The James Berry Fundraising Project presents A STORY I AM IN: A Benefit Performance Poetry, Music & Spoken Word celebrating James Berry’s Life in Literature

FRIDAY 27th SEPTEMBER

The James Berry Fundraising Project presents
A STORY I AM IN:
A Benefit Performance
Poetry, Music & Spoken Word celebrating James Berry’s Life in Literature

The Tabernacle, London W11
7pm - 10pm

Acclaimed poet James Berry celebrates 90 years of poetry, stories and song in 2014. James was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease nine years ago.  He has been in residential care for over two years, and during that time has been in five different care homes and has spent four months in hospital. Despite the serious nature of his illness, he continues to enjoy listening to poetry and talking about everything under the sun.  In this special fundraising benefit at the Tabernacle, fifteen outstanding poets, musician, performers and wordsmiths will share a stage to mark Berry’s life in words and bear witness to his contribution to the transformation of the national, Caribbean and international literary landscapes.
Featuring

Roger McGough, Grace Nichols, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Ian Macmillan, Maura Dooley, Andrew Motion, Michael Rosen, Hannah Lowe, John Agard, Inua Ellams, Dean Atta, Susanna Howard, Myra Barrs, Melanie Abrahams, Keith Waithe and special guests.

Tickets £45 each - price of ticket includes entertainment and a food buffet.

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are available at £35 (offer ends 12th Sept 2013) BOOK a ticket HERE
All Proceeds from the event go to the James Berry Trust.  Event in partnership with the Tabernacle.

Our Recommended Reads September 2012

Check out the reviews section of our website for the latest recommended reads - from children's fiction to poetry and classic reads we're sure there is something for everyone. We also welcome your reviews too - email them to 'Reviews' at info@bookapoet.co.uk and we'll let you know when we use it!

Below are the titles we recommended during September 2012. You can read our reviews and recommendations at:  http://www.bookapoet.co.uk/book_reviews/book_reviews/september_2012/

‘Make Your Own T-Rex’ (Dorling Kindersley Books)

‘Ravenwood’ by Andrew Peters (Chicken House)

‘Feathers in the Wind’ by Sally Grindley (Bloomsbury)

‘Pigeon Poo’ by Elizabeth Baguley and Mark Chambers (Little Tiger Press)

‘Bunny Starts School’ by Mike Byrne (Caterpillar Books)

'Operation Bunny' by Sally Gardner (Orion Books)

‘Fantastic Mr Dahl’ by Michael Rosen (Puffin)

‘The Hex Factor’ by Harriet Goodwin (Stripes Publishing)

‘Nurse Diddy: The Chicken Pox Party’ by Libby Weaver (Bumpkin Books)

‘Pozza and the Wuzativs’ by Julian Kendell and Alistair Hunt (Barny Books)

‘Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun’ by Liz Kessler (Orion Books)

‘My First Wife’ by Jakob Wassermann (Penguin Modern Classics)

‘500 Shakespearean Sonnets’ by Ryan J W Smith (Duckpaddle Publishing)
 

October's recommended reads will start to appear on the website from next week. A selection of reviews will be published here too, as well as on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/BookaPoet) and links from our Twitter account (@bookapoet).

Puffin Virtually Live Celebrates Roald Dahl

Puffin's next interactive webcast will be Roald Dahl Day Puffin Virtually Live on Monday 24th September at 2pm with Quentin Blake,  Michael Rosen and special guest David Walliams.

And you can get involved too:
- Suggest your favourite Roald Dahl character and be in with a chance of Quentin drawing it live during the webcast
- Tell us your best dreams in celebration of The BFG's 30th birthday and be in with a chance of them being read out during the webcast
- Submit your questions for Quentin and Michael to answer live!
 
Register now to watch live online and get involved.
 

And if you would like to celebrate Roald Dahl Day which officially takes place next Thursday 13th September you can download a Whizzpopping Party Pack and more from www.roalddahlday.info.

Puffin Virtually Live webcasts with Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake

PUFFIN VIRTUALLY LIVE is a series of  live interactive webcasts from Puffin's best-loved authors. www.puffinvirtuallylive.co.uk / www.facebook.com/puffinvirtuallylive

Great news for Jacqueline Wilson fans … the next Puffin Virtually Live webcast will be with Jacqueline Wilson, she’ll be talking about her new book, ‘Four Children and It’. She will also be answering questions live from the online audience! Register here www.puffinvirtuallylive.co.uk to watch live online on Monday 20th August at 5pm.


Puffin Virtually Live has a special interactive webcast for Roald Dahl Day - Roald Dahl's legendary illustrator Quentin Blake will be drawing live and in conversation with the award-winning writer Michael Rosen, author of the brand-new ‘Fantastic Mr Dahl’ biography.  There will be a special guest appearance by actor and comedian David Walliams as The BFG too! Unmissable! Register here www.puffinvirtuallylive.co.uk to watch live online on Monday 24th September at 2pm.

If you do miss any of Puffin Virtually Live’s webcasts they are available on demand to view at www.puffinvirtuallylive.co.uk.

Celebrate ROALD DAHL DAY this September ...

“DREAM BIG” WITH THE BFG!

September 2012 marks the seventh annual celebration of Roald Dahl’s work, life and diverse legacy. This year’s celebrations promise to be the BIGGEST to date. It’s a chance to salute the World’s No. 1 Storyteller, Roald Dahl, who is read and loved by millions of children - and adults - all over the world. The festivities last throughout the whole of Roald’s birthday month of September.

 

This year, it’s a double celebration - indeed you might even say a GIANT celebration - because it's not only marking Roald Dahl’s birthday but also wishing a splendiferously “Happy 30th Birthday” to The BFG, one of Roald’s most popular books and characters.

