World Book Week - Rita Saliba



Popular author Rita Saliba was the first guest author at this year's World Book Week events at San Anton School.

The award-winning author met with the Grade 7 students who were treated to an exciting creative writing workshop. Under the expert guidance of Ms Saliba, the students sketched a character profile of a portly, brave adventurer (called Noel) and his home - a multi-purpose, eco-friendly house that travelled on mechanical legs that could be fitted with snow boots for colder temperatures.

The students loved every second of this exercise and they got to experience some very important aspects of creative writing - character and world building, and how these influence each other and the structure/direction that the narrative might take.

The students had a wonderful time and wouldn't stop asking questions and commenting on the various aspects of the story-writing process. The session ended with Ms Saliba signing copies of her recently released novel, Żiffa Mqarba f'Ħal Buffura.

*This visit was possible thanks to BDL.

World Book Week 2015 - Rita Saliba

Rita Saliba, whose award-winning Inżul ix-Xemx is the Grade 10 set text in Maltese, visited San Anton School to speak to the students.

She delivered a very interesting presentation about how to construct a character. It is not easy to give life to a name on a page. It involves a lot of careful observation, looking at real people, trying to figure out what makes them tick.

An interesting exercise is to try and concoct a history about a person you've never met before, someone you come across at the supermarket for instance. You try to assemble a profile by looking at the way he or she acts, by taking note of the kind of clothes that he/she is wearing, by peeping discreetly at the contents of his/her supermarket trolley!

Ms Saliba was pleased to notice that a lot of characters from Inżul ix-Xemx resonated with the students. Even minor ones, who might appear to be inconsequential, were the subject of queries from the Grade 10 pupils.

It was a very positive experience for the students, meeting the author of a book that they're enjoying so much.