Anita Ganeri
My name is Anita Ganeri and I live in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, in view of Ilkley Moor. I was born in India but grew up and was educated in England, graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in French/German and Indian Studies. After university, I worked for Walker Books, then Usborne Publishing in London before going freelance and moving north.
I have written more than 400 titles, mostly information books for children. I specialise in geography, natural history, religion and mythology. Among many other things, I write the award-winning Horrible Geography series for Scholastic Children’s Books which has sold almost 2 million copies and been translated into more than 20 languages.
School Visits
I usually offer a day in school, consisting of three sessions (45 mins-1 hour long) and based on the Horrible Geography series. Each session includes readings from the books, interactive quizzes, and questions and answers. I am also happy to sign books, talk to book groups, open libraries etc. My talk works best with groups of 30 pupils at most, and at Key Stage 2. I don’t usually offer whole school assemblies but am happy to be part of them.
Testimonials
‘It was a fantastic day. Anita shared with the children her love of books and reading. In addition to the activities the children took part in, Anita also enriched the experience for our staff and her enthusiasm had an infectious affect on us’.
Kay Hemmings, Head Teacher, Tanfield Lea Junior School
Throughout the whole day Anita was friendly, charming and extremely patient in her interaction with the children. Due to her professionalism, sense of humour and intelligence, the day was a tremendous success. It led to a substantial increase in the use of the library and raised the profile of non-fiction material in school considerably.
Leeming Bar C of E Primary School
Awards
1996 Shortlisted for Rhone-Poulenc Junior Science Book Prize for ‘Creatures that Glow’ (Gollancz)
1999 Geographical Association Silver Award for Horrible Geography: Odious Oceans, Violent Volcanoes and Stormy Weather (Scholastic)
2007 Practical Pre-School Award for ‘First Book of Festivals’ (Evans Brothers)
2008 Geographical Association Highly Commended Award for Horrible Geography: The Horrible Geography of the World
Horrible Geography: Odious Oceans, Violent Volcanoes, Perishing Poles, Bloomin’ Rainforests, Earth-shattering Earthquakes (and many more)
(Scholastic Children’s Books)
Horrible Geography Handbooks: Wild Animals; Wicked Weather; Planet in Peril
(Franklin Watts)
Atlas of World Faiths: Buddhism (Franklin Watts)
A pet’s life: Cat, Dog, Fish, Guinea Pig, Rabbit, Hamster (Heinemann)
Atlas of Exploration (Dorling Kindersley)
