Isabel returned to her old school, Chichester High School for Girls to run a series of talks for Year 9 English students. She gave the girls an insight into the working life of a writer, and to offer some practical writing tips that they might take away with them to develop further.

Isabel’s advice for all? ‘Store it up, write down the dull, the fascinating, the troubling stuff – and it will undoubtedly rear up again in the future, as some kind of creative cue. Keeping a notebook is another vital habit for a writer to develop – and of course, if you want to be the best you can … read, read, read!’