Author Visit: Dave Rudden

On Tuesday 9th April Bangor Grammar School were delighted to have author Dave Rudden in to give a talk to the year 9s about his life, his novels, and what it’s like to be an author.

Rudden studied teaching in St Patrick’s College in Drumcondra and taught for a year his local school in Cavan before packing up to go to Egypt for a year. When he returned he got involved in Dublin’s literary scene and began indulging his penchant for writing fan fiction. He jokes how the idea for his first novel only came about after his computer crashed and he lost 80,000 words of Warhammer fan fiction.

His debut novel, ‘Knights of the Borrowed Dark’ is a supernatural-themed teen fiction which is popular with fans of the Eoin Colfer and Harry Potter book series. More recently, the BBC enlisted him to compose “12 Angels Weeping”, a Dr Who themed compilation of short stories featuring twelve of the infamous villains.

Dave regaled the year 9s with humorous (and frequently dramatic) tales from his childhood which influenced his writing. He spoke to them about how to develop a narrative, posing stimulus questions and encouraging the boys to develop them. Finally, he offered some sage advice to those considering a career in writing. Bangor Grammar School would like to sincerely thank Mr Rudden on his vivacious and engaging author visit.