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Author Visit Availability 2024/2025

We are pleased to confirm that Sophie is still available on Thursday, March 6th, for World Book Day 2025, as well as days throughout World Book Week. If you're interested in arranging an author visit for your school next year, please let us know, and we'll be more than happy to proceed with booking a date!


Given that "The Best-Kept Secret" is a narrative poem inspired by folklore and legend, we thought it might be helpful to highlight some other dates in the coming year that could offer fantastic opportunities to explore themes related to the book and engage and inspire the children at your school:


 World Book Night: April 23rd, 2024

 National Share-a-Story Month: May 2024

 National Poetry Day: October 5th, 2024

 Lancashire Day: November 27th, 2024

 World Folklore Day: August 22nd, 2024

 Appreciate a Dragon Day: January 16th, 2025

 National Storytelling Week: February 2025

 World Book Day: March 6th, 2025

 World Storytelling Day: March 20th, 2025

 World Poetry Day: March 21st, 2025


Please contact us if you're interested in discussing any of these dates further! For additional information, including pricing, content details, testimonials, and photos from previous author visits, visit www.stonehillpress.co.uk/teachers


We look forward to hearing from you!

The Best-Kept Secret Team





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A dragon isn't just for 'Appreciate a Dragon Day'...

Updated: Mar 22

Although we are immensely grateful to be fully booked for World Book Week 2024, we encourage promoting a love of reading throughout the year, for every day is Book Day!


In the past month alone, we've received over fifty requests for author visits from schools for World Book Day. Sadly, despite our better efforts, Sophie's Broomstick hasn't yet reached the speed of light. If having an author visit during the week of World Book Day is essential, please reach out in 2024 to secure a visit in 2025.


Calendar of  events


Below is a list of significant yearly literacy and reading events, along with various special awareness days, weeks, and months that we enthusiastically observe at Stonehill Press. Nevertheless, it's important to remember that each day provides an opportunity to foster a love for reading. If you can not see a specific day, week or month listed, we recommend you take ownership of the date and call it whatever you wish for the benefit of the children in your life. An author's impact extends beyond World Book Day; much like appreciating a dragon, isn't confined to 'Appreciate a Dragon Day'.





JANUARY

Appreciate a Dragon Day

Appreciate a Dragon Day is a holiday celebrated on January 16th every year to honour dragons as fictional creatures and cultural symbols. It encourages people to learn more about dragons and the myths and legends associated with them.


FEBRUARY


Coordinated by the Society for Storytelling, this takes place annually, usually during the first week of February. 


On 14th February 2024 it is International Book Giving Day, a global initiative that encourages individuals, organisations, and communities to share the love of reading by giving books to others.


MARCH


World Book Day takes place on the first Thursday in March and is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland. Books are available for £1, and all Primary School children and any PreSchool and Secondary School children whose schools have registered with the scheme receive a free £1 book token. The website is packed with valuable ideas and resources that librarians can use all year round.


World Storytelling Day is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling. It is celebrated yearly on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere (on or around the 20th of March) and on the autumn equinox in the southern. On World Storytelling Day, as many people as possible tell and listen to stories in as many languages and at as many places as possible during the same 24-hour period,


World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March and was first declared by UNESCO in 1999. Its purpose is to promote the reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry worldwide.


Shakespeare Week is a national annual celebration that gives primary school-aged children opportunities for enriching and enjoyable early experiences of Shakespeare. Schools can register to access free resources and event listings.


APRIL


Held every year on or around 2nd April to commemorate the birth of Hans Christian Anderson, who was born on this day in 1805,  International Children’s  Book Day is coordinated by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) as part of their regular schedule of activities to promote children’s reading and international awareness through children’s books.


Every year, 23 April is a national celebration of reading and books. Events up and down the country, run by individuals and organisations, celebrate the difference that reading makes to people’s lives, and everyone from publishers to librarians, local businesses to the general public can get involved.


MAY


This is organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups to celebrate the power of storytelling and story-sharing. Each year there is a specific theme.


JUNE


Promotes the crime genre, both in fiction and non-fiction, and aims to get people talking about crime writing and, more specifically, to get them reading it!


