J L Pawley relaunches school author visits at Northcross Intermediate

Earlier this year, Jessica received an email from an intermediate student sharing how much he loved Generation Icarus. The email was so thoughtful, jessica reached out to his school librarian to plan a surprise. So, on Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June 2026, Jessica returned to Northcross Intermediate after more than 10 years to visit the student and his peers.

In her first school visit since Covid, Jess dusted off her wings and updated her slideshow to reflect the twists and turns of the last six years, and shared her journey from first publisher's rejection letter (age 12) to internationally published to PhD reading research.

With the core messages of never giving up, always striving to learn and improve your own skills, and that reading is not only fun but it makes you smarter, Jessica inspired a new generation of tween readers at her old school.

If you would like Jessica to visit your school, reach out through the contact page! Author talks can be adapted for any year level, size of audience, and length of time. Get in touch for details.