A Day with an Inspiring Personality

The Eleventh of March Thursday was a wonderful and intellectual experience for a few and selected students. I was one amongst the lucky ones to get this opportunity to meet an amazing personality, Garth Nix, a young inspiring Australian author.

We boarded the bus at 11:20 a.m. and as we reached the Cultural and Scientific Association, Al Mamzar we were all superbly excited about this visit. When we reached there we saw that many other schools were also invited for the event. We were given refreshments from Spinneys. As we passed into the room we saw 21 types of books written by Garth Nix. We seated ourselves in the room as he spoke to us about himself. He also spoke about his passion and creativity and how he got his creative ideas. We were all enthralled by his captivating speech. After his speech he autographed each book, and then it was finally time for us to return to school. It was such a wonderful and memorable day with a world-renowned author.

- Hussain Rushdi, Year 6.

On Thursday, 11th march, 2010 a festival was organized in Dubai Scientific and Cultural Association, Al Mamzar by Emirates Airline.

It was an excellent opportunity to meet a famous author like Garth Nix. We never knew there would be more than 80 authors there. I got a chance to meet only one author.

Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. A full-time writer since 2001, he has worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, publicist and sales representative and bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth’s books include the award-winning fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen and the cult favorite Young Adult science fiction novel Shade’s Children. His fantasy novels for children include The Ragwitch, the six books of ‘The Seventh Tower’ sequence, and ‘The Keys to the Kingdom’ series, of which the seventh and final book Lord Sunday, appears in March 2010. More than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world, and have been bestsellers in England, the United States and Australia. His work has been translated into 38 languages. He lives in a Sydney beach suburb with his wife and two children.

When we entered the hall, we did not find Garth Nix. After a while he appeared with a mystery on his face.

He started explaining the word ‘Nix’, but he said we could not find it in a dictionary because it means nothing. Then he told a part of his life that he loved to go to the sea and catch fish. Further he described that one day he was returning with some of the fish he caught, he lost his way. As it was already dark, he walked quietly, frightened of the darkness, he hit a hard thing that was actually a bone; he got scared of it.

In addition, he at last told about a coin. He found a gold coin on his way back, and then asked whoever raised his/her hand first would get the coin. Unluckily I did not get the coin, but luckily a student from our school did: it was Murtaza.

At the end it was the time to purchase the books if anyone wished with an autograph by the author.

It was a great opportunity to meet a famous author like Garth Nix, and I wish I could get an another chance to meet other authors like Julia Johnson, Jacqueline Wilson and more.

By Sakina Zoher Dilawar

5G

The Fringe Parade

Students from Year 1, 2 & 3 celebrated the spirit of the Literature Festival in a truly Emirati way! They were clad in traditional attire and stood Al Ameen proud at the parade!