Players of People’s Postcode Lottery to help the Book Festival grow in exciting new ways

Book Festival Director Nick Barley said ‘At the heart of the Book Festival is a holistic and integrated approach which aims to expand participation in literature and develop highly engaged, knowledgeable audiences. The vast majority of our events – for all ages – are participatory, making the Book Festival one of the leading forums for interaction, debate and discussion.

‘We want to replicate these forums across Scotland by creating a vibrant and wide-reaching new outreach and learning initiative which will focus on engaging adults, young people and children, and fostering a love of reading and words. The funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery will enable us to start work on this project early in 2015.’

Clara Govier, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery said ‘I am delighted that players of People’s Postcode Lottery are now supporting the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The festival in itself is known for being one of the best in the world and it is great that funding from players will help ensure that Book Festival events reach more people across the whole of Scotland.’

Each year the Book Festival creates a stimulating environment in which people of all backgrounds and ages can explore, experiment and expand their horizons. In 2014 the Festival’s lively Outreach programme hosted events with world-class authors and illustrators in 40 locations across Scotland. This new support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery will enable the Book Festival to give greater numbers of people access to live literature events across the country.