Finding ‘a grisly box of teeth’ under your seat may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you settle down to watch an author speak at an event.

However, this attention-grabbing incident was just one of a whirlwind adventure of audience participation and inspirational tips when award-winning teen author Bryony Pearce spoke to pupils about writing books and the importance of reading.

Held at The Savoy Theatre as part of the Monmouth Literary Festival – a collaboration between Monmouth School for Girls, Monmouth School for Boys and Monmouth Comprehensive – Bryony spoke to Year 10 students about writing horror, fantasy and thriller books.

Inspiring the students to come up with their own storylines, plot twists and more during several audience participation sessions, Bryony spoke of how she started writing and why reading is important. Using her new teen book, Savage Island, she highlighted how reading can improve vocabulary, grammar and spelling, inspire creativity and empathy, widen experiences and challenge thinking.

She said: “Dream, observe, read, question – what if and why. If something interests you, don’t let it go, hold on to it. The things that interest you are the things you should be writing about. My favourite thing to do is writing. I love it!”

Students very much enjoyed the event, which culminated in a lively question and answer session. Pupil Destina added: “I enjoyed the event thoroughly and thought it was very interactive. The idea of the little game quiz as to who would survive the Savage Island was very enjoyable.”