April- Artist of the Month – Seth Burkett

Our April ‘Artist of the Month’ is extremely talented and flexible writer and footballer, Seth Burkett.

About Seth Burkett

Seth Burkett grew up in Stamford, Lincolnshire. Aged 18 he moved to Brazil to play professional football. His first book, The Boy in Brazil, documents a remarkable season in Sorriso and was shortlisted for the 2015 British Sport Book Awards.

Following this, Seth developed a career in writing which has seen him publish 11 books. He has written for adults and children, and has also ghostwritten books for athletes, footballers and YouTubers. Football remains a key part of his life – he most recently played professionally in Sri Lanka.

What a visit from Seth entails

With books aimed at a range of ages, Seth is equally happy working with university students and Year 2 pupils. He’s been into schools, colleges, universities and businesses to share his story. With a key theme around resilience and developing a growth mindset, he aims to inspire reluctant readers and book lovers alike.

Seth has worked with Loughborough University as an Outreach Programme Ambassador, professional football clubs and the Premier League Primary Stars programme to put together workshops. These include:

* Assembly on how to become an author and the creative processes involved

* Creative writing

* Persuasive writing (advertising focused)

* Biography

* Ghost writing

* Football and futsal coaching sessions

Seth tends to begin the day with an assembly detailing his own journey from footballer to author, before leading one of the above workshops. He can adapt each so it lasts anywhere between 30 and 90 minutes each, while there’s an option for the Persuasive Writing workshop – developed in partnership with Loughborough University – to last the entire day. He is happy to work with any number of pupils.

Details on Seth’s school visits can be found in detail on his author page.

Feedback from Seth’s previous visits.

“Seth Burkett was so inspirational, particularly hitting a chord with our boys. They were gripped and inspired by his every word. The way in which Seth spoke with the children was really great and they hung on every word he said. The connection with football helped the children who are avid supporters of the game. The writing workshops run by Seth for our Year 4, 5 and 6 students were extremely successful and the children produced a really super piece of biographical writing, which followed the theme of this year's Book Week. The teaching staff were also very impressed with Seth's workshops and assembly and they liked the way he interacted with the children and was able to pitch the sessions at their level. I would love to have Seth back to inspire more of our children as I think he would work really well with them.”

Woodford Green Prep School

“It was amazing! The children loved it!”

The Grange School

“The day with Seth was a real success. His assembly was engaging and inspiring and I know resonated with a lot of the children. His workshops were enjoyable and I know that the children really enjoyed story writing with him.”

St Anthony’s CP School

“We had an absolutely fantastic day! Seth did some creative writing workshops with our younger pupils and then an author presentation with our upper school. The feedback from the pupils has been fantastic. Thank you so much for your help with organising the visit – we had a wonderful day!!”

Foxfield’s Academy

“The feedback from my staff and the students was excellent. We did a student voice afterwards and they all gave him 5 stars and a number of them said they found him inspirational! Not just in an English sense but also in life more generally. They’ve also asked us buy more of his books for the LRC so we’re in the process of doing that. Hugely successful, thank you!”

South Craven School

Interview with Seth Burkett

When and why did you join Authors Abroad?

I had my first visits through Authors Abroad in 2019. After a group of schools put my book, The Boy in Brazil, on their curriculum for year 7s I was invited in to give some talks. I enjoyed the experience so much that I started to look at how I could visit more schools. My author friend, Matt Oldfield, said that he’d done some visits through Authors Abroad and I got in touch. From the very first email, the team at Authors Abroad were so helpful and friendly. I now run all my school visits through them.

When did you first become interested in writing?

My gran was an author so she was always encouraging me to write. Most of her books were about animals. She ran a wildlife rehabilitation centre at her house and used to write stories about the foxes and badgers and birds who got up to all kinds of mischief there. But really for me, the main interest came when I played football in Brazil. I kept a diary and decided to have a go at turning it into a book. Once it was published, I decided to try and write a second, then a third.

You used to play football professionally which has influenced some of your books. What is your most memorable experience from that part of your career?

The people that I met. I played professionally in Brazil and Sri Lanka, which allowed me to explore two fascinating cultures through the sport that I love. I got to meet so many fascinating people who all had their own interesting stories. They inspired, and continue to inspire, so much of my work.

