JANE ELSON - How To Fly With Broken Wings
Wed, 01 Feb
|School Visit
It’s the 82nd anniversary of The Battle of Britain! learn all about the female spitfire pilots of the ATA and the brave soldiers who flew into battle. Then join a Top-Secret Spitfire Club where Jane will share her writing journey. AGES 7+
Time & Location
01 Feb 2023, 10:00 – 10:45
School Visit
About the Artists & Speakers
It’s the 77th anniversary of The Battle of Britain! Welcome to this interactive event – prepare to be transported from the modern day back to the 1940’s. Starting with a dramatic reading with audience participation, the audience will meet:
Twelve-year-old Willem Edward Smith who has Asperger’s Syndrome and two main aims in
life: to fly and to make at least two friends of his own age. But he is being bullied by Finn
Mason’s gang. Thirteen-year-old Sasha Barton. Will she find the strength to step away from Finn and his
gang and reach out to become Willem’s first friend?
The audience will explore unlikely friendships, autism and bullying as seen through Sasha’s eyes.
Sasha’s life is changed further when she finds an old 1940’s suitcase belonging to a female spitfire pilot called Rachel.
The audience will help me unpack the case to discover its inner secrets. We will learn all about the female spitfire pilots of the ATA and the brave soldiers who flew into battle. Sasha realises how brave Rachel was and forms a Spitfire Club of her own. The event will end with the audience being sworn into The Top-Secret Spitfire Club. Inside the club, there will be a Q&A session and I will share my writing journey with the audience. School Visits: Jane Elson can be booked for school visits through Authors Aloud UK www.authorsalouduk.co.uk
After performing as an actress and comedy improviser, Jane fell into writing stories and plays. Her books have won many awards including Peters Book of the Year two years running. Her debut novel A Room Full of Chocolate was longlisted for the Branford Boase Award and she has twice been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Jane is loud and proud about her dyslexia and when not writing likes to mentor Neurodiverse young people and promote the gift of alternative thinking. She was honoured to be named as one of the top 50 Neurodivergent Women by the platform Women Beyond the Box. Jane is an advocate for charities close to her heart such as Nacoa and All Dogs Matter – whose dog shows she has lots of fun judging!