Kjartan Poskitt's Author Appearances & Maths Shows


AUTHORS LIVE: clips from a Murderous Maths event filmed at BBC Scotland and streamed to schools across the UK.
Watch the full 40 minute show here.
BBC Breakfast tv 6/6/2008 Providing puzzles for an adult numeracy discussion on BBC Breakfast 6/6/08.
Hull, June 2004 With 350 kids and 10 teachers at Wolfreton School, Hull in June 2004
Alnwick Castle Pavillion April 2011
Being upstaged by the fabulous water falls at Alnwick Castle, April 2011

"A stand-up maths routine has children and teachers in fits of laughter... maths has never been so much fun."
See the write up from The TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT

"Today's talk ranks as the most entertaining event we have ever had!"
Victoria Nemeth, maths coordinator, Highgate Junior School

 Ooh...freaky!
A Member of
School Select's
Directory Of
School Workshops

Thank you for finding this page!

You can find all the general information regarding my events here. When you know what you want and what it will involve, then please use the relevant BOOKING ENQUIRIES link.

What Can I Do For You?
MURDEROUS MATHS:
Shows for schools,
family or teacher events
Awards nights - Quizmaster
Maths of Music Talk
Space Talk
Isacc Newton
Author Q&A Sessions

Details Requirements, travel, suitable venues etc.

Booking Enquiries Festivals - Teacher Events - Secondary Schools - Primary Schools - G&T groups

List of confirmed dates

References

My C.V. This includes details which you may use for publicity.

Photos for publicity

The story so far...

In the past years I've appeared at theatres, festivals, colleges, conference centres, schools, libraries and bookshops in places as diverse as Belfast, Lowestoft, Carmarthen, Newquay, The Shetland Isles, Dublin and some Spanish place about 12 miles from the Rock of Gibralter! I've done regular appearances for Beacon Schools, G&T groups, Philip Allan Updates, Ireland Maths Week, Gatsby and Setpoint, and I've also done special events at The London Science Museum, The Bradford National Photographic and Cinema Museum, London Olympia (BETT), The Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge....
...and many thanks to everyone involved for booking me.

TES review 12/11/04
Click HERE to see the full TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT review
What Can I Do For You?

Click here for PRINT FRIENDLY version of What Can I Do For You?

Maths sessions - Music - Space - Newton- Author Q&A - Awards evenings - Quizmaster

You choose what kind of event you want. Everything has plenty of audience participation, I'm glad to answer any questions and (hopefully) we'll have some good laughs. Although my books are generally aimed at intelligent kids aged 10-12, I find that at festivals I'm usually playing to as many mums, dads and grannies as children. I've also done GCSE groups, primary schools and teaching conferences. There's no limit to audience size - in fact, generally the more the better. I've done audiences of well over 1000.

Schools: you'll find suggestions for what I can best do for you when you go to booking enquiries.

  • MURDEROUS MATHS

    Appearing live on CBBC's "XChange" 12/1/05
    Hay-On-Wye May 2011
    A volunteer joins me in front of 400 kids at the
    Hay-On-Wye book festival May 2011
    Dragon Curves on powerpoint
    Showing how Dragon Curves are generated at
    Longcroft School, Beverley, May 2012
    I perform a variety of features from my Murderous Maths books including flexagons, magic squares, strange number facts, knots, tricks, codes, amazing number predictions and so on. I tend to adjust the complexity and content of what I do to suit the ability of the audience I'm in front of. These are the sessions I've been doing constantly since 1999, which involve lots of general participation and bringing volunteers on stage.

    I now use powerpoint to include some of the big colourful features from the Murderous Maths of Everything as listed here:

    * a pile of pennies that goes past the sun,
    * the chances of guessing the murderer, weapon and room in Cluedo,
    * a maths problem that made the Gods kill off the ancient Greeks with plague.
    * the strange numbers that control snails and sunflowers,
    * how to cut something in half and keep it one piece,
    * monster stars and the size of space,
    * how to make your birthday last twice as long
    * how you can draw a little diagram to make you famous for ever.
    Topics covered by these features include the Fibonacci Series, powers, massive numbers, triangle numbers, the size of the galaxy, the four colour map theorem, probability and more.

