26,000 new books donated to Hastings and St Leonards children and adults

Thousands of children and adults in Hastings will receive their very own books as a result of the support from 16 schools and community organisations.

Food banks and homeless shelters are among those who will be distributing the books over the next 12 weeks as part of the work they do in the community.

Children will be able to choose from a range of fiction and non-fiction books published by Bloomsbury, including the Kid Normal series by Chris Smith and Greg James, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, and the activity book Fantastically Great Women Who Made History by Kate Pankhurst.

Adult books include To The Lions by Holly Watts, Wildlife by Richard Ford and Sail Away by Celia Imrie.

Carole Dixon, chief executive of the Education Futures Trust, which is one of the organisations distributing books, said: “It is lovely to be able to give children new books that they can keep, rather than second-hand versions.

“The latter are really appreciated, but imagine a child, who does not have a book of their own, getting a brand new copy.”

Jonathan Douglas, chief executive of the National Literacy Trust, said: “We are proud to be working with Bloomsbury to gift this incredible donation to children and families in Hastings and St Leonards.

“We know that children who have books of their own enjoy reading more, do better at school and are happier in their lives, but too many children do not have a single book of their own at home.

“Now, more than ever, it is crucial that children, young people and families who need it most have access to books and resources to support their literacy development and wellbeing.”

Emma Hopkin, managing director of Bloomsbury Consumer, said: “During these challenging times we are proud, through our partnership with the National Literacy Trust, to be able to get books directly into the hands of children and families who do not necessarily have access to them.

“We hope that our education resources will inspire children with new ideas and spark creativity to help families best support their children as they learn from home.”

The National Literacy Trust Hub in Hastings and Bloomsbury Publishing launched a three-year partnership last summer to inspire a love of reading in the town, raise the aspirations of primary school children, and help adults with literacy challenges to access the support they need to improve their own literacy skills.

Find out more about the National Literacy Hub in Hastings at www.literacytrust.org.uk/hastings.

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