Children’s Laureate