Bedford based Booktastic wins major grant to help promote children’s love of reading
Fantastic news for Booktastic which has received a grant thanks to a new scheme being run by the Royal Society of Literature to promote reading.
Booktastic is one of only ten projects to share the first round of the ‘Literature Matters Grants’ funding which is giving away £1m over the next five years to help introduce book events to communities across the country.
The grants have been set up to support literature with Booktastic recognised for its work in transforming lives through reading.
BookTastic began as a small family book festival in Bedford, back in 2013 to promote reading for pleasure among children.
Founder Rachael Rogan and her team recognised the benefit of authors visiting schools but that many, in disadvantaged communities, couldn’t afford them.
The company then set out to ensure every child, regardless of postcode or family income, deserved to experience the thrill of meeting a storyteller, asking an illustrator how they draw, and discovering the magic that exists in stories.
It went on to deliver free, child-led book festivals with children choosing the authors and books, meeting illustrators and taking home a book of their own, often the first they have owned.
Over the years, it has delivered events to over 200 schools, significantly impacting literacy and reading engagement among children.
The events are also live-streamed by schools throughout the UK, enabling thousands of children to take part and develop a love of literature.
A spokesperson for Booktastic welcomed the grant which it says has come at a crucial time when demand from schools is rising and the company’s work is expanding to reach even more children.