bad girl Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema.

Victoria Williamson said: “I’m really looking forward to working with the pupils and teachers of Forrester High School on our creative writing project. Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature scheme is a great opportunity for schools and authors to work collaboratively on a shared project, and I’m thrilled to be part of it this year.”

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “The Live Literature programme gives those in education settings the opportunity to collaborate with professional writers, storytellers and creators from all over Scotland. We’re pleased to offer nine fully-funded residencies, which will help pupils to foster a love for reading and writing that can last a lifetime.”