Picture This – Story Sharing
November marked the start of a very exciting new project for Beyond Words in partnership with Kent Libraries. The ‘Picture This – Story Sharing’ project, funded by Arts Council England, will bring three artists together with nine Beyond Words book clubs to produce three fun fiction stories to add to the Beyond Words Page Turners series.
LD Today
Fun was had by all at the 15th annual LD Today Conference. We met with lots of people from all walks of life, including LD nurses, support workers, self-advocates, artists and care managers. Baroness Hollins helped open proceedings as a keynote speaker in the panel responding to the Green Paper for Learning Disabilities.
Our Beyond Words Book Clubs in Kent have recently scooped The Citizenship Award as part of the Kent Learning Disability Partnership Awards, which was awarded to them by Paul Carter, CBE (Leader Kent Council). This is now traveling around the various clubs, in order to reach the wonderful people who helped to win this prestigious prize. The Citizenship Award was created to recognise the work of people who are helping to increase access to places and information (for people with learning disabilities), in order to encourage people to be more inclusive, within the local community.
We have recently updated two of our books on the subject of sexual abuse, Bob Tells All and Jenny Speaks Out. These are picture books made for people who find pictures easier to understand than words. They have been used primarily with adults with learning disabilities, but can also be used with young people and in a therapeutic settings as catalysts for safe sharing.
A new festival celebrating and exploring mental wealth
This September hundreds of people gathered in central London to celebrate wellbeing at the inaugural Mental Wealth Festival. Participants enjoyed two jam-packed days of activities exploring good practice and sharing creative skills to promote mental wealth. From its original inception as a small book festival celebrating mental health literature, the festival steadily grew into a showcase for a rich and diverse collection of professionals and experts by experience. Everybody involved shared their own personal stories and experiences sparking debates on topics from young people’s mental health to creativity as a bi-product of mental health.
The evening of Thursday 10 September saw the grand opening of The London Art Book Fair 2015. Beyond Words are proud to announce that our new illustrator, Mike Nicholson, is exhibiting his work. Mike’s books will be on display until Sunday 13 September so why not pop over to The Whitechapel Gallery and say hello!
Lloyd Page of Mencap has provided us with two insightful reviews of books from the Books Beyond Words Series. Lloyd is a strong advocate for improving the lives of people with learning disabilities. For many years he has strived to advance services, resources and facilities for people with both learning and physically disabilities. He is an active supporter of Beyond Words and is currently helping to create his second book with us; a book on going to the dentist. He writes from his own experience as someone with a learning disability, as well as an extremely experienced campaigner, writer and community engager. We hope you enjoy Lloyd's reviews of Peter's New Home and You're in Prison - two very different books.
On Tuesday 21 July we held the first advisory group meeting for Beyond Words’ new book on weight loss. Since our first editorial meeting back in May, artist Mike Nicholson has been thoughtfully sketching a set of black and white illustrations, based on the detailed storyline that we wrote as a group. Last week’s meeting was the first chance for people to have a look at Mike’s drawings and read the story as a whole.
On Tuesday 13 January, crowds of people gathered at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London to celebrate 25 years of Beyond Words and the launch of the latest title (number 45!) in the Beyond Words series of books, The Drama Group. The book, co-authored by actor Hugh Grant, Baroness Sheila Hollins and her son Nigel Hollins, tells the story of Dean who loves going to the theatre and decides to join a drama group. The book can help encourage those who'd like to give acting, or backstage roles, a try.
