I used to attend Stantonbury in the late 80s/90s (yikes, am I THAT old?) and I had a great time, especially in my English classes with my teacher at the time, Pat Tate. She introduced me to wonderful writers such as the poet Tony Harrison and the novelist Angela Carter.

I’ve always had a bit of a passion for writing and reading, and Stantonbury (and especially Pat) played a pivotal role in seeing that passion flourish.

I trained to be a journalist, travelling the world to write articles and in the past couple of years, decided to finally write that novel I’d always wanted to write. Two years later, and that novel’s being published in Germany by one of their biggest publishers to great reviews and I’m hoping you’ll see one of my novels on British bookshelves in the next couple of years.

What did this experience teach me? Anything’s possible. People always say ‘oh, the chances of getting published are sooooo small’ but I’m proof they’re not. If you have a passion for something and you can write well, then you really have a shot. And Stantonbury played a big part in teaching me that. So if you’re an aspiring writer, don’t give up - and if you need any advice or want to find out more about me and my books, visit my website at www.tracybuchanan.co.uk Thanks Pat... and thanks Stantonbury!