AN AUTHOR who has sold more than a million books has visited a school to talk to pupils about her life.

Sally Gardner, who has written the books The Double Shadow and The Silver Blade, came to Debenham High School to speak with Year 7 students.

The author is an avid campaigner for people with dyslexia and spoke to students about her education and background.

Kevin Voller, business and community liaison officer at the school, said: “The students listened intently to Sally reading passages from I Coriander, her novel set in 17th-Century London.

“Sally talked about her life from early childhood and her experience of education to becoming an award-winning author.

“As a child she says she was labelled ‘unteachable’ and her school reports called her ‘lazy’. At 11 she was told she was word-blind.

“She was 14 before she learned to read and her first book was Wuthering Heights.”

Every year an author is invited into the school to talk to the new intake of students. Mr Voller said the popular visits help to inspire the students to read more and gives them an introduction to the school library and the services it offers.

Sally’s books have won prizes and have been shortlisted for various Book of the Year awards.

I, Coriander has won the Smarties Children’s Book Prize and her works have been translated into more than 20 languages around the world.