Writing with Beasts – Jack Meggitt-Phillips

Friday afternoon saw the Spinney buzzing with creativity as Years 3 to 6 took part in Writing with Beasts, an hour-long interactive writing workshop held by Jack Meggitt-Phillips, author of the internationally best-selling The Beast and the Bethany series.

The Beast and the Bethany series is a darkly humorous, gothic tale of a youthful 500 year-old man, a ravenous beast and a rebellious girl who doesn’t know she is about to be eaten. It provided an entertaining springboard for Jack Meggitt-Phillips to pass on his top tips for the boys to develop their own fantastical tales. His first task for the boys was to ask them to describe their ‘happy place’ using all five senses, a request which elicited responses as diverse as living inside the Minecraft world and eating at McDonalds! The second task was to imagine the worst thing that could happen within that happy place and then, finally, they were asked to find a resolution to the situation. The boys were totally engaged throughout and, remarkably, totally silent at the end of the workshop when Jack recounted the hilarious first chapter of The Beast and The Bethany where Patrick the rare Wintlorian purple-breasted parrot meets his untimely end.

The Beast and the Bethany series has been translated into over 30 languages, won numerous awards and has had a major film deal announced with Harry Potter producer, Heyday Films – so watch out for it on your screens in the future!