Campaign connecting children with literacy and inspiring the next generation of readers

Author Chloe Daykin will be championing reading and creative writing.

A new campaign to support children’s literacy on the North Yorkshire Coast, called Connecting Stories, is now underway.

Led by Our Stories from the National Literacy Trust and funded by Arts Council England, the initiative will increase children and young people’s access to literary experiences and books.

Authors Chloe Daykin and Jenny Pearson will be championing reading and creative writing in the community through school visits to virtual classrooms and by supporting an exciting new creative writing competition.

To further encourage the next generation of readers and writers, publishers Faber and Faber and Usborne will donate books across Whitby, Scarborough and Filey.

Children aged 7 to 11 in the area will be invited to take part in the creative writing competition with a unique theme, soon to be named.

Chloe Daykin said: “I am so happy to be part of this wonderful campaign to promote literacy and wellbeing, two things that are very close to my heart and which I believe in passionately.

“Through the power of literature and creative writing we have the ability to change children’s lives.”

Sarah Crown, director of Literature at Arts Council England, said: “Connecting Stories is a brilliant, creative way of supporting children’s literacy in communities suffering disproportionately from the impact of Covid-19.”

Visit tinyurl.com/y6l93kav to find out more about Connecting Stories.