The Book Factor
25 Nov 2009
Barrington Stoke and Booktrust are running a fantastic competition across Liverpool, and one lucky pupil will win a fabulous prize: the book of his or her dreams, written by an award-winning author!
All Alan Gibbons knows about his next book is that it's probably going to be set in Liverpool and have
at least two child characters. He's waiting for a Year 6 pupil in the city to tell him the rest, in no more
than 50 words.
Each school has been supplied with 100 Barrington Stoke books and with teacher and pupil resources created by Booktrust. The pupil workbook encourages children to note what works about their favourite reads, as well as helping them plan and refine their own stories and blurbs.
David Woodhouse, Neighbourhood Learning Director for the Alt Valley Learning Network in North
The Book Factor project, set up by award-winning independent publisher Barrington Stoke in
partnership with Booktrust and the Alt Valley Learning Network in Liverpool, is encouraging pupils
in 11 primary schools to read and write with a competition to write a blurb for a book they'd like to
read. Alan Gibbons will extend the winning 50-word blurb into a novel, which Barrington Stoke will
publish in July 2010. This follows similar projects in Dundee and Midlothian, which led to the
publication of Hide and Seek by Catherine MacPhail and Fire Mask by Franzeska G. Ewart.
Nikki Marsh, Head of Education Projects at Booktrust said: "Booktrust is delighted to be involved in this
project and to have brought together Barrington Stoke and Liverpool schools. We think it is very exciting for
pupils to see the process of a book being produced, from how the author thinks through their ideas to the
book being published, and to work with an inspiring author like Alan Gibbons. We hope that the teacher
and pupil resources will be used in other similar projects in the future."
Alan has been visiting primary schools in North Liverpool to show Year 6 pupils how to pick out the
elements of a good story and write a blurb that will win readers. He said: "While I've been visiting
schools I've been impressed by how quickly children can express the central ideas of the stories in their
heads. Writing blurbs is a skill: you need to be able to capture the key idea and refine it. It will stand children
in good stead later when they have a few minutes to impress a prospective employer."
Developing reading is a crucial aspect of The Book Factor. Kate Paice, Barrington Stoke's editorial
manager, said: "By getting children reading, and thinking about what makes a must-read book, we hope to
inspire a love of stories that will stay with them forever."
Liverpool, said: "The Book Factor supports our schools' work on many levels. It is a very inclusive project as
children are being asked to concentrate on a short, but very precise, piece of writing. The materials provided
by Booktrust are excellent in supporting the teaching of narrative writing. Writing a blurb and then having
it turned into a book by such a famous author as Alan Gibbons is highly motivating for children as they see
their ideas valued by a professional writer. The opportunity to read a range of books from Barrington Stoke
will foster an enjoyment of reading, and the increased access to books supports both reading in school and
our focus on working with parents."
The closing date for the competition is early December and the winner will be selected by a judging
panel made up of Alan Gibbons, Barrington Stoke's Editorial Manager Kate Paice, Nikki Marsh of
Booktrust, and the Merseyside-born Carnegie Medal-winning author Frank Cottrell Boyce. The winner
will be announced on 18th December 2009. Alan then has around two months to write his novel, which
will be published next July, after a competition for Year 7 pupils to design the jacket.
Alan is sure that whatever story will be keeping him busy over Christmas, it will be a brief he can get
his teeth into. "I saw at least a dozen good ideas in just one day," he said.
For further information contact:
Nicky Potter nicpot@dircon.co.uk 020 8889 9735 or 0771 5587948
Notes to Editors
1. Booktrust is an independent charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to
engage with books. The written word underpins all our activity and enables us to fulfil our vision of
inspiring a lifelong love of books for all. Booktrust is responsible for a number of successful national
reading promotions, sponsored book prizes and creative reading projects aimed at encouraging
readers to discover and enjoy books. These include the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Children's
Laureate, the Get London Reading campaign, the Booktrust Teenage Prize and Bookstart, the national
programme that works through locally based organisations to give a free pack of books to young
children, with guidance materials for parents and carers. Booktrust has developed two further free
book programmes in the UK: Booktime, run in association with Pearson, gives a free book to every Year
One pupil, and Booked Up, which gives a free book, from a choice of twelve, to every Year Seven pupil.
See www.booktrust.org.uk
For further information contact: Katherine Solomon Katherine@booktrust.org.uk 020 8875 4583
2. Alt Valley Learning Network is one of five learning neighbourhoods within the City of Liverpool
education authority. It includes 32 primary schools, two special schools and six high schools. The
central purpose of the Learning network is to provide innovative, collaborative, transformational, and
wide ranging learning opportunities for all learners in our schools.
3. Alan Gibbons is an award-winning author. His books published by Barrington Stoke include Moving
On, The Number 7 Shirt and The Greatest. For more information about him and his work in schools visit
his website www.alangibbons.com
4. Award-winning Barrington Stoke specialise in books by well-known authors for dyslexic, struggling
and reluctant readers. They have sold nearly 3 million copies of their books. They were voted IPG
Children's Publisher of the Year 2007 and were shortlisted for Independent Publisher of the Year 2009
(British Book Awards) and IPG Education Publisher of the Year 2009.
Download the press release.