What's on
Seeing the World Differently
A celebration of reading and dyslexia
Presented by Booktrust and Hot Key Books
Thu 11 Oct 2012, 7:00pm
Free Word Lecture Theatre
Image from the cover of Maggot Moon.
To celebrate Dyslexia Awareness Week, join award-winning author Sally Gardner, Times children's book critic, Amanda Craig and Booktrust’s books and disability consultant, Alexandra Strick for a fascinating discussion around Sally’s latest novel Maggot Moon and how Hot Key Books are using new technology to open up conversations about dyslexia.
This event will showcase the Maggot Moon Multi-touch iBook version, built using dyslexia friendly fonts and backgrounds, featuring video interviews with Sally and dyslexia examples aiming to show people what it’s like to see the world as a dyslexic and how this can better inform our understanding of dyslexia.
This FREE event promises to be a fascinating debate around the key issues around reading, dyslexia and education.
Hosted by Hot Key Books and Booktrust, this event will be followed by a book signing and a drinks reception.
Sally Gardner was branded ‘unteachable’ when she was a child and sent to various schools, before being diagnosed with severe dyslexia at the age of twelve. Sally is now an avid spokesperson for dyslexia; she sees it a gift, not a disability, and is passionately trying to change how dyslexics are perceived by society. Sally is the author of a number of books for children and teens including I, Coriander, The Red Necklace, The Silver Blade and The Double Shadow. Sally’s latest YA novel, Maggot Moon, is a speculative fiction novel set in a reimagined 1950s dictatorship with a dyslexic hero at its heart, described by Sally as ‘the book I always wanted to write’.
Amanda Craig was born in South Africa in 1959, and brought up in Italy and Britain. After reading English at Clare College Cambridge, she became an award-winning young journalist in the 1980s. She is the author of six novels. She lives in London, is a reviewer and broadcaster, and is also the children's book critic for the Times.
Alexandra Strick is a consultant in books and disability issues as well as a freelance photographer and co-founder/manager of ‘Outside In’, the UK organisation dedicated to promoting and exploring books from around the world. She has worked for a number of charities including St John Ambulance, Booktrust and Whizz-Kidz. As Booktrust’s Disability Consultant, she works with Booktrust on the Bookmark website, an online resource for anyone seeking information, books or advice relating to disability and children's books.