Salisbury teacher writes first book to inspire young female footballers
Emma Drag's novel will be released next month
With the Women's World Cup in full swing, and England kicking off their campaign tomorrow (Saturday 22nd July), a Salisbury teacher's hoping to continue the inspiration with her first book.
Emma Drag's written a novel based on a young female footballer hoping to make it to the top of the game, aimed at 7 to 12 year old readers.
She explains how 'Grace's Euro Adventures' started to come together:
"It was during the pandemic, I was a supply teacher on furlough. I signed up to do my second masters degree in Children's Literature and part of that was researching. I'd noticed there weren't many stories for children by women writing about sport, and indeed writing about football."
In the story, Grace meets ex Saints and England player Sue Lopez, who gives her a magic key to be able to visit her footballing heroes.
She travels around Europe to learn from the best, overcome challenges, and move towards her dream of playing football professionally.
The book's being released next month (17th August), while the Women's World Cup will be reaching its climax.
Emma says she wanted to fill a gap in the market:
"It's that phrase you hear quite a lot - if you can't see it, you can't be it. Sometimes you have to illuminate these things and perhaps be that person that shows it can be done. That's also inspiring to me."
She says seeing the book in print is 'really exciting' and she's combining three of her passions - writing, teaching the younger generation, and the sport of football itself.
Pre-orders for 'Grace's Euro Adventures' are now available.