Category: Guest Articles
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Victoria Art Gallery: Collaborating with the Library Service
Talking to visitors about an exhibition of Ladybird books may sound like a lesson in nostalgia. Many adults remember Ladybird books fondly, whether the Peter and Jane learning to read or the nature series on what is in the garden in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The exhibition covers the heyday of Ladybird publishing between…
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Bath Preservation Trust and Cane Warriors: from Page to Performance
In October 2023 during Black History Month, Bath Preservation Trust curated an exhibition hosted at Bath Central Library, all about taking Cane Warriors from page to performance. Bath Preservation Trust also co-hosted an event with State of Trust and Alex Wheatle exploring the project. You can find out more from Alex Wheatle, MBE, and Deborah…
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Deborah Baddoo MBE and State of Trust: Taking Cane Warriors from Page to Performance
Deborah Baddoo MBE is Artistic Director of State of Trust, a charity set up in 2014 to address social need, provide education and support community cohesion through arts activity and is also co-founder and Artistic Director of sister company State of Emergency, a well-established arts production company set up in 1986. In October 2023 during…
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An Audience with Guardian Prize Winning Author Alex Wheatle, MBE
In October 2023, we welcomed Alex Wheatle to speak at Bath Central Library about his novel Cane Warriors. Alex sadly passed away in 2025. Cane Warriors is based on the true story of an eighteenth-century slave uprising, centring on the teenage Moa and the decisions he must make as a ‘cane warrior’ fighting for freedom…
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Lucy Walters on Storytelling
From the corner of my eye, a hand shot up and a tiny voice after much thought said, ‘My night-light.’ The boy, no more than three years of age, was sat on the floor with his father. ‘Good idea’ I said. I was mid-way through an audience-led storytelling show and had asked for suggestions on…
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Jeff Dowson on Libraries Week
Libraries, Then Now and, Hopefully, Always. Yes, it’s true, libraries don’t earn money. They don’t make anything. They have nothing to sell. They are a loss leader. Libraries cost money. It is a given. All social, recreational, and learning facilities are expensive. And down the years, responsible, intelligent and creative authorities have got the point.…
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B&NES Parent Carer Forum on Autism Acceptance Week
This guest article is from the B&NES Parent Carer Forum, written for World Autism Acceptance Week. We are very excited to welcome the Forum as a new gifting partner of our BookTrust additional needs packs for children under 5. B&NES Parent Carer Forum is a voluntary group of Parent Carers of children and young people…
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Jeff Dowson: Crime in the West Country
The Jack Shepherd private eye stories are set in Bristol. They are contemporary, tough, and issue driven. Jack takes on clients in distress, in danger, sad, angry, hurt… They come to him when all other avenues have closed. He is the keeper of The Last Chance Saloon. Crime is such a flexible genre. It’s about…
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Get Creative – and Reimagine the Library
Dr James Randall – who has worked on Bath’s annual Forest of Imagination creative education event and lives in the city – writes about creativity and imagination in the library. How does creativity begin? With a feeling? An image? We all have different inspirations, but try starting with a book. Any book. Maybe a library…
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Lucia Vinyard: Boys In Mind/Girls Mind Too
My name is Lucia Vinyard and I am writing this article on behalf of Boys in Mind/Girls Mind Too, a youth led organisation based in B&NES. I am 19 years old and I am a second year drama school student studying at Rose Bruford. I got involved with BIM/GMT in summer after getting involved in…