At the GIR Conference, Jane Davis talked through the story of Get Into Reading, which was followed by Blake Morrison talking about his first visit to Merseyside to write ‘that’ article and the impact that had not just on us but on him also. This was followed by a showcase of GIR facilitators from over the country, explaining how they’ve taken GIR back to where they live. The morning and afternoon workshops, which covered such diverse topics as: Reading with Young People, What is Reading?, MerseyBEAT Research Project and Get Into Reading in Libraries; were felt by delegates to be really informative and engaging – as was the whole conference. One lady said to me, “thank you for this, it’s been an invaluable experience for me.”

A particular highlight from Friday were the testimoinies spoken by some of our courageous Get Into Reading members, which were deeply moving and inspiring.

The Friday Night Supper saw Blackburne House transformed from day conference venue to an inviting, atmospheric dinner venue. Jane and Phil Davis were joined by David Constantine and Clare Allan to discuss ‘The Value of Reading in a Life’, which led to some amusing and heartfelt stories of the impact of reading. The audience joined in the conversation in great spirit and everyone left very full of food for the body and soul.

The Readers’ Day was great fun! Radio Merseyside’s Roger Phillips was our host and we had the presence of Clare Allan, Tim Pears and David and Helen Constantine, as well as TRO staff Angela Macmillan, Kate McDonnell and Jane Davis recommending their favourite reads for the first part of the day. Brian’s Paradise Lost workshop was particularly popular and I think everyone’s agreed that he needs to do one for each book of Milton’s epic…

Some comments from attendees:

“I found all the sessions so helpful and informative and the whole atmosphere so friendly and welcoming.”

“It’s been an invaluable experience for me.”

“A phenomenal inspiration: buzzy atmosphere, inspiring content, great lunch, excellent venue, fantastic organisers and punters, really good.”

“Please do this again next year!”

The Reading Revolution, it’s happening!

At The Reading Cure event in the beautiful surroundings of the Royal Institute of British Architects in London yesterday more than 70 people from health and mental health services, libraries,homelessness organisations and publishing companies, as well as interested writers, journalists, counsellors and an architect joined us to hear about the power of reading groups, and eat cup cakes.

Andrew McCulloch and Jane Davis

Jane Davis (Director, TRO) read ‘Crossing The Bar’ by Tennyson, showed photos demonstrating the huge range of people coming to reading groups, and shared some experiences of the impact of reading on children, vulnerable adults and firefighters; Lindsey Dyer (Director, Service Users and Carers, Mersey Care NHS Trust) talked about the learning and understanding she’s gained from books (particularly Laurie Lee) and why she commissioned Get Into Reading at Mersey Care; Dr David Fearnley (Medical Director, Mersey Care NHS Trust) told us about his group in a secure psychiatric unit at Mersey Care and their enjoyment of stories by Anton Chekov, Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie.  Andrew McCulloch (Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation) worked hard to keep the speakers to time, allowing the audience to get involved and ask questions, and at the end lots of people stayed around to ask more questions, share their enthusiasm and desire to get reading groups happening in their organisation.  Get Into Reading London has truly arrived!

Speaking at the event will be:

• Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive, Mental Health Foundation
• Jane Davis, Director, The Reader Organisation
• Dr David Fearnley, Medical Director, Mersey Care NHS Trust (RCPsych Psychiatrist of the Year 200)
• Lindsey Dyer, Director of Service Users and Carers, Mersey Care NHS Trust

The event has sold out and we’re hoping that this will mean big things for Get Into Reading London, so watch this space… the Reading Revolution is growing!

• Part-time (1 day per week)
  
• 3 year contract

About the role:

The Reader Organisation is seeking an exceptional individual to work on a new project in Hydebank Prison, Belfast.
We have secured funding to run a Get Into Reading pilot in two women’s prisons, one of which will be Hydebank Women’s Prison, Belfast, Northern Ireland. This is challenging and ground-breaking work and we need to find an individual who is a tremendously committed reader, who understands the comforting and possibly redemptive power of books, and who is able to share that passionate understanding with others. The successful candidate will be committed to the ethos of The Reader Organisation. We will offer specific and relevant training.

The role requires you to set up a range of Get Into Reading experiences for women in the prison – some will be one-to-one, others group sessions and to introduce a culture of shared reading into the prison. Other work may involve children/families of the women. We expect to start the project in April 2010.  We would look to develop more work in or near Belfast if the successful candidate wishes to work more hours.

You will need to undergo full vetting procedures including an enhanced CRB check.

How to apply:

Please send a full CV and a letter of application – no more than 3 sides A4 – which will show what reading means to you and how you can pass it on to others to   Jane Davis, Director of The Reader Organisation: janedavis@thereader.org.uk.

Please talk about specific reading experiences/books/poems that mean a lot to you. Tell us about your reading experience – breadth and depth. Tell us about your life experience and how that might fit you for the job. We expect most candidates will have a degree in literature, but this is not a formal requirement for the post.

Deadline for applications: 5.00pm Friday 26^th March. Please note: applications arriving after this deadline will not be considered. Please make sure your contact details include a phone number by which we can contact you if you are called for interview.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 13^th April, Belfast (venue t.b.c.)

The date of this year’s Penny Readings has now been confirmed as Sunday 5th December at St. George’s Hall, so if you don’t want to miss out on your chance to attend this hugely popular event, get in there now and bid away! You have ten days to bid for February’s tickets. Click here to bid.

For those of you intrigued to know what it’s all about, or for those that attended last year and heard Alexei Sayle, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Roger Phillips and many others and would like to relive some of the highlights, here’s a short video of the Penny Readings 2009 (which is also being shown on the BBC Big Screens in Manchester and Liverpool):

The Penny Readings from Jane Taylor on Vimeo.

This is a dynamic and varied job requiring you to promote, set-up, establish and facilitate weekly Get Into Reading groups in order to promote well-being and good mental health for a range of community members in both Liverpool and Wirral.  Client groups include  Carers, people living in Care Homes, people with a range of physical or mental health problems, and members of the general population who might enjoy  shared reading.

Read more about the job role and how to apply on our website.

The Read to Lead team will be heading ‘Down Under’ to Melbourne, Australia, at the end of March to deliver a bespoke course at the State Library of Victoria. A group of 20 librarians and local partners will be trained to facilitate Get Into Reading groups, in what we hope will become a long-term international partnership with The Reader Organisation. The Reading Revolution really is going global!

A training commission from Melbourne is an indication of how the Read to Lead training is growing in both profile and confidence; with the strong possibility of a Danish Read to Lead course in the coming months we’re very much hoping that this is a sign of things to come.

For more information about Read to Lead training – wherever you are in the world(!) – please contact Mark Till.

The event will be rescheduled – will have a New Beginning, you might say – and more details will follow about this next week. Unfortunately we will not be able to offer refunds, but all tickets will be carried over to the new date. If you have already set off and are unable to return, please contact us immediately by phone on 0151 794 2830.

For now, however, please accept our apologies: no one is more disappointed than we are, but we have been advised that this is a non-essential event and that the responsible thing to do is to postpone.

If you need to cancel your hotel booking (and you made it online) please contact The Mersey Partnership Conference Bureau on +44 (0)151 237 3938 or email conferences@merseyside.org.uk (event code: TMPREADER10).