Spring Reading

5.37.30pm UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 5th Apr 2008

• THIS month will see the campaign to 'Get Richmond Reading' gain momentum with a packed schedule of events being staged by Richmond Council in support of the National Year of Reading.

April is themed 'Read All About It'. A series of author visits will kick off with Sandra Hempel talking about her award-winning book, The Medical Detective, at Castelnau Library on 5 April, while Justin Somper, author of the popular Vampirates series, will visit Richmond Library on 29 April. As well as talking about the books Justin will present prizes to the winners of Richmond Council's "gr8 txts" competition, which encouraged youngsters in the borough to write reviews of their favourite books. Other events taking place include talks on how to publish your own books, a campaign to get more people using their local libraries and the continuation of the six book challenge.

Cllr John Coombs, Cabinet Member for Youth, Culture and Leisure on Richmond Council, said: "The campaign to 'Get Richmond Reading' has been a great success so far and the coming months should see it go from strength to strength. We have a range of activities and promotions in store, featuring some top authors and experts - there should be something for everyone. We need to get more people reading, it is something people of all ages will benefit from. I urge everyone to get involved in the campaign and check our website for details of forthcoming events."