On Friday, 8 March 2019, the award-winning author of The Breadwinner, Deborah Ellis, visited Vienna International School to talk to Grades 6 and 7 students about her work, and to lead workshops with enthusiastic student writers.
In her presentations to the two year groups, Deborah, a feminist and peace activist who has published more than thirty books, described her experiences during her extensive travels researching and campaigning on a wide-range of issues, including women’s rights, child labour and poverty. The sheer volume of questions from students in the following Q&A session showed the impact of Deborah’s words.
Later in the day, participants in small-group workshops gained an insight into a wide range of techniques for coming up with original ideas and writing effectively – discussion ranged from the plot and themes of The Breadwinner, through alien invasion, to approaches to creating an engaging plot. The students involved then produced some truly imaginative pieces of writing of their own.
The day was a great success – many thanks to all the students for their enthusiastic participation, to the staff who helped to make this happen and to Deborah Ellis for this meaningful visit.