Author visit at HMP Risley

Across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, and in all of the areas that we work in, our education teams provide learners with opportunities to develop their knowledge and confidence in reading, so that learners can experience the benefits of reading, supporting our prison reading strategies. 

One way that the teams support reading in prisons across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, is by working in partnership with local authors to share their expertise and passion for writing with learners. 

At the start of January, HMP Risley received a visit from Warrington author, Rob Parker who shared his experiences as a published author. Rob has penned many popular crime thrillers, published a number one audiobook, and has ghost-written a number of memoirs for politicians, journalists, sports personalities and members of the armed forces.

Author visit to engage more learners in reading

Rob spoke to a group of learners about his writing process, where he is able to create 80,000 words of gripping fiction in eight weeks. There were many interesting discussions including the influence of AI of fiction writing, the discretion needed when ghost-writing for others and the resilience required to navigate the process of finding an agent as well as publishing and promoting work.

Writing as a career path for ex-offenders was also discussed, as it’s something that can be done on a self-employed basis which may well be a realistic consideration for some of our learners. Rob’s helpful explanations of his experiences certainly gave the participants something to think about and different career options for them to consider.

In addition to looking at the professional writing process, learners discussed a book that had been donated by another local author, Sarah Moorhead, for a group reading session. ‘The Treatment’ is speculative fiction which offers an interesting view of an alternative criminal justice system and participants explained how the complexities of the characters and its thought-provoking take on rehabilitation made for a fascinating read.

The workshops included practical tips for participants to create characters by using a simple list of questions, and how to structure a novel using a three-act framework. This gave learners an inspirational starting point to start their own stories and begin their writing journey.

Rob also doated some books from his ‘Ben Bracken’ series to the library which was greatly appreciated and will form a focal point at the prison. The visit was a huge success, with Rob hopefully returning to HMP Risley and other prisons across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire so that as many learners as possible can enjoy the benefits of reading. 

The visit was enjoyed by learners who attended, and they spoke positively about the experience:

 

It was good to learn about publishing and the writing life of an author. It gave me more of an insight of books and being in the industry.

It was useful being able to listen and learn so much about the world of writing and being a writer. I found it all very interesting.

 

To learn more about how we engage learners in our reading provision, take a look at the news section.