News & Events

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National Year of Reading - Local Authority of the Month

read write inspire team photo

We've been named the National Year of Reading's local authority of the month for helping to change the culture of reading in Britain, thanks to the hard work of the READ, WRITE, Inspire team.

National Year of Reading

November Theme - Screen Reads

When great books are turned into great films - November is 'Screen Reads' month at the National Year of Reading

The NYR is introducing a month of books which have been adapted for the big screen. Films can increase the popularity of books with children and adults alike.

To discover which books will be turned into films and are to be released in the near future (including Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) visit find out which books are being turned into films.

Film Education has also provided teachers with information and guidance on how to use film in education in their Wikireadia article.

A resource has also been made available by the National Literacy Trust to compare notes from the book and film version.

This document gives you the option to write comments on what you thought about the book and the film, and to do a comparison of both.

To celebrate Screen Reads month, National Year of Reading are running a film competition Animate IT 09 in association with Film Street and Kudlian Software. The competition is open to young people aged 12 and under to create an animated trailer to promote their favourite book. To

find out more, click on the link above.

London 2012

'Words of Welcome'

In preparation for the London 2012 Olympics, NYR are bringing 13-19 year olds a competition to celebrate the power of the written word. Young people will be asked to take pictures of signs, street names and notices that represent their community. As an incentive, the winner's school will receive a visit by an Olympic Athlete.

My Personal Best

Find out which books and song lyrics help motivate and inspire sports stars to train for hours each day, to help them stay focused and acheive their next goal at My Personal Best.

Go to our National Year of Reading page for more information.

National Literacy Trust

Competitions

Parents - this is your chance to shine! The National Literacy Trust and Nestle are offering you the opportunity to compose a children's story for

the Munch Time storytelling competition. The six winners will receive a family trip to Lapland, an overnight stay in London and their stories

narrated for a podcast by celebrity mum Gail Porter.

Think green this month for the creative writing competition created by greenmetropolis.com to encourage reading writing and recyling. The winning entry will become a next chapter in a book, which will be published this December.

Would you like to see your work become part of an anthology? National Literacy Trust is running a competition for one short story and one poem for forthcoming anothology 'Grist'. The deadline for all entries is November 30th.

For further competitions, visit the National Literacy Trust website.

School Library Service Newsletter

The latest Schools Library Newsletter is here

Christmas Reads for Children

Here is a selection of popular children's Christmas books to prepare you for the festive season:

a. The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

b. The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet Ahlberg

c. Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs

d. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

e. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

f. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May

g. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by Frank Baum

h. The Christmas Story by Ian Beck

Workplace Reading

This new scheme encourages relaxed and sociable reading by making a variety of books available in the workplace. Visit the website to find out more

Royal Mail joins the Reading Buddy initiative....

Eight of Peterborough's post men and women have been trained to become READ.WRITE.inspire's latest Reading Buddies, supporting city primary school children.

Royal Mail Production Officer John Witt said: "We've chosen to join the Reading Buddy scheme in order to become more involved with the local community. We've had a great response from our staff and are very pleased to be able to help local children with their literacy."

Jan MacPhee, Project Director said: "We are delighted to have Royal Mail on board for our Reading Buddy scheme. It'll be great to have some of the city's postmen and women working with us to help develop literacy skills in our local schools."

See our Reading Buddy pages to get more information on the scheme.

The Poetry Society

The prestigious Geoffrey Dreamer prize is now open to entries from talented young poets who have not yet had their owrk published. Visit the webpage direct for more information.

Find out all about the National Year of Reading

On 8 Jan the NYR was launched at Downing Street with the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families present. The challenge facing the NYR is truly ambitious: it aims to change the nature of reading in the nation forever. Go to the NYR website to find out more information and to look up local events.

'60 Seconds Of Fame' (British Academy Film Awards)

'60 Seconds Of Fame' is back. This exciting and innovative short film challenge was launched by BAFTA and Orange in 2006, and attracted more than 250 entries. This year, aspiring filmmakers are invited to submit a 60 second short film, based on the theme 'unite'. The winning film will be featured on the BBC1 broadcast of the Film Awards, watched by millions around the world, more information

Film Network

Is a BBC web page showcasing new british film making. Check out this site for ideas and tips for making short films.

2009 Peterborough Children and Young People's Film Awards -