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"There is a secret place … hidden from us to keep it safe — where all the creatures of myth still live and
thrive … the Archipelago … thirty-four islands — some as large as Denmark, some as small as a town
square … It’s the last surviving magic place."
(Impossible Creatures, p.44)

On Thursday, over 60 Year 7 and 8 students, selected by Geography and Book Club, gathered in
the school library to join a British Library online event with author Katherine Rundell, exploring
the fascinating worlds of fantasy and maps.

The British Library holds many historical maps of both real and imagined places. Katherine shared how she draws inspiration from these maps to create her own fantasy worlds. Many great stories begin with a map: from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, to The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. Her maps are detailed, indicating biomes, scale, and direction, while also featuring artistic symbols of mythological creatures such as dragons, mermaids, and krakens. She even uses old languages to name her locations. Katherine explained that creating a map for a fantasy world is one way to establish a strong sense of place.

Katherine then guided the students through two creative writing exercises. First, we attempted to describe the most disgusting food we could imagine. Katherine herself meticulously researches every element of her stories—once even tasting a tarantula to describe it accurately! Second, we generated ideas for stories by inventing five “What if” questions, such as: What if I could fly, but only when the wind blows?

Katherine shared insights into her writing and editing process, explaining that she often rewrites sections 20 or 30 times with the help of her editors, describing it as “the true art of writing— making something muddy and making it shine.” Our students reflected on their own writing and how editing can be both difficult and frustrating.

Her advice for aspiring authors was clear and inspiring:

1.Read everything – even books you don’t like can teach you something. Just as athletes practice to become their best, writers read to improve.

2.Write regularly – a tip she received was to write one excellent sentence a day. By the end of the year, you’ll have 365 creative, polished sentences.

3.Observe the world – capture ideas wherever you find them. Katherine’s enthusiasm for reading is contagious. She encouraged students to read widely, discuss books with others, and share ideas.

And so, we did. After the workshop, we explored the mythical creatures in her book Impossible Creatures, alongside creatures from J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts, Greek myths and legends, and even recent films like Avatar. We noticed that many mythical creatures are combinations of real animals. Inspired, we created our own creatures by combining elements of one to three animals, giving them Latin names, classifying them, identifying adaptations, and even deciding where in the world they would most likely thrive. We designed them using AI, integrating skills and knowledge across subjects.