Do you feel the sports angle can help engage some of the more reluctant readers?

Absolutely. I always like to encourage a love of reading in whatever subject the person is interested in. Once they have that enjoyment, they’re more willing to branch out into other areas. I often use my experiences in sport to run workshops for reluctant readers. Sometimes they’re so wrapped up in the sports angle that they don’t even realise they’re writing creatively!

What has been your favourite moment from a school visit so far?

I’m author in residence at Langley Academy at the moment, and it’s been fantastic to see the difference that can be made through more regular contact time. Having pupils come up to me with the stories that they’ve been writing, or even just the books that they’ve read is great. Even better, some of the pupils that I’ve been working regularly with now actively read, whereas before they’d never pick up a book.

You have written quite a wide range of books with regards to audience age and genres – does your approach in writing these differ?

Not necessarily. I just write how the story feels and then polish it in edits. I always write the first draft in the notes section on my phone. That allows me to write whenever inspiration comes. Of course, for younger readers I have to be conscious of keeping the writing more simple and a little more fun, but I always think the story is most important.

How is it different when you are co-writing, as we know one of your most recent books, ‘Play like your football heroes’ was written with Matt Oldfield.

I find co-writing much more fun. You bounce off each other, fuse your ideas together and come out with something that’s better than anything you could have done by yourself. Writing can involve long hours spent alone, which is exactly why I love co-writing and why I love school visits.

How do you feel about the recent victory of England’s female football team – do you think it will spark a wider interest in the sport?

I am seeing a change in attitudes when I visit schools. Boys now know more of the female players and have their favourites. It seems that more girls are playing football too, which is fantastic. Hopefully this is only the start, and women’s football can continue to grow.

Do you believe all people have the potential to be writers?

Definitely. Pupils shouldn’t believe that writing just means writing books. It is such a versatile skill. I write books, but it’s a skill that’s also seen me paid to write three word Instagram posts. So many pupils I come across think that they can’t be writers because their spelling isn’t great, which is wrong. Even the best writers need editors and proof readers. As long as you can come up with an idea for a story, or have the ability to research, or even just take an interest in other people, you can be a writer.

How do you tackle writer’s block?

Writer’s block is natural and not something you should fight. When I struggle to write I just go for a run or lie on the sofa and watch TV. Inspiration will come at some point! Better to wait for inspiration to strike than to try and force something when it just isn’t there.

Is it important to you to have a personal interest in the people you are ghost writing for/writing a biography about, or do you just treat it as a job?

It’s not important that I know them before working with them, but I do like them to have an interesting story. The most important thing is that I get on with them, though. Fortunately, everyone I’ve worked with so far has been great. That makes working with them a pleasure. Ghostwriting is my favourite part of being an author. I love hearing about people’s successes, their struggles, and find it really inspiring.

You also run workshops as part of our AIM High Writing days, how do these differ from your school visits and what do you hope the young participants will take away from one of these?

Running a day-long workshop allows me to go into much greater detail on a subject. It’s nice to spend a whole day with a set of pupils. I feel that I’m able to develop them more. They also end up teaching me a thing or two, too! Ultimately, I hope they take away the exact same message that people in any of my visits get: reading is fun, writing is fun, and it can be done on anyone or anything no matter your interest.

Which books, stories or tales inspired you growing up?

The Harry Potter series came out throughout my childhood and really fostered my love of reading, along with Anthony Horowitz’s books. Michael Hardcastle’s football books were another favourite. Of course, my gran had an influence, and she visited my school when I was in year one to talk about writing. Everyone wanted to be an author after that!

A lot of your workshops teach young people about resilience, why do you feel this is such a key skill to master?

Without resilience you can’t be a writer. I still face rejection all the time – it’s a normal part of the process. It was also something I had to face in my football career. Being willing to challenge yourself, to risk being told that you’re not good enough, is the first step to success.

Which moment of your career are you most proud of so far?

My very first book, The Boy in Brazil. It took five years to get published. Five years of writing, re-writing, editing, researching, all the things needed to improve my skill as an author. It kickstarted everything for me.

What are your current goals?

I always set myself the goal of finding one interesting new writing project each year and having one book published each year. These go alongside finding regular school visits – I’d love to average one a week for 2023. Ultimately, I have the aim of selling 1,000,000 books. I’ve still got a few to go!