The secret life of pirates – creative writing workshop for schools

State Library’s Writer in Residence Kelly Gardiner is presenting free creative writing workshops for students. Suitable for upper primary / lower secondary students

Discover the truth about the real pirates of the high seas, then write your own horrible pirate histories!

Students will look at some of the most famous pirates and their flags, ships, weapons – even their clothes. How did pirates talk? Do ‘pieces of eight’ and ‘dead men’s chests’ really exist? How much pirate history comes from authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and his Treasure Island? What’s true, what’s invented, and what mysteries still remain to be solved?

Kelly is the author of the Swashbuckler trilogy for young readers, and Act of Faith, a young adult novel about books, freedom and ideas.

Workshop times: Wed 13 or Thu 14 June | 10am-11.30am or 12noon-1:30pm

Kelly will also be presenting a workshop about words and ideas that changed the world, for students in Years 9 and 10; plus a workshop for the public on Sat 9 Jun.

State Library's Writer in Residence program is presented in partnership with the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust