Author visits school

PUPILS at Park School in Barnstaple were thrilled to meet renowned author MG Harris, creator of the popular techno thriller series, The Joshua Files. The successful female writer was at the school on Thursday as part of a series of educational visits orga

PUPILS at Park School in Barnstaple were thrilled to meet renowned author MG Harris, creator of the popular techno thriller series, The Joshua Files.

The successful female writer was at the school on Thursday as part of a series of educational visits organised by Appledore Book Festival.

At Park MG spoke to enthralled Year 7 pupils about her series for older children and teenagers which mixes Mayan myth and science fiction as young hero Josh Garcia and his friends encounter peril and adventure.

Librarian Sally Wheldon said MG was extremely popular with the pupils, her entertaining presentation giving them an insight into where she came from as a writer and what inspired her.

Born in Mexico City but raised in England from an early age, Maria Guadalupe Harris produced her series by combining her two intellectual loves of molecular biology and archaeology.

She told the Gazette the visit to Park had been "a lot of fun" and she had been greatly impressed by the book festival.

"They were great kids and well behaved too - there was a never ending stream of fantastic questions," she said.

"Appledore is a really lovely friendly festival, which seems like it's run by a group of mates because everyone seems to know each other and yet it's really professional."

On Friday she visited Shirwell Primary School and Kingsley School in Bideford, part of a broad spectrum of Festival educational events, which also included two visits to Bideford College by Bideford raised author Belinda Bauer, creator of crime thriller Black Lands.