Find out about our former writers and illustrators in residence, what they did here and what they are up to now...

Joe Cutler

This year we were delighted to welcome our first composer in residence. Joe Cutler delivered workshops over the school holidays and worked with local Buckinghamshire schools in the Autumn term.

Joe is an award-winning composer. His music is quirky, unusual, and very rhythmical. He is inspired by storytelling and his music has been performed in over 30 countries and on 6 continents.

As part of our summer of music, the Museum commisioned Joe to write a piece of music for the Little Missenden Festival of Music and the Arts.

Little Missenden Festival of Music and the Arts
7 to 16 October 2011

The Little Missenden Festival has an unbroken tradition of high-quality music making and is a very intimate event with a special atmosphere. Most events take place in the ancient village church of St John the Baptist and each year the festival features promising young talent as well as nationally and internationally famous artists and composers.

This year the Museum commissioned Joe Cutler, our composer in residence, and children’s writer Martin Riley to write a piece of music for the festival based on Chaucer’s story Chanticleer and the Fox. No doubt inspired by the family workshops that took place at the Museum over the summer. With thanks to the PRS for Music Foundation who generously part-funded the project.

Patricia West

In May 2010 we were joined by animator in residence Patricia West.

During her time with us, Tricia used animation and PowerPoint to enrich the way children approach storytelling. She gave flash animation workshops to year 6 groups. The residency also allowed her the time she needed to create educational sessions that used storytelling to teach ICT. As a result of this, she successfully taught primary school children skills they would not usually learn until secondary school. The sessions incorporated strands of the national curriculum from the core subjects ICT, Literacy and Numeracy.

She says “I learned a lot from my time at the Roald Dahl Museum, particularly working with animator Chris Tichborne. By giving me new stop-motion animation skills, this allowed me to develop my sessions further and to create clear cross-curricular links with Art.”

Tricia now lives in Portsmouth where she is working on a new film, ‘Meat book’, with the Museum’s own Holly Burrows. Tricia still gives animation workshops in schools and she is currently developing sessions that promote the use of media and technology in storytelling.

Later this year she will be working at the Wychwood Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. She still pops into the Roald Dahl Museum to give education sessions.

To find out more about Tricia's work, visit her website by clicking the link on the right. To contact her, email p@triciawest.com.

Chris Tichborne

Tricia’s fellow animator in residence was Chris Tichborne, who has worked on high-profile stop-animation projects, such as Fantastic Mr Fox and Coraline.

During his time with us, Chris explained the processes behind his work. He gave an enthusiastic audience the chance to handle original animation puppets, and said ‘we animators spend nine hours a day locked inside a studio with these little puppets and sets, so to physically reach out to the wider public is a splendid outing for us.’

He also gave animation workshops in the museum, highlighting how easily accessible stop-motion is for anyone with a camera and a laptop. For five days Chris and Tricia worked with school children, using ‘buckets of modelling clay and an infinite amount of imagination’ to create stop-animation films. He emphasised both the technical side of animation and the importance of clear storytelling, and the result, he says, was ‘as inspiring for me as I am certain it was for the children.’ Chris was extremely grateful for the Patricia West’s experience with school children.

Since he left the museum, Chris has been very busy working on projects such as Cbeebies’s "Raa raa" the Noisy Lion. You can see other examples of his work by clicking the link on the right.

Sarah Mooney

Storyteller Sarah Mooney joined us in May 2009. She has been very busy getting involved in all sorts of projects as well as developing her own work.

During her residency Sarah worked with schools and teachers creating poetry and script writing. She ran workshops with parents and children, looking at story building and delivery. Sarah was also involved with local youth action groups and joined the team at Wychwood Festival where she was warmly received by both children and adults. Working with the education team she delivered Inset training and managed to squeeze in some Storytelling and animation sessions at the Museum too!

We are looking forward to having Sarah back to run more of her super-popular workshops here at the Museum, check out our What's on pages to find out when she's back.

To find out more about Sarah, visit her blog by following the link here on the right.

Paula Metcalf

In 2008 our author and illustrator in residence was Paula Metcalf. She was very busy getting involved in all sorts of projects as well as developing her own work.

To find out more about Paula, visit her website by following the link.

Paula talked about her work with reading groups, was involved in outreach projects in prisons and with lucky local schools. Here she is with some very happy school children and their collage of her character, Jessica Jane the Giantess.
We are looking forward to having Paula back to run more of her super-popular workshops here at the Museum, check out our What's on pages to find out when she's back.

Adam Guillain

Adam Guillain was our writer in residence from October 2005 until 2006.

He delivered fantabulous storytelling sessions, ran workshops with gifted and talented students and worked with local football clubs to encourage reluctant readers where he proved a real hit and inspiration, being dyslexic himself. The residency also allows writers time to spend on their own work, and tucked away in the resident's flat, looking out over the Museum courtyard, Adam dreamed up the third book in the exciting Bella Ballistica series.

Since moving on he has been in huge demand giving creative writing workshops and inset training to children and teachers all over the country as well as taking on a key role within The Story Museum in Oxford to develop storytelling skills within all kinds of demographics.

He is currently writing three novels, one of them being the fourth Bella Balisitica novel, The Forgotten Kingdom - due to be published Feb 2009.

Adam says 'the Roald Dahl Residency was a fab fab fab experience for me. I made some wonderful friends, really got into my writing, and rediscovered the inspiration of the master himself.'

Adam is the author of the exciting Bella Balistica series (Milet), available in good bookshops including our own.

You can also catch her in picture book format in Bella's Brazilian Football and Bella's Chocolate Surprise.

He still pops in to the Museum occasionally to regale lucky weekend and holiday visitors with his unique and magical brand of stories, so keep an eye out for him on our What's on pages.

To find out more about Adam, his books and his workshops, follow this link to his website.

Val Rutt

Val Rutt was our first ever writer in residence, joining us when we opened in June 2005. She worked closely with our Education manager, developing and delivering workshops for school parties as well as creating her own work. 

Val is a teacher and lives in North London with her husband, two children and a spaniel called Dave. Val is available for school visits to talk in assembly, run writing workshops or for storytelling sessions. She can also link a creative writing activity to a specific topic or theme as required.

Val is the mastermind behind the brilliant Heartstone Adventure series (published by penguin). Get caught up in the escapades of Phil and Kate Reynolds in:

The Race for the Lost Keystone:
ISBN: 978-0141317472
The Mystery of the Darkstone:
ISBN: 978-0141317489

To find out more about Val, visit her website by following this link.