    REQUIREMENTS:
    * a projector and screen for my laptop
    * a flip chart with paper, or non-electronic white board

  • MATHS SESSIONS (40 - 75 minutes as required)
    Suitable for schools/events that need sessions to different audiences.

  • MATHS SHOW (45 minutes + 45 minutes)
    I can do two different sessions which you could present as a "show" with an interval. Longer shows with an interval are only suitable for selected school audiences (e.g. mathematically Gifted and Talented kids), or family functions such as library openings or festivals. Obviously I'd be delighted to sign books during the interval or afterwards.

  • TEACHERS MATHS SESSION (Anything up to 100 minutes as required. Suitable for seminars, conferences, after-school meetings or evening entertainment!)
    I do a full selection of everything I know including tricks (and how I do them!), trivia and powerpoint features including Fibonacci to give ideas for classroom activities and lessons. You can find accompanying notes, resources and follow-up ideas here: Murderous Maths Teacher Resources .

    * A fully captioned version of my powerpoint presentation for the Fibonacci Series plus a few other tricks is available as a teacher resource. If you bring a memory stick to the session, I'll be glad to put it on for you.

    MURDEROUS MATHS: These are some of the animated powerpoint images I use.

  • MAYHEM WITH MATHS AND MUSIC! (60 minutes)

    This talk was originally devised for and presented at
    The Cheltenham Music Festival on 2nd July 2011

    * How do numbers make sound into music?
    * How did Pythagoras invent the guitar?
    * Why do musical notes depend on multiplying fractions?
    * Why do some notes sound nice together but others don't?
    * How do different instruments make their notes?
    * How many different tunes can you play on a piano?
    * Why can a keyboard never be exactly in tune?
    Suitable for ages 10-12, or G&T groups or family audiences.
    Please note: this talk is quite specialised, it is not a musical workshop!

    REQUIREMENTS:
    * a projector and screen for my laptop
    * a sound system to plug my laptop through (I may be able to bring something suitable.)
    * a reasonable piano

    MATHS of MUSIC TALK: These are some of the animated powerpoint images I use.

  • THE SPACE TALK (30 - 60 minutes depending on time available)
    * What's the difference between moons, planets, stars, comets and meteors?
    * How far away are the other planets and the stars?
    * Why does the moon seem to change shape, and when does it turn orange?
    * What are lunar and solar eclipses?
    * What would it be like to visit all the different planets?
    * How can we stop an asteroid wiping us all out?
    * How big are supergiant and red giant stars?

    Lots of questions for the audience to think about, suitable for ages 8-12. (The same audience could see this talk and a maths session in a day.)

    REQUIREMENTS: space talks require a projector and screen for my laptop.

    SPACE TALKS: These are some of the animated powerpoint images I use.

  • ISAAC NEWTON and his FALLING APPLE (30-60 minutes)

    NEWTON TALK: These are some of the animated powerpoint images I use.

    This talk was originally devised for and presented at
    The Isaac Newton Institute for
    Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge
    on 24th March 2012

    It tells how Newton came up with...
    * Gravity
    * The dreaded Calculus!
    * The Reflecting Telescope
    * Colour
    * The Laws of Motion
    ... and why did he try to poke his own eye out?

    Suitable for ages 10-12, or G&T groups or family audiences.
    The standard talk is quite light-hearted and does not go
    too deeply into the maths.
    However I'm happy to go into more detail of what calculus is
    if you think your audience would like it!

    REQUIREMENTS:
    * a projector and screen for my laptop
    * flip chart and paper if I'm doing the maths stuff


    Walthamstow School for Girls May 2010
    Making too much noise in the library at Walthamstow School for Girls!

