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Signed Books
If you would like a signed copy of The Swan Kingdom, there is a simple and easy way to do it that does not involve trekking halfway across the country to find me and ask me. I will sign and dedicate a bookplate just for you (a bookplate is a piece of card with a sticky back which you put in the front inside cover of a book). Once you've stuck it into the book it will be 'signed'.
All you need to do is to write me a letter telling me how many bookplates you would like, and what you would like me to write on them (for instance - To Jane, Best Wishes, or To Daniel, Happy Birthday) although it's best not to ask for anything too elaborate, because the bookplates are fairly small. You send your letter to me through my publishers, like this:
Zoe Marriott,
C/O Walker Books,
7 Vauxhall Walk
London
SE11 5HJ
And you include a stamped addressed envelope for me to send your bookplate(s) to you. This last bit is very important because I can't afford to pay for envelopes and postage on all the bookplates I send out. At the moment I'm doing around five a week, and you can see how that would add up throughout a year (yes, I promise it's true - not all writers are millionaires).
On the other hand, anyone who writes to me is likely to get a few extra things included in the envelope - whatever nice bits and pieces I have handy. So it's worth writing if you would like your book signed.
School Visits
If you would like me to come and visit your school - firstly, thank you! I'd love to come and see you too. But unfortunately I can't arrange it myself. The first thing you need to do is to speak to your teacher about it, and send them to this website to they can check it out.
I'm fully CRB checked and I've been visiting schools for a while now, reading from The Swan Kingdom and other books, answering questions on being an author and talking about reading and writing. In accordance with guidelines from the Society of Authors I do ask for a fee when I visit a school, but this is negotiable depending on the size of the group I'm talking to, the time I'll be at the school, the distance I have to travel and also (perhaps most important) what money the school has available. I ask for my travel costs back as well.
You can email me on the link on the homepage (please leave the password in the subject line so I don't delete the email as spam) and I will be very happy to discuss visiting your school or library. If you run a bookshop and would like to arrange a signing, please get in touch with my publisher (address above) who will be happy to help you.
Below are some samples of the brilliant work done by year seven and eight students from Oasis Wintringham Academy on a recent visit. The children said they didn't mind me typing these up, and I hope they won't mind me correcting their spelling in one or two places for the sake of clarity (sorry kids!). These pieces of description were written after I asked everyone to imagine a house of coloured windows, in which every window led to a different world, and to write about the experience of going through into one of those worlds. And I'd just like to say that these guys were incredibly talented - if I could have written this well at their age, I'd probably have been published ten years earlier! I only wish I had room to showcase all your stories in full.
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Dean's Story
This window is crimson red, with dark luscious bushes in bewildering forests of irresistible roses. They are arranged in a cold metallic formation, sowing the true dark colours. The eyes of your mind may decieve you, there is a shining body of red sparkling water that looks like the unmissable taste of a rich, fruity strawberry milkshake, but as your eyes decieve you, it's actually a brutal whirlwind of blood.
Callum's Story
This window was very different from the rest. It was not one colour, but many translucent shades of beautiful, vibrant glass. Through a glossy, vermillio fragmentm I could see a crimson mountainous region, with cushions of cloud in the dazzling scarlet sky. A loud BANG reached my ears, as an enormous volcano spewed molton lava over it's surroundings in an incredibly eruption. I could almost taste the heat in the air, could feel the immense burn.
Susanna's Story
I stepped through the glistening gold glass, and the cold, hard brightness reached my eyes. Palaces towered above my head, made of solid gold, domes and towers and mountains, cliffs and valleys. After my eyes adjusted to the immense brightness, I realised I was at the top of a hill, also made of solid gold. The towers next to me showed how bare the gigantic plain was at the bottom of the hill.
Rebecca's Story
I sucked in a deeo breath and flung back the curtains. Immediately my nose was clogged with the smell of sea salt and seaweed. My feet pushed me forward and I emerged through the window. When I planted my feet on the ground, my ankles and feet felt wet, and my feet sunk into a grainy bed of sand. I looked around and to my utter shock and surprise, I realised I was at the bottom of the ocean. I no longer had feet. A sunset glow bounced off my legs and into my eyes. I turned around, or should I say, swan around, and looked at the window. My reflection glared at me, and I saw my legs were now a long gleaming fish tail. My eyes were pink pearls, and long luscious locks flowed down my back in a wave of onyx.
Rachel's Story,
As I climbed through the window I felt a warm wave of air. I looked up and saw a beautiful stream twisting and winding through the trees under the arch of the most beautiful rainbow anyone has ever seen. I dropped down from the window ledge onto the grass. I was confused by the sweet smell all around me. As I walked forward, a bird flew past, leaving a trail of icing flowers. I picked on up and place it on the tip of my tongue. I sighed in pleasure as the sweet delight dissolved on my tongue. I put my hand against a tree and whipped it back as my hand broke through the thin chocolate layer revealing the inside of a giant chocolate log.
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