On Friday 10 July, published author and former HBS English teacher Naomi Ishiguro visited the school for a Q&A and workshop. Naomi has just published ‘The Rainshadow Orphans’, a young adult fantasy novel with elements of dystopia, making this the perfect opportunity for Naomi to speak to Year 9, who have been studying dystopian literature this half term. Mr Haigh and Mrs Garth joined Naomi for an onstage Q&A attended by all Year 9 students. Naomi read extracts from the novel and discussed a range of topics including how teaching at HBS influenced her writing, and her pathway to becoming a professional author. Students had the opportunity to pose questions via a Google poll, and Naomi responded to requests for writing advice, and a lovely question on the influence of her famous father Kazuo. After the Q&A many students stayed behind to talk to Naomi, and she even signed a few autographs! There are many budding writers at HBS, and we hope that Naomi’s talk will have inspired still more to pick up their pen.

Following the Q&A, Naomi ran a creative writing workshop for students who this year continued to the HBS creative writing magazine ‘The Acorn’. Students from Year 7-12 attended, and were challenged to devise a situation and group of characters to pull off a heist. It was wonderful to see students of different ages sharing ideas, and the imagination showcased in the range of stories was quite remarkable.

Naomi kindly donated three copies of ‘The Rainshadow Orphans’ to the school library. Dr Gregor-Som catalogued them in record time and all three were on loan before the end of day! As this is the first novel in ‘The Rainshadow Trilogy’, we look forward to welcoming Naomi for another event when Part 2 is published.

Mr Haigh