Matt Dickinson Author Visit
Students inspired by Matt Dickinson to write their own creative writing!
Climber and Explorer Matt Dickinson, an award-winning author, visited Bishop’s on 27th March 2024. Year 7 and 8 pupils were fascinated by the exciting adventures Matt has had and how he is inspired by his experiences of visiting places around the world to write both fiction (thrillers) and non-fiction (biographical) books. Matt presented a fascinating presentation on his experiences of climbing Mount Everest, the impact of tourism and global warming, plus possible career opportunities for those thinking of studying Geography at university.
Matt asked for a pair of mountain boots for his tenth birthday and has never looked back! He introduced us to his life of adventure as an award winning Director/Cameraman for National Geographic TV, Discovery Channel and the BBC. During his action-packed career he has worked with some of the great characters from the world of adventure: Bear Grylls, Judy Leden and Brian Blessed. He has filmed on Everest’s summit (the first British film maker to do so and get back alive), in Antarctica, Greenland, Alaska and on top of the highest live volcano in the world. Matt showed dramatic images from Everest, Antarctica, Africa, Central Asia and the Arctic, bringing his intrepid adventures alive. Matt shared how these experiences have inspired his writing of The Everest Files trilogy, the Mortal Chaos series and Lie, Kill, Walk Away.
Matt also ran two writing workshops for groups of Year 7 and Year 8 students. He spoke about his adventures to Antarctica and raised some of the issues linked to climate change and how the fragile ecosystem has been affected. The students were so enthused and fascinated that they produced some superb pieces of creative writing in the form of an application letter on why they should be accepted to participate in an expedition to Antarctica. Matt gave the girls basic guidance on writing structure then told them to write from the heart and challenge the reader. The resulting stories were outstanding. Thank you Matt for inspiring us!
