Encouraging young readers

Helped by Esther Freud & Emma Chinnery

One of the benefits of organising a book festival, is that you have the opportunity to create additional literary events for different audiences. The other day around 150 youngsters from primary schools in and around Leiston assembled at Leiston Primary School to heat author Esther Freud talk about, and read from, her book Enchanted Beach.

The book’s illustrator Emma Chinnery then took the youngsters through a drawing exercise, where step by step, each child drew a cartoon dog. When the youngster arrived, I suspect few knew they were capable of drawing a dog, yet all created very good likenesses of the dog Emma drew on the whiteboard.

The event was made possible by the sponsorship Leiston Book Festival had from the Sizewell C Community Fund, and minibuses were kindly provided by Alde Valley Academy. My bet is that one or two who came along that day will be back in 30 years time as authors themselves, inspired by the session and realising that almost anything is possible if you try.

My next challenge is to encourage more to buy tickets for the launch of the paperback editon of my latest book Where are the Fellows who Cut the Hay. We will be showing two rare old Suffolk fims too, one written and narrated by George Ewart Evans, so it will be a super Sunday afternoon. Tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/leistonbookfestivalcic/2040462