Dyslexics in the Bookshop

Okay, so I was trying to hold off telling everyone about this until I was able to get a blog up, but I just couldn't help myself. If you follow dysbooks on facebook or twitter, chances are you'll already be aware of what I have planned.

Essentially, it's a party in a bookshop, tied into Dyslexia Awareness Week. - This is what it sounds like, a week were people involved with dyslexia try to spread more accurate information and awareness about what dyslexia actually is, and how it affects real people. It runs from the 3rd November to the 9th November.

It's pretty cool, and there are lots of great events planned for this year. I'm going to make a list of events to share with everyone about all the great things everyone has scheduled, so do let me know if you have an event of your own you'd like me to include.

For now, though, a bit about mine, and how I ended up deciding to put something together.

This November a book I have helped to edit for specialist publisher RASP is coming out. It's an anthology of writing by dyslexic authors. One of my short stories will be in it. This, is super exciting. It will be launched on Saturday 8th November at The International Festival of Dyslexic Culture. However, I can't make it, which is a huge shame as I'd love to be there and to have the chance to congratulate the other authors, and everyone else involved in the book's creation.

I've also wanted to meet dyslexic author Rod Duncan for years. I've only ever communicated with him via the internet, but he's a very nice chap and I consider him a friend. He even helped me out with issues I had when studying at University, where he very kindly looked over a piece of work my tutor had termed 'ungradable,' and gave some invaluable feedback (it turned out it could, in fact, be graded and I ended up doing quite well). I think this is a remarkable thing for a professional writer to offer to do, although please don't now go flooding Rod with requests for help with your work. He's busy writing the next book in a series I am reading, and I'd rather he wasn't too distracted from writing it; Otherwise, I might have to wait longer to get a copy.

His latest book, The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter came out not that long ago, and not only is it a great read, I think it has a fabulous cover, which perfectly reflects the book itself (this is one of the books featured in dysbooks soon-to-be-uploaded video reviews).

He's actually in my part of the country for the weekend part of  Dyslexia Awareness Week, and I said if he was ever down my way I'd see if I could do an event for him in the little bookshop I work at.

It all just seemed to fit together perfectly.

I couldn't find anything linked to Dyslexia Awareness Week scheduled for Sunday 9th November, and Sundays tend to be great days to pitch events to the bookshop I work at, as Sundays tend to be a bit quieter, so staff have more time to focus on this sort of thing without it causing disruption to the day to day operations of the store.

I began getting some ideas together for other fun things to tie into the event, and had loads of offers of support and helpful comments as I mentioned my idea to people. One person I spoke to about it told me they had a dyslexic niece, which I had never known before, and they said they thought a celebration like the one I had planned, in a bookshop, with dyslexic writers, sounded incredibly powerful. They said there was something about dyslexics being together in a bookshop, publicly talking about success related to literacy, that really challenged stigma and misinformation, and that could provide hope and inspiration to others.

I thought about my childhood self, and my teenage self, and the adult me, what attending an event like this would have meant at these different points in my life.

Yeah, I thought, yeah, that's what I want this event to do. I want this to be a fun, and really inclusive event, a general celebration of dyslexics who write, for fun or professionally, where kids with dyslexia and their parents can come along, and stand side to side with dyslexic adults, and non-dyslexics, too. One of the things I wrote in my 'Editor's Note' for the anthology was about how dyslexic people didn't have many platforms to use to tell their stories, and I hope this event will be another platform. It's not about preaching, not at all, it's about sharing something of value with others, perhaps those who need it most.

I hope to see you there, and to share my story with you. To celebrate breaking down barriers to mutual understanding, and to provide something different for people to enjoy, and think about.

You can find out more about the Dyslexics in the Bookshop event and register you attendance here.