Writer visits school

Since garnering critical acclaim for his debut novel Divorcing Jack, the Bangor author has written 21 books for adults and eight books for children.

He told Junior High pupils how he began writing as a child in order to prolong the adventures of his favourite characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien.

He spoke to the pupils about the importance of reading books and encouraging them to express themselves in the written word.

Colin Bateman began his career as a journalist with the County Down Spectator before penning his first novel in his spare time. He became one of only a handful of authors to have their work published from the ‘slush pile’ of unsolicited manuscripts sent to leading publisher Harper Collins.

He recently finished in the Top 50 Crime Writers of All Time alongside the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allen Poe in a list compiled by The Daily Telegraph.

Having carved a niche for himself as an author of adult crime fiction with a humourous twist, the Bangor author has in recent years branched out into children’s fiction.

He read to Junior High students from Reservoir Pups, an adventure novel he has written especially for the young adult market.

Colin Bateman is available for talks at local schools and can be contacted via www.colinbateman.com