Children meet author Sheena Wilkinson at Belfast Harbour

Published on: 21 February 2017

200 teenage school children had the chance to meet one of Ireland's top writers at a recent event at the Belfast Harbour Commissioner's Office.

The event was the culmination of an exciting literacy project developed by BookTrust and the Educational Library Service, and supported by Belfast Harbour, to encourage teenagers to engage with books and develop a reading for pleasure habit.

The chosen author was Sheena Wilkinson, who writes contemporary realistic fiction for children and young adults.

Since the publication of her first novel, the multi-award winning Taking Flight, she has become established as one of Ireland's most acclaimed writers for children and teenagers. The project introduced pupils to her Belfast-based novels, in particular her latest, Name Upon Name.

Pupils and teachers were excited to be invited to the Commissioner's Office to meet Sheena in person and hear her talk about her books, the writing process and her inspiration.

In a fitting finale to the occasion, Sheena awarded competition prizes and signed copies of the books that all pupils received as part of the project.