Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, will complete his epic nationwide Library Marathon mission during National Libraries Week (2-8 October 2023) – including a special event at Liverpool Central Library on Friday 6 October at 2pm.
Libraries have formed a ‘vital part’ of Coelho’s life, and his Library Marathon project as the current Children’s Laureate – the most prestigious role in children’s books – is a heart-felt homage to the important role they play within communities and inspiring a love of reading in young people. It is a call for people, young and old, to join their local library. Across this extraordinary feat and by the end of National Libraries Week (which also includes National Poetry Day on Thursday 5 October) Joseph will have registered for a library card with a record 213 libraries.
Joseph has said: “Libraries made me a writer and make communities thrive. They have been a vital part of my life: from living on estates where I had a library next door, to my first Saturday job, to working at the British Library whilst studying at UCL, to touring theatre shows designed to be performed in libraries. I’m immensely grateful to libraries and the services they provide.”