We were delighted to welcome award-winning author Laura Wood to the Senior School today. Laura has written several bestselling books for teenagers, and her latest novel, The Agency for Scandal, has just been published by Scholastic.

Our lucky Year 8s were intrigued to hear about Laura’s career as an author, and the ideas that fuelled her new book, which revolves around an all-female detective agency infiltrating upper class society and exposing the scandals of powerful men.

Laura spoke about the sparks of inspiration behind her books, including the women’s rights marches in 2016, and the rise of young activists. She also showed fascinating film footage of Victorian London from 1898, which helped her to write historical fiction, and explained how she had used online resources to gather inspiration, like collecting imagery on Pinterest to help her to create the “feel” of the book.

Laura spoke about the importance of reading and advised the girls to read widely, saying “you can’t be a writer without being a reader first”.

After the talk, Laura patiently answered a large number of questions from the girls including queries about whether she preferred writing plot led or descriptive writing to which of her characters would she like to be.

To find out more about Laura Wood and all of her books visit her website here.