Author visit

Will Kostakis, bestselling author of The First Third visits BGS.

Will discussed with Year 8 all aspects of his writing career, from the beginning of his career to writing The First Third, and beyond. His speech was very funny and enjoyed by all.

The First Third, it turns out, is largely based on Will’s life. Plenty of the events and the characters of Hayley, Lucas, Simon and Peter are all based on Will’s friends and brothers.

Even Bill Tsiolkas’ (the protagonist) social media profile picture is actually of Will and his Yiayia (Greek for grandmother). In Will’s own words: ‘The things in the book you’d expect to be fiction are true, and the things you’d expect to be fact are false.’

I was lucky enough, with three other Year 8 boys, to get the chance to interview Will after his speech (the full interview will be made into a podcast soon).

Two boys hosted the first interview, asking Will about his career and other books. Then, another boy and I hosted a quiz about books and authors, in which Will achieved a grand score of 4/10!

Will’s visit to BGS was enjoyed by all and hopefully, Year 8s in 2022 will have the same interesting experience!

Huw Thomas (Year 8)
Urwin Centre Book Club member