Photograph shows (l to r): Helen West, Trustee, Read for Good; Mark Rogers, Database Manager, Koestler Arts; Catherine Jaquiss, Ealing Team Leader, Read Easy UK; Fr Kevin Morris, Vicar, St Michael & All Angels.
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The Chiswick Book Festival has donated £15,500 to charities, following a highly successful 2024 Festival featuring Bill Wyman, James O’Brien, Polly Toynbee, Ben MacIntyre, Clare Balding, Rob Biddulph and other well-known authors. At a presentation ceremony at St Michael & All Angels Church, it handed cheques for £3,875 to each of its 2024 charities:
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- Read for Good, which helps children to read for pleasure through programmes in schools and hospitals,
- Koestler Arts, the leading prison arts charity, based in W12, which promotes writing, reading and literacy in the criminal justice system;
- Read Easy Ealing, which provides one-to-one reading tuition for local adults who want to learn to read or improve their reading skills; and
- St Michael & All Angels Church, which hosts and runs the festival and is itself a charity.
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Torin Douglas, director of the Chiswick Book Festival, said: “Our reading charities do an amazing job promoting reading among children, adults and those in the criminal justice system. We’re delighted to be able to help them thanks to the support of our speakers, venues, volunteers and partners – and those who buy our tickets. Since the first Festival in 2009, we have raised more than £155,000 for reading and community charities, including St Michael & All Angels, which runs the festival as part of its mission of arts and community outreach.”
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The festival donates all its profit after costs to its charity partners and actively promotes their activities and need for volunteers, not just in the festival week but throughout the year. Each year, it supports three nominated charities alongside the church.
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Justine Daniels, CEO, Read for Good, said: “Thanks so much for your wonderful support. We know the power and impact the festival can have because one of our donors told us that’s where they picked up our leaflet! This donation will help us to bring the life-changing magic of books and stories to children who really need it.”
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Catherine Jacquiss, Ealing Team Leader, Read Easy UK, said: “Thank you so much for the generous donation, it’s greatly appreciated. We’re now supporting 45 adults to read and have had 5 readers graduate from the programme. The support of the Chiswick Book Festival has played a major role in helping us to achieve this, not only in financial terms but also the exposure it provides; we have recruited both coaches and management team members as a result of your support.”
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Fiona Curran, Chief Executive, Koestler Arts, said: “Thank you so much. This is really appreciated and will make a huge difference to us. It was again a pleasure to be part of the festival. I really enjoyed meeting the other charity members, and we look forward to this year’s festival.”
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All three charities will be supported again at this year’s Chiswick Book Festival and programme plans are well under way.
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The Festival will mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with a keynote event featuring top speakers, and several sessions will examine differing aspects of World War 2 to mark the 80th anniversary of the war’s end. First details of the programme will be announced in the coming weeks and tickets will go on sale in the summer.
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Notes for editors:
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Each September, the Chiswick Book Festival brings together top authors and their readers for a week of talks on a range of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. It is a non-profit-making community event, raising money for three reading charities and St Michael & All Angels Church, which organises the festival with support from local businesses, media and many volunteers. Sign up for news updates: www.chiswickbookfestival.net/join-our-mailing-list
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The 17th Chiswick Book Festival will take place from September 10th to 15th 2025. For programme details and updates, visit: https://www.chiswickbookfestival.net