Raz Beri with Matt Stephenson
Monday 3rd February 2025
Overview: An online story-telling session and live Q&A with author Matt Stephenson and Authenticity Advocate Kay Channon.
Where: Online
When: Monday 3rd February, 13:30 – 14:30
Aimed at: 9+ years old
About the book…
An inspiring story about football, fitting in and true friendship
Billy has cerebral palsy and he’s had enough of his classmates treating him differently. But then Mia arrives and announces a school visit from her uncle: a famous footballer. Maybe being a star footballer in front of his classmates will help Billy prove to his class that he can be just like them. But when even the famous footballer turns out to be just as bad as the school bullies, Billy begins to realise that perhaps he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone but himself.
An inspiring upper Middle Grade novel, Raz Beri is a story about football, fitting in and what true friendship really means, exploring cyber bullying and navigating the challenges of social media as a young teen.
Firefly Press Editor, Hayley Fairhead says ‘Matt’s distinctive voice breathes life into the characters of Billy and Mia. Colourful, thought-provoking and inspiring, Billy’s experiences will stay with you until long after you’ve turned the final page.’
About the Author and Authenticity Advocate
Matt Stephens lives in Bristol. He derives joy and inspiration from his two daughters and three granddaughters. A turbulent past has been soothed by yoga, meditation and the realisation that human good outweighs human evil. He writes for adults under the name Ed Trewavas and currently works as a hospital porter. He has a wide experience of life from working as a farm labourer to being a nursery / infant teaching. He enjoys cooking, sport (well, Bristol Rovers) and, most importantly, spending time with family and friends.
Kay Channon loves to read, particularly fantasy and adventure books. She likes hot coffee and has three cats. This year she is taking online classes in British Sign Language so she can communicate better with those who live with hearing loss. In her spare time, she writes a blog for Disability Arts Online exploring topics including her own creative work, or interviews people who also live with disabilities about how and why they make art. She enjoys going to the theatre and is a qualified teacher.
Kay’s Work with Inclusive Minds:
Inclusive Minds provide information that allow connections between publishers, authors and illustrators to be made. They reach out to individuals who have lived experiences which relate to characters and themes in new, yet to be published books. These individuals are known as Authenticity Advocates. Authenticity advocates read the book in full and then share helpful, real-life knowledge of their disability in the form of a written document with relevant parties.
Kay’s work with Inclusive Minds gave her the opportunity to read two drafts of Raz Beri by Matt Stevens. She used her personal experiences of living with Cerebral Palsy (the same disability that Billy and Mia have) to help Matt and others at Firefly Press create realistic, empathetic, and well-rounded characters.
This is just one of a series of online storytelling sessions we are hosting for children featuring themes about disability, to help promote inclusivity, boost self-confidence and inspire young readers and hopeful authors or illustrators to be! To view our other upcoming events, click here.
If you have any questions about the event please contact lexi@childrentoday.org.uk.
