"James' engaging workshops are delivered with humour, insight, and warmth. He draws on his personal experiences as a writer to connect with students in a way that feels authentic and empowering. He offers practical strategies that help student develop their storytelling and writing craft in practical and meaningful ways, irrespective of their skill level. Even those who don't see themselves as "writers" come away with tools they can use to express themselves more clearly and creatively. James brings energy, empathy, and expertise to every session, and I would highly recommend him to any school looking to enrich their English creative writing courses."

"We recently had the privilege of hosting James at Toowoomba Grammar School for two intensive days of writing workshops, and the impact was nothing short of transformational. As a presenter, author, journalist, and TV producer, James possesses the rare gift of applying his life experiences to instantly connect with people of all ages through his natural humour and authenticity. For our TGS boys, James provided an invaluable male role model who demonstrated that writing can be exciting, meaningful, and deeply fulfilling. We watched in amazement as students' confidence and self-belief in their writing abilities lifted visibly before our eyes. Students who had previously struggled began to sit taller, engage actively, and discover their own unique voices as writers. I am confident that James' visit will leave a lasting impression and encourage our boys to see themselves as writers well into the future. His intelligent delivery and genuine care for young writers make him an invaluable resource, and I would wholeheartedly recommend James to any educational institution seeking to nurture a lasting love of writing in their students."

"Thank you for inspiring me to continue writing even though I had trouble thinking of ideas. I loved the funny moments we shared with each other. I hope one day you will come back and visit our school again with even more of your awesome stories. Thanks for making the subject fun. I loved the way you make the cute little vlogs instead of talking our ears off! With your help my stories have gotten better. Thank you for bringing fun moments to our lessons."

"You read with a lot of expression, and you helped us to improve our narrative writing and more. You helped us understand the elements of the block planner and we are so grateful for your work."  

"Your words encouraged all of us to work hard to achieve our goals. Thanks for giving us your feedback to make our writing ten times better. We’ve been taking it on board, and it’s made writing so much easier because of your tips and tricks."

"I can guarantee that you have helped a lot of people in this class to learn something new. Your funny sense of humour and your amazing stories always made my day. Thank you, James, for everything you did."  

"Thank you for coming to our school and teaching us about stories and words. I loved your secret handshake that I still can’t remember and the chair. You have taught us a lot about words and stories. I can’t believe how many adventures you have had with your bucket hat and how much you know about words. I have enjoyed you coming to our school and helping us improve our writing. Your videos were very cool and interesting. Your ‘on my slap my knee ar’ (onomatopeia) was hilarious and made us all laugh. We all loved you coming to our school."

"I had lots of fun learning more about story writing with you. I’ve learnt lots these past few weeks. Hearing all of your stories was very entertaining, and I wish I could’ve listened to more of them. Once again, I would like to say thank you for having us and I hope for a great future for you."  

"I think we all had lots of fun having you here. All the writing and challenges you set were amazing. What I loved is when you showed us your travels in other countries. It was super cool. We loved spending time with you every Tuesday. Hope to see you again soon. Byeeee!"  

"It has been an incredible privilege to work with James, whose irrepressible energy and generous spirit transformed each session into a masterclass on character creation and development, setting and collaboration. James nurtured the unique voice and interests of each writer, taking the time to connect individually, modelling the courage to embrace vulnerabilities and take risks with writing over the course of the term. We would work with James every week if we could."

"It's been so lovely to have your calm, kind, empathetic vibe around the campus this week."

“Having James visit our school and work with our students was utterly amazing. He was innovative, he ignited our children's imagination, he had them totally engaged over the 3 days. He interacted with our students authentically and actively placed himself in their environment and then used that to open their creative side through words. Our students have gained an enthusiasm again for writing and can see that words can open up our world to others and open their world up by reading other's words. James went out of his way to use the students’ surroundings to stimulate their writing and brought the outside inside with his videos and recordings of the works that they collaboratively created. James' visit has refuelled writing and the love of it in our school not just for our students but also our staff. His enthusiasm was contagious, his strategies were easily implementable and his passion to build connection was evident in what he did for our students and staff. His continued support has been greatly appreciated.”

"James Knight's Writer in Residence program has had a profound impact on our students, sparking a newfound passion for creative writing and storytelling. His engaging workshops and personalized feedback helped students find their unique voices, resulting in a noticeable improvement in their writing skills. The program also fostered a deeper appreciation for literature, inspiring many students to pursue their own writing projects beyond the classroom. We are incredibly grateful for the inspiration and guidance James provided during his time with us."

"Even if I make mistakes, James Knight politely makes me slowly understand my mistake and corrects me without hurting my feelings. James has also taught me to focus on my different skills of writing that I have not uncovered yet. Thanks to him, I learnt more about my knowledge."

"Working with James Knight was such an amazing experience for me. He taught me lots of writing tactics, story starters, writers’ tools and lots more. He said, “Writing doesn't have to be the best in the world, it's about trying your best.” So, I think that over the five weeks he was with us it was such a privilege."

"I like James Knight because he's really smart and also really good at writing stories. He gives good compliments about other people. He is also a kind person, and is really respectful.  I liked it when I read my story in front of the class."

"James Knight gave me personal feedback, which helped me a lot in my class writing. His feedback is really helping me to write better stories now."

"Your time with us was a very happy experience. We loved the things you said to us to make us improve our writing skills and our imagination. You made the most of us enjoy writing even if we did not like writing. You made us pluck our ideas and put them on the page."

"You gave the students of Delany an experience no one on this planet would've done; you gave them a voice, a sanctuary, a direction, and above all, a belief."

"The past eight weeks were an extraordinary learning experience that taught me the power of my words, my writing, and myself."

"Thank you so much for everything. I have learnt so much about writing and I believe I have become a more confident writer."

"James is such a dynamic and engaging presenter who had our students hanging off his every word. He shared valuable insights on how best to generate ideas that could be weaved into interesting plots. He also encouraged students to explore the power of words and had them experiment with language in practical activities that enhanced their storytelling overall. James had a positive and motivating presence that students warmed to. We look forward to having him back to inspire our next cohort of keen writers. Thank you, James!"  

"James Knight has an interesting past and he told us a lot about his travels across the world, and how that inspired him to write. This inspired me. He also interacted well with the audience, asking some students to come up and answer some questions."

"James was fantastic. Very approachable and made all the students feel comfortable and engaged."  

 

"The workshop was a lot of fun, and all students found James's insight highly engaging and inspiring. James encouraged students to think about the who, what, where and why of stories. He also shared the importance of connection with other people and resilience from his travels around the world including to Africa and India. It was a great afternoon for all involved!"

 

"Your passion for storytelling really energised our kids and it was so lovely to hear the buzz of excitement when you were with them. You got to know the kids and drew on their interests, which helped them learn, and it helped build their confidence."

 

"The author James Knight highlighted the creative aspect of writing which l feel is often neglected in the classroom. I forgot how exciting and intriguing writing could be when it didn’t feel like an assignment."

 

“It was brilliant. The girls loved it and they thought you were very cool---they are excited to send you their stories.”

 

“You had a wonderful way of connecting with the students. So insightful and inspiring.”

 

“He picked a random object in the room and got the Drama boys to build a story, with the object as the starting place, by asking each other questions. Somehow, they managed to get from an ordinary desk chair to a love story between a French ballerina and a man off the streets of Paris...Coming out of the session one of the students remarked: ‘It was really inspiring to hear how these little interactions with people had affected his life in such a major way.’”