I am a Literacy and Digital Media Consultant with specialisms of hosting and organising virtual events and conferences , delivering virtual and in person training to school and business staff, encouraging reluctant readers in both primary and secondary schools and training new school librarians .I  have enjoyed  this role for 12 years , previous to that I spent 10 years as a school librarian, additionally fulfilling the role of learning gateway coordinator for two years. I worked in an all boys secondary school in South East London and during this time I developed a passion for encouraging students to read and write for pleasure, often using online media to do so. I was given a Reading Hero Award by the Literacy Trust at the end of the National Year of Reading for my work during this year and my international collaborative writing project, the Write Path was shortlisted for a Times Educational Supplement New Literacy Initiative Award in 2009 and has twice been shortlisted for a Lemos and Crane Literacy Award. I have also worked with the Schools Network as a Lead Practitioner for Literacy. I deliver courses for school, library and business staff on using new technologies and on a variety of other subjects including ways to focus on reading in schools and effective use of social media. I advise businesses on the use of digital media ,I lead teacher/ librarian training days, I present at numerous conferences as well as organising the technology for virtual and in person events and I work closely with authors and publishers. Formerly I was the editor of SLA Digital, the technology section of the School Library Association's regular quarterly magazine, and I am now the Digital Content and Virtual Training Manager for the SLA  and up to Dec 2021 I was Information Officer for CILIP School Libraries group.  Since lockdown most of my work is now online and I have apparently 'tamed Zoom' , as commented by Annie Everall, Director of Authors Aloud! 

---