Thank you so much for visiting MEA and working with our Year 7 and Year 9 students. Your creative writing workshops were incredibly engaging, and the focus on helping students “show not tell” had an immediate impact on the quality of their writing. The free‑writing activities based on personal experiences—first days of school, memorable journeys, and favourite rooms—really inspired the pupils and allowed them to produce thoughtful poems and promising story openings.As part of National Careers Week, the students greatly appreciated the chance to ask you questions about being a writer, your writing process, and the journey to publication. Your openness and insight were invaluable, especially for our aspiring young authors. The Year 7 session was a particular highlight. Your recognition of Marya’s achievement in reading all 16 BookBuzz titles made the moment truly special, and the hamper you awarded her meant a great deal.We were delighted to hear that you described this as your best school visit ever. The students were energised by your presence, and your enthusiasm created a wonderful start to our World Book Day celebrations.Thank you again for your time, creativity, and positivity. We would be thrilled to welcome you back in the future.' Amy Brookes- Librarian at Manchester Enterprise Academy 

 

'Students began to create stories, drawing on their own understanding of identity and personal experiences to shape their characters. We’d like to say a big thank you to Diana, for coming in to support our students with their creative writing.' Librarian, East Manchester Academy

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'Diana’s talk was both enlightening and inspiring. The students genuinely enjoyed themselves and learned so much from her. They were especially thrilled to receive her autograph on their copies of her biography!' The Willoughby School, Brooklyn, New York

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'Diana’s talk was inspiring and highly informative, especially for those pupils who wish to become a writer in the future or want to know about the process of writing a book. I cannot recommend her enough." Claudia Conerney, Learning Resource Manager at St Peter’s RC High School.

 

'It was a pleasure working with Diana Anyakwo to plan a school visit in celebration of her Children's Africana Book Award winning title, My Life as a Chameleon! Diana's presentation was transparent and thoughtful. She piqued students' interest by sharing about her upbringing and the inspiration behind her stories. "Stories are very important - they can shape whole societies" was one piece of advice Diana shared with the group that seemed to resonate.' Angela Brooks, An Open Book Foundation, Washington DC 

 

'We had a wonderful experience when you visited us in the fall.  I found it very helpful that Christiana introduced you before you began to speak, to tell us a bit of your background.   You spent just the right amount of time between your prepared talk and answering questions from students.  Your talk gave the students insight into your experience as a writer, as well as some of your personal and family history (they are interested in how much of a writer's life is reflected in their work).  You did leave enough time for questions, as I think that everyone that had a question was able to ask it, and your answers were complete and thorough, without taking up too much time from the time that was left.  I think the students felt your interest in their questions and comments, which is so important when connecting with an audience, especially teens. Thank you again for taking the time to visit us, and for talking to our students about your book.  They really enjoyed it.' Katherine O'Connell, Hillcrest High School, Queens, New York​

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'Diana was fantastic, her organisation and communication before the event was thorough and enabled the visit to run smoothly. Diana was amazing. She pitched her well organised and meaningful presentation at the correct level for our students and delivered it faultlessly. It was fantastic to have someone, not only local, as an inspirational speaker but also someone who's life experiences are so relatable to many of our students. It's always great to see our students so engaged. It was an important opportunity for them to find out about the creative process behind being an author and to inspire our young writers." Martha O'Brien, William Hulme Grammar School

 

'I liked seeing her family, it made it feel a lot more real.' Student at St Bede’s College Manchester

 

'Learning about her inspiration and her life as an author.' Student at St Bede’s College

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'I really enjoyed how Diana explained the small but significant details that came into her novel.' Student at St Bede’s College

'She had lots of visuals for the themes in her novel for example the wildlife for the nature theme.' Student at St Bede’s College

'I loved them because i was thinking about my family and where i came from and it was the same with the talk I just love that it made me more interested in my own family history.' Student at St Bede’s College