I’m delighted to announce that we’ve received a grant of £93,000 from the Esmee Fairbairn Trust to help us “explore how new media can be used to generate active reading, creative writing and fresh enthusiasm for literature amongst young people”. In collaboration with teachers and writers, we’ll be creating a library of materials for schools made in CommentPress and Sophie, running workshops and building on the success of our recent project FOUND, funded by Booktrust. Actor and writer Toby Jones (currently playing Karl Rove in Oliver Stone’s W), worked with me and a class of twelve year olds in inner city Birmingham who found themselves immersed in the story of a lost child whose personality was, unbeknownst to them, being created by themselves. You can read a full account on the bookfutures blog which if:book london is developing for its projects and work with literature organisations in the UK.
I’ve just been reading about the FOUND project, and I have been anxious to see what might evolve with Comment Press texts in particular. I have some upper school English teachers who would be keen on collaborating with you. We are a K-12 independent school in Atlanta, GA and I consult/contract with them to explore and develop best practices using the new social technologies.
Good to hear from you, Laura. It would be great to collaborate in some way – let’s keep in touch.