Today on the 24th of October, Balham Library in Wandsworth and “BookLove – The Travelling Multicultural Book Carnival” hosted an online book festival, allowing them to reach book lovers across the country in a COVID-free environment.
Since it was founded four years ago, BookLove has aimed to make culturally diverse books and toys accessible to everyone, by travelling to schools up and down the country as well as attending festivals, fairs and markets. Like many other businesses, the Carnival is now changing to continue its work despite the challenges created by COVID-19.
The founder of Book Love, Samantha Williams expressed that the online festival is one of the ways in which they have adapted, and that their principle aim remains to promote the cultural richness of the world we live in. In her own words:
“We hope the festival will encourage people to diversify their reading habits. We want children to have greater access to books by lesser known authors, and texts with multiculturalism, love and acceptance of each other at their heart.”
The festival lasted from 13.00 to 18.00, featuring a range of children’s authors, illustrators and creators, including Akitoye Sunday, Dinah Orji, Kandace Chimbiri, Mireille Harper, Sandra A. Agard and John Jay Cabuay. The festival was free to attend on Facebook, evidencing BookLove’s and Balham Library’s commitment to making books accessible to everyone.
The festival was not only aimed at children, but also librarians, parents , teachers and writers. Several panels were held, discussing how inclusion can be achieved in all aspects of the publishing industry and how sensitive history can be covered in children’s literature.
