Beth Webb facts for kids

Beth Webb is a British author who writes exciting books for children and teenagers. She has written fifteen books, including the popular Star Dancer series, which is a fantasy adventure. She also wrote the Fleabag Trilogy. Beth is also a co-founder of an organization called Books Beyond Words. She has drawn pictures for more than twenty books that help adults with learning disabilities. She lives in Somerset, a beautiful area near Glastonbury Tor.

Beth Webb's Early Life and Learning

Beth Webb was born close to Hampton Court Palace and grew up in Farnborough, Hampshire. She started writing stories when she was a teenager. Her very first story was published in a magazine when she was just fourteen years old!

Later, she went to university to study sociology and psychology. After her studies, she traveled around Europe for three years. For a while, she even lived on a houseboat in Amsterdam. When she came back to the UK, she worked in London as a journalist and also on the radio. She then moved to Somerset, where she earned a special degree in creative writing from Bath Spa University.

Beth Webb's Career Journey

Illustrating Books for Everyone

In 1989, Beth Webb helped start an organization called Books Beyond Words with Sheila Hollins. Since then, Beth has drawn pictures for over 20 books in this series. These books tell stories without words, using only pictures. They help people understand difficult life events.

For example, Beth was very involved in creating the book Getting On With Cancer (published in 2002). She worked closely with a team that included doctors, health experts, and people with learning disabilities. In 2005, a magazine called Learning Disability Practice praised her drawings. They said her illustrations in books like When Dad Died and When Mum Died were "simply drawn and carefully crafted."

Writing Exciting Stories

Beth Webb has been teaching creative writing to young people since 1990. She has taught in schools and at workshops for people of all ages, from eight to eighty years old! She even dedicated her book Star Dancer to a group of young writers called the "Kilvites." These young people attended her creative writing course at the Kilve Court Residential Educational Centre.

Over the years, Beth has written books for different age groups. She has books for younger children (ages six to eight), older children, and teenagers. Her four-book series, which began with Star Dancer in 2006, was a big success. For the Star Dancer series, she did a lot of research. She looked into British folklore, archaeology (studying old things), and history to make her stories feel real.

Besides writing, Beth has also worked as a performance storyteller, bringing stories to life for audiences. In 2023, Beth Webb was a special guest at ArmadaCon, which is a big science-fiction convention.