    "Thank you so much for all your hard work yesterday. It was fantastic to have a question master who could do such a good job of making the event go well, you were extremely entertaining and efficient. We felt we couldn't have chosen a better person than you and loads of people have commented on how good you were!"

    Kirstine Roth, Librarian, St Aidan's School, Harrogate

  • AUTHOR Q&A (20-60 mins depending on how well-prepared the kids are)
    I do an introduction talking generally about how I got started writing books (both fiction and non-fiction), plays, tv scripts (and comics!) and then it works best if I continue by answering questions. Therefore the kids should have suitable questions prepared beforehand!
    I can talk about the unexpected bonuses and pitfalls of the job, and give advice on getting started and a few guidelines on how to write. Please note that like most authors, my academic training had little to do with writing (I was an engineer) so everything I talk about is purely from my own experience. Although I don't put a maximum audience on any of my events, author talks are better suited to more intimate groups (e.g. max 50 kids).
  • SPEECHES (for award evenings, prize givings or other functions):
    I'm happy to bring out a few visual tricks including flexagons or predictor cards and do a speech to open your library or start your festival!
  • QUIZMASTER/COMPARE I've hosted hundreds of events ranging from quiz nights to variety shows, from prize givings to auctions - so don't be scared to ask. (I spent many years as a pub entertainer, and as a consultant on BBC game shows.)
  • A MIXTURE I'm quite happy to do a couple of maths sessions and maybe an informal author library session over lunch, or perhaps a school session then an after-school teacher session, or any other selection that suits you. My only stipultation is that I'm not supposed to push my voice for more than about 3 hours in the day.
BOOKING ENQUIRIES

Back to the top of the page

Details

Click here for PRINT FRIENDLY version of "Details"
Suitable venues       Where are you?       Requirements       Book sales/Posters       Fees/Availability      

Scarborough July 2001     Filming for BBC Schools TV on a bus in Scarborough
    First shown on BBC2 March 2002
    "The Maths Channel" .... winner of the 2002 R.T.S. Award
    for best science/maths/ICT programme.
SUITABLE VENUES:

  • THEATRES: are best! It means that I can entertain more people more effectively, plus it's easy to see what I'm doing and the acoustics are better. The event also makes a much bigger impression on the audience.
  • SCHOOL VENUES: Any assembly hall, a/v room, drama studio etc. is suitable providing the kids can sit comfortably for the duration of the sessions. No limit to audience size providing they can all see me working on a flip chart and hear what I'm saying (see REQUIREMENTS below). Generally sports halls are unsuitable because of the acoustics.
  • PUBLIC VENUES: Ideally a theatre setting or appropriate room with seating (or carpeted floor) for audience. Usually organisers arrange admission on a ticket basis, but that's up to you. I can work out of doors if there is a reasonable p.a. system and if the audience is contained - what I do NOT do is any sort of busker or street theatre set up where I have to keep calling people over to see me. No limit to audience size providing they can all see me working on a flip chart.

WHERE ARE YOU?

I avoid overnight stays for single days, so engagements must be within reasonable travelling time, preferably by rail, from YORK. These would include Edinburgh, central London, Manchester, Birmingham and most of the NE. (Please be realistic and allow for delayed trains!)

If travelling is to take much more than 2 hours each way, then either you could organise one big early afternoon show with a massive audience or it may be possible to co-ordinate with other people in your area to make a 2-3 day visit worthwhile. Such trips need to be booked well in advance, and I always look on them more favourably if you can find me an interesting place to stay!
The yellow building is the
Pier House Hotel,
Charlestown, St Austell
where Liz Hurley, (a very enterprising librarian in Newquay) put me up.

Highly recommended - and not far from the Eden Project!

Maesteg, Wales, May 2003
This is what 500 kids looked like at Exmouth

REQUIREMENTS:

Reading, April 2005
Flexagons on the big screen at Reading
  • Absolutely VITAL: I need something to write on! The best thing is a FLIP CHART with plenty of paper , which will usually be adequate for audiences up to 300 providing you have a well-lit stage area. (A flip chart is usually fine for any size of theatre with tiered seating.) Otherwise for larger venues, you can point a camera at the flip chart and project onto a big screen or monitors. If a flip chart is not practical, a large white board (not electronic) or a wall covered in paper is ok. Otherwise for large venues I can work with a visualiser coupled to a projection system (i.e. I write on a desk unit that has an overhead camera). I will need to be advised in advance what you are supplying for me to work on.
    For most of my sessions I also need to use POWERPOINT, so please supply a projector and screen to plug my laptop into. I do NOT use electronic white boards.
  • P.A. System: Unless your venue is quiet, small and contained, then I need some sort of amplifier set up. (In recent years I've had to take medical advice on my voice.) In certain circumstances I can provide my own p.a., otherwise I can bring my own radio mic if you can supply some sort of amplifier (a small guitar amplifier is usually quite adequate, and most school music departments have something suitable to borrow). If using a portable amplifier system please ensure that there's somewhere to plug it in that works! If your venue is especially noisy or echoey- (e.g. sports hall) please ensure your system is adequate.
  • Lighting: As well as working on a flip chart, I use a number of props. Therefore the stage or performance area should be adequately lit, and I should also be able to see the audience. This is very rarely a problem, but it should be considered if I'm working with any form of big screen projection.
  • Staff: an adequate number of responsible staff MUST be present at all times. This especially applies to schools for insurance purposes and in the very unlikely event of needing to deal with any excessive disruption.
  • Water - a bottle of still mineral water is extremely welcome especially for longer sessions.
  • To ensure you get what you want from author talks, kids should have questions prepared beforehand.
  • It is usually helpful if I can be introduced to the audience by a member of staff or a chairperson.
  • Lunch - a quick sandwich is all I need. However if I'm not required to sign books or talk over lunchtime and there's a suitable pub nearby, then that's always very welcome!

Newquay - Oct 2004
It took me 10 hours to get to
Tretherras School, Newquay, Cornwall
BOOK SALES: if you've organised copies of my books to be on sale, of course I'm delighted to do signings. (I do not bring my own books for sale but if you want to organise this yourself, a local bookshop will probably be happy to arrange you some copies on a sale or return basis, and they can usually offer some sort of commission. Otherwise discounted books are available on a sale or return basis by contacting the publicity dept. at Scholastic on 020 7756 7756.)

PUBLICITY/POSTERS: There are various images which you're welcome to use with your own literature here: Publicity and Poster Photos, otherwise we can supply .pdf files of Murderous Maths posters. You can also use any details you like from my C.V..

FEES... will depend on where you are and what you want. In addition, rail fares can vary enormously depending on what time of day you need me! Please click BOOKING ENQUIRIES.

AVAILABLILITY The list of dates below gives some indication of when I'm already booked, although I have numerous other commitments not listed. I try to limit appearances to around 8 days per month otherwise I'd never get anything else done!

Advance Notice! Please arrange any bookings as soon as possible as I already have dates reserved up to a year in advance.

Maesteg, Wales, May 2003
Utterly failing to impress anyone with my fluent Welsh
Maesteg, Wales
CONFIRMATION OF BOOKING Once we've agreed plans for an event, we'll send you details of what we need from you in terms of written confirmation. It's usually just a letter on headed paper plus any forms you might need us to fill in.

AUDIO / VISUAL RECORDINGS If you want anybody to film or otherwise record what I do, please check with me beforehand. Usually it's no problem, but sometimes camera crews can be extremely thoughtless about just wandering about in front of the audience and obstructing their view. I also have to be wary of having my material casually chucked onto the telly, internet or DVDs without any proper credit or recompense!

PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS Some press photographers simply take pictures from the back while I'm performing which is fine. However most of them like to pose their own shots, and if this is allowed to happen during a session it can be both time-consuming and disruptive. It's best if posed shots can be taken at the end of a session.

 

BOOKING ENQUIRIES

Back to the top of the page

Booking Enquiries

Please click the appropriate link below. CONFERENCES - FESTIVALS - TEACHER DAYS For all events that don't involve hundreds of kids in a school.

SECONDARY or MIDDLE SCHOOLS For school years 5-8, and possibly older groups. (KS 2-3)

PRIMARY SCHOOLS For school years 3-6 and possibly younger children. (KS 1-2)

SPECIAL MATHS GROUPS For GCSE, G&T or specialist maths groups. (KS 2-3-4)

"It was sooo cool, you wouldn't believe
what you can do with numbers!"

Megan, year 7, Bourne Grammar School.

"...will you becoming in to St.Augustine's more often because you make learning fun ... I have baffled my brother with some of the tricks you showed me ... it was the best day I had at school when you came in to my school."

Morgan, year 5, St Augustine's School, Burnley


 

 

Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, March 2012
Doing my Isaac Newton talk for the 20th anniversary of the
Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, March 2012
Letchworth July 2006
Prize giving at Letchworth
Sophisticated comedy at the North East Maths Fair
Sophisticated comedy at the North East Maths Fair
Audience assembling at Newcastle Discovery Museum
CONFIRMED DATES:

* = places I've been to before!

2013

MARCH

4 Bourne *

5 Harrogate (in Sainsburys!)

6 Rochdale

7 Peterborough

8 Knaresborough

20 Great Harwood

21 Carlisle

28 Leeds *

APRIL

18 Huddersfield

19 Peterlee

24 Thornaby

MAY

2 Warrington

3 Warrington

8 Warrington

10 Bozzy's Book Buzz - Auchinleck

21 Leamington Spa

JUNE

11 Hull

20 Garforth * 4th consecutive year

28 Filey

JULY

2 Stafford

3 Norwich

4 Lowestoft

6 Hallum University, Sheffield *

SEPTEMBER

20 Shrewsbury *

24 Guildford *

 

2014

MARCH

4 Blackburn Q.E.G.S.

 
 

Edinburgh Book Festival 1999
Explaining the solar eclipse and asteroids at the
Edinburgh Book Festival 1999

LINKS

To Kjartan Poskitt Main Index Page.

To my Book Page.

To my C.V. (This includes details which you may use in programmes or other publicity.)



** Thanks to Kay Bennett, Frank Laughton, John Grundon, Dyfrig Ellis, Liz Hurley, Heather Sims, Colette Murphy, Patricia Sharkey and Liz Cook for sending the photos on this page **

Back to the top of the page

 

REFERENCES

"A stand-up maths routine has children and teachers in fits of laughter... maths has never been so much fun."
See the write up from The TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT 12/11/04

"A cheeky cross between Jasper Carrott and Dennis the Menace...Poskitt makes even the most geeky number facts sound gripping!"
See the write up from The DAILY TELEGRAPH 31/3/12

"It is not often that you see a grown maths teacher cry with laughter..."
See the write up from The Western Gazette Oct 06

"Pupils were absorbing knowledge and opening their minds ... an extremely innovative and amusing way to learn."
See the write up from The Oldham Evening Chronicle Dec 2012

"The kids went wild, they absolutely loved it..."
See the write up from The Worthing Gazette May 05

"Headteacher Barry Winter said it was a stroke of genius
inviting the quick-witted author to open the resource centre"
See the write up from The Stockton Evening Gazette 28/9/01

"Those who have experienced Poskitt "live" will recognise his
commitment to getting readers involved with the learning process"
See the review of the GCSE book in the Guardian Nov 6th 2001

"...charismatic..."
See the write up from The York Evening Press 5/3/03

"...he possesses a prodigious gift of the (Yorkshire) gab, appears to be incapable of not enjoying himself, and plays his audience with the finesse of a maestro.
Maths will never seem the same again."
CAROUSEL issue 16 (the guide to children's books)

Ysgol Cynwyd Sant, Maesteg, May 2003
This headmistress is about to lose £5

Here are a few of the kind remarks that came by e-mail:

Back to the top of the page