Here are NINEwhizzpopping ways in which everyone can get involved:

1. DREAM BIG – WITH TOP COMPETITIONS AND UNIQUE PRIZES:

The BFG collects dreams – good and bad – and shares the good ones with children on his nightly travels. So the theme of Roald Dahl Day 2012 is “DREAM BIG”. This year the foundation will be making young people’s dreams come true in a number of ways, with some truly amazing competitions and unique prizes, working with phizzwhizzing partners including Waterstone’s and British Airways. To keep track of the latest competitions and promotions, visit www.roalddahl.com.

2. READ BIG – WITH AN AMAZING LINE-UP OF NEW PUBLISHING:

"THE FANTASTIC MR DAHL" by Michael Rosen – a biography of Roald Dahl specially written for young readers by poet and former Children’s Laureate Rosen. (Puffin, £6.99, September.)

" THE BFG" - Jubilee paperback edition – saluting 30 years of the BFG plus the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and highlighting the moment in the tale when the BFG and Sophie breakfast with HRH the Queen at Buckingham Palace. (Puffin, £6.99, OUT NOW.)

"The BFG" – Limited edition boxed hardback. A stunning collector’s edition of the classic tale, illustrated of course by Quentin Blake. (Puffin, £25, September.)

"ROALD DAHL’S MARVELLOUS JOKE BOOK" – The Marvellous Crocodile is sure to get your tonsils tickling in this new joke book which will help raise funds for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. (Puffin, £4.99, September.)

3. SEE BIG STARS – WITH QUENTIN BLAKE & MICHAEL ROSEN:

Don’t miss the chance to see two superstars, both former Children’s Laureates – Quentin Blake and Michael Rosen – talking, drawing and answering YOUR questions online on September 24th at 2pm via PUFFIN VIRTUALLY LIVE. Quentin and Michael will be coming to you live from the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, where they will take you behind the scenes AND read out a selection of YOUR wildest dreams. Last year’s PUFFIN VIRTUALLY LIVE reached hundreds of thousands of people all over the globe – let’s make the 2012 event bigger still! Register now at www.puffinvirtuallylive.co.uk

There are two more great chances to see Michael Rosen talking live about his new book "THE FANTASTIC MR DAHL": at London’s National Theatre on Saturday September 8th (book your tickets at www.nationaltheatre.org.uk) and at the Bath Festival of Children’s Literature on Sunday September 29th (book tickets at www.bathkidslitfest.org.uk ).  

 4. VISIT BIG – AT THE ROALD DAHL MUSEUM AND STORY CENTRE:

What better place to celebrate Roald Dahl than at the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, the award-winning venue, in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire? There are two fun and fact-packed biographical galleries – one now housing the interior of Roald Dahl’s writing hut – plus the interactive story centre. Look out for the museum’s Roald Dahl Day celebrations on Sunday September 9th, in conjunction with a special opening of Roald Dahl’s nearby garden. Find out more at www.roalddahlmuseum.org or call 01494 892192.

5. DRESS UP BIG – FOR THE SECOND DAHLICIOUS DRESS UP DAY:

Get set for the second annual Dahlicious Dress Up Day on Friday September 28th. Schoolkids all over the UK will be dressing up as their favourite Roald Dahl characters to raise funds for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, which helps seriously ill and disabled children. Claudia Winkleman, ambassador of the charity, says, “The Dahlicious Dress Up Day offers a fantastic opportunity for schools to work together for a common goal and stimulate children’s imaginations whilst inspiring compassion for other children living with a serious illness.” There’s still time to register for your fundraising pack at www.roalddahlcharity.org or email schools@roalddahlcharity.org. Registered charity number: 1137409.

6. SING BIG – WITH THE AWARD-WINNING MATILDA STAGE SHOW:

Go see the award-winning Royal Shakespeare Company's musical version of Roald Dahl’s "MATILDA", playing to sell-out audiences at London’s Cambridge Theatre. With book by Dennis Kelly and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, it’s a complete delight!

7. LAUGH BIG – WITH 5 YEARS' OF THE ROALD DAHL FUNNY PRIZE:

2012 marks year 5 of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize – dedicated to finding the best new comic writing for young people in the UK. The shortlist will be announced in September and the two category winners in November.

8. PARTY BIG – WITH OUR WHIZZPOPPING PARTY PACK:

Why not organise your own BFG birthday party? For everything you need to make it go with a bang. Download the WHIZZPOPPING PARTY PACK now from www.roalddahlday.info.

9. LISTEN BIG – WITH BRAND NEW CELEBRITY READ AUDIOBOOKS FOR ADULT FANS OF ROALD DAHL:

Roald Dahl's collections of short stories sees him at his macabre best. And in 2012, for the first time, 43 of Roald Dahl's most celebrated short stories will be available as both CD and Digital Audiobook compendiums and as digital audiobook singles, read by a celebrity cast including:

"Someone Like You" - the first collection of Dahl's classic, famous, dark and sinister short stories, read by Juliet Stevenson, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Richard Griffiths, Adrian Scarborough, Gillian Andersen, Will Self, Richard E Grant and others.

"Switch Bitch" - four tales of seduction and suspense, read by Richard E Grant, Derek Jacobi, Gillian Andersen and others.

"Over To You" - ten tales of war and flying, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt, Cillian Murphy, Juliet Stevenson and Sophie Okonedo.

"Kiss Kiss" - eleven devious and shocking stories, read by Juliet Stevenson, Adrian Scarborough, Derek Jacobi and others.

All of the above are also available in eBook as well as the rest of the Dahl short story collections: "My Uncle Oswald", "The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar", "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life", "Boy, Going Solo" and "Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories".

For further information please visit www.roalddahlday.info.