IBW is part of the Books Are My Bag campaign run by the Booksellers Association. It seeks to celebrate independent bookshops in the UK and Ireland by organising events, celebrations, reading groups, storytellings, author signings, literary lunches and face painting!


The first-ever Empathy Day was launched on June 13th, 2017, to highlight empathy’s importance in our divided world and the power of stories to develop it. 


This event (launched in 1999) aims to encourage children aged 4 – 12 to visit their local public libraries during the school summer holidays to maintain their reading habits.


AUGUST

World Folklore Day Celebrate World Folklore Day on August 22! This day is all about embracing the cultural traditions, stories, and customs passed down through generations. From legends and myths to folk songs and dances, folklore plays a significant role in shaping our identities and connecting us to our roots. Celebrated all over the world, this day reminds us of the importance of preserving our rich cultural heritage and celebrating diversity.


SEPTEMBER


September is the month to explore and celebrate diverse, global and translated literature for kids and teens.


Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) has been celebrated annually on 8 September worldwide to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights. It is an opportunity for Governments, civil society and stakeholders to highlight improvements in world literacy rates, and reflect on the world’s remaining literacy challenges.  Despite progress made, at least 773 million young people and adults still lack basic literacy skills today.


Since 2021 this has been celebrated in the UK on the 8th September, UN International Literacy Day. Read Hour was created by Finland’s Children and Youth Foundation to encourage people to spend just one hour of their day on reading, whether that be a book, magazine, or comic book – everything is encouraged. It is a part of the Moomin initiative “Reading, Writing and the Moomins“, which aims to spread the joy of reading and writing worldwide with the help of Moomin stories.


Held on the 13th of September, this annual celebration of Roald Dahl’s life and work was first held in 2006 to mark what would have been his 90th birthday. Roald Dahl Story Day is not just an annual celebration of Roald Dahl’s marvellous stories, but it also includes a host of associated activities and events, including the Dahlicious Dress-up Day, when children go to school dressed up as their favourite Roald Dahl character, all in aid of the Roald Dahl Children’s Charity.


Celebrated on the 14th of September every year, reading groups are a great way to stay connected and introduce us to new books, authors and genres.


Celebrated on or around the 15th of September every year and involving more than 10 million teachers, librarians and children in 170 countries, this all began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009. The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has inspired countless children and adults around the globe to re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do.


NOVEMBER

Lancashire Day Lancashire Day is the county day of historic Lancashire in England. It is held on 27 November to commemorate the day in 1295 when Lancashire first sent representatives to Parliament to attend the Model Parliament of King Edward I. Lancashire Day was first held in 1996


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A Halloween Treat for those with mathemaphobia!

Updated: Sep 25, 2023

Last year, Sophie surprised the staff and students at a local village school with a complimentary author visit on Halloween. This year, Sophie still feels just as generous despite her witch-like persona.


Do you know of a Primary School that deserves a free author visit? A school where children are eager to uncover the secrets of an ancient captive dragon, where they'd prefer to conjure a baby dragon from a bubbling cauldron and experience a theatrical, poetic performance rather than suffer the intricacies of mathematics and algebra?


If you do, please tag/nominate the school on the Facebook post , using the link below

and share the post with your nearest and dearest. The most deserving school with the most votes will be contacted to enquire whether they are willing to host a visit from a witch and her dragon on the 31st of October, 2023! (Or thereabouts if more convenient)

T&C's The offer is open to any Primary School in the United Kingdom, with the exception of schools that have hosted an in-person visit from Sophie in the last 18 months.


All fees, including travel costs, will be waived if the winning school is within the Ribble Valley or Lancashire. Schools outside Lancashire may be asked to contribute toward travel costs at 0.45p per mile and accommodation costs if an overnight stay is unavoidable. A free virtual author visit may be offered as an alternative. The visit is only suitable for children in KS2 and is limited to 60 children per session. A maximum of two sessions in total, to be held on 31st October or, if preferred, on a date and time convenient to both parties.

The final decision, 'the most deserving school with the most votes', will be made jointly by Sophie and Stonehill Press. Their decision is final and irrefutable. To be considered for entry, all votes must be cast by midnight of October 7th 2023. The winning school will be contacted on Monday, 9th October.






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