THE sum of £1,000 is being provided by St Austell Town Council as it backs the second St Austell Festival of Children’s Literature.
The council’s community committee has voted to provide a grant towards the costs of running the festival.
Cllr Mike Thompson, the newly-elected chair of the committee, said: “Councillors were united in their support for festival director Simon Pollard in his aspiration to encourage families to read together and make reading part of every child’s life.
“A number of studies have shown that reading is an important part of children’s educational success.
“The festival is running over three days and starts on Friday, June 28. The authors will be located across the town at a number of venues including St Austell Library.”
The festival, with a range of events for children aged up to 12, will include more than 25 children’s authors and illustrators.
With an entry fee of £1 for each separate event, the festival, whose patron is best-selling author AF Steadman, aims to encourage everyone to partake in the joy of reading.
The venues for festival events include the White River Cinema, the Unit 4 Studio and pop-up locations.
The festival has four main aims:
1. To celebrate the fact that choosing to read improves a child’s life outcomes
2. To enable children to experience a live author event
3. To support families in choosing to read together
4. To inspire a community that embraces reading for pleasure.
A dedicated schools day, on Friday, June 28, will host events for more than 2,000 pupils. Then two public days will be held on the weekend of June 29 to 30.
Partners of the festival are the White River Cinema, White River Place and Reading Rocks. The festival also has the backing of the Cornwall Education Learning Trust (CELT).
The full festival programme is available to view online at www.staustellfestivalofchildrensliterature.com
There is also information on Instagram @st.alitfest and X (formerly Twitter) @StLiterature
Tickets are on sale and can be booked through the Cornish Riviera Box Office, www.crbo.co.uk
The first festival was successfully staged last year.