10 years of Shrewsbury Bookfest : Shropshire Star:

Ian Whybrow, patron of Shrewsbury Bookfest, and Committee member Sophie Peach admiring a cake made to celebrate the launch of Shrewsbury Bookfest. Pictures: Alex Taylor

Top children’s authors from across the country helped mark the Shrewsbury Bookfest’s 10th anniversary with a special party and cake.

Friends and supporters of the Shrewsbury Children’s Bookfest, which will take place from May 1 to 4, met at the Shropshire Wildlife Trust Centre in Shrewsbury yesterday to toast its success.

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The party coincides with authors in schools week, where the Bookfest committee has organised for 10 authors to visit 22 local schools and 3,800 children.

Patron Ian Whybrow, loved for his Harry and the Dinosaurs series, praised the committee for its hard work and dedication.

He said: “I love the Shrewsbury Bookfest – what is so nice is to have an opportunity to go out and meet people. It’s very exciting to go into schools and meet your readers.

“The committee is not over-reaching and does not want it to be more than its best, which is to provide for the local community.”

Sophie Peach, chairman of the organising committee, thanked people for their support during the last 10 years. Andrew Bannerman, who was the first chairman of the committee when it stated 10 years ago, said its president Dame Jacqueline Wilson, the former children’s laureate, had made a huge contribution towards the prestige of the event.

He said: “The children’s bookfest is still a family occasion. It’s still small enough for local people to feel it is theirs. It is a Shrewsbury and Shropshire occasion.”

Tickets for the Shrewsbury Bookfest events can be bought through the Shrewsbury Box Office at Theatre Severn on (01743) 281281 or by visiting www.shrewsburybookfest.co.uk