We were delighted to welcome to OLA the award-winning Canadian author Deborah Ellis talk to Year 8 about bringing real settings and context into fiction, and to tell us about some of the people she had met who inspire her fiction.
As part of her UK tour Deborah Ellis spoke about her critically acclaimed 'Breadwinner' series, including her latest title ‘I am Parvana’.
In 1996 Deborah read about the Taliban occupation of Afghanistan. She visited refugee camps in Pakistan, met Afghan women and heard about their experiences. In particular hearing about girls who cut off their hair and disguised themselves as boys so they could earn money lead her to write 'The Breadwinner' about Parvana and her best friend, Shauzia, fictional characters who did just that.
Her Breadwinner books have sold hundreds of thousands of copies in twenty-five languages. A passionate advocate for the disenfranchised, Deborah donates most of her royalty income to worthy causes — Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and UNICEF. She has donated more than one million dollars in royalties from her Breadwinner books alone.
An amazing woman! A privilege to have met her.
Read more about Deborah Ellis: http://deborahellis.com/
