Bird's song - April 2013

It was disturbing to read a few weeks ago of the tragic death of a young American diplomat Anne Smedinghoff who was killed in a suicide attack while trying to take books for a school event in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, even in this country there are many children who haven't experienced the pleasure that a good book can bring, which is why Booktrust's Children's Reading Fund was launched to put books in the hands of disadvantaged children, knowing the difference reading can make to children's life chances. I am delighted that Waterstones are on board as one of the founding sponsors, so do look out throughout May for Matilda-themed events in stores across the country, to celebrate children's books and raise funds for the Children's Reading Fund. Local event information can be found on the Waterstones website.

I was at London Book Fair last week attending the shortlist announcement of the Women's Prize for Fiction (it's a great list). I also heard a fascinating discussion on the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize with one of the judges Elif Shafak reminding us that translated fiction is not just about learning about the country while, according to Chair of Judges Boyd Tonkin, translated fiction provides, 'Imagination not limited by borders'. I recommend The Fall of the Stone City by Ismail Kadare.

Following a poetry seminar I chaired, it struck me how poetry is indeed the Cinderella of a thriving book industry in this country, which is a shame because young people can derive so much from reading and writing poetry, and it doesn't have to be boring either. A really good example is John Agard's The Young Infernos which depicts a modern-day version of hell based on Dante's Inferno, in verse and beautifully illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. John's latest book is Goldilocks on CCTV, 2012 winner of the CLPE Poetry Award, so look out for the 2013 shortlist.