Newcastle's literature hub, Seven Stories, has been given a grant of £89,000 to help fund it's work in the community and local schools.
The Centre for Children’s Books, based in Ouseburn, is the only charity in the North East to receive the prestigious Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund grant, donated by the Museums Association.
The funding will go towards helping the centre co-curate it's archive collection, which includes material from over 250 children’s authors and illustrators, and also aid the charity's new digital resources for local schools.
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The centre will also use the grant to help with i's new “Whose books are these anyway?” project, which will form part of a two-year programme of work with children and young people from six North East schools between Easter and Summer 2022.
As of yet the schools which will take part in the 'Whose books are these anyway?' have not been revealed.
Kris McKie, Head of Collections at Seven Stories, said: "We know that stories fuel children’s imaginations as well as developing their speech, reading and writing skills but they also have a powerful empathetic effect too, helping children to understand the world around them - as well as each other - which is more important than ever in these uncertain times. We’re really looking forward to getting started."
Sarah Briggs, Collections Development Officer at the Museums Association, said Seven Stories were chosen as beneficiary because the charity "consistently demonstrated the potential for museum collections to have a positive impact on people’s lives."
Wendy, interim CEO at Seven Stories, said: "Our Collection is at the heart of everything we do at Seven Stories and making sure that it can be appreciated and inspiring to as many people as possible is a priority. This grant will allow us to make it accessible in even more ways and for even more people, and we are so grateful to the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund for their support.
"We believe that stories are for everyone, and that the stories in our Collection, both in the books and surrounding their creation, should be shared as widely as possible to support young people’s development, and of course, enjoyment too."
