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Where the money is going in 2010

 

The Chiswick Book Festival is a non-profit-making, community event. Last year's Festival supported three charities related to reading and literacy, and also the work of St Michael & All Angels Church, which hosts the Festival. The charities received a share of the profits from the Festival, and also used it as a platform to widen knowledge of their work. The 2009 Festival raised £6,195.36 from the sale of tickets and refreshments, and sponsorship. St Michael & All Angels and the three charities each received £1,548.84.

The Festival has been building a relationship with the three charities, and the 2010 Chiswick Book Festival will again be raising money for:

  • RNIB Talking Books Service and Books for Children. The Festival's contribution in 2009 was used to sponsor the recording of Claire Tomalin's The Invisible Woman and Sandi Toksvig's children's book The Littlest Viking, and is acknowledged on the CDs. Claire Tomalin will be speaking about the book at the 2010 Festival, on Sunday 18th.
  • InterAct Reading Service, which provides a reading service for stroke patients in hospital. One of its patrons is Chiswick resident Richard Briers and the Festival also supported its Ruth Rendell Short Story Competition in 2009. InterAct was one of five winners in the Guardian's Charity Awards 2009 and some of its readers will be taking part in the 2010 Festival.
  • The Letterbox Club, which works with local authorities to send regular book parcels to children aged 7 to 11 in foster families, to improve their educational outlook. It's part of the Book Trust and one of its patrons is Jacqueline Wilson, who spoke at the first Festival. This year it will deliver almost 30,000 parcels to 4,600 children in 140 local authorities across the UK. A former member of the Book Trust staff is now actively involved in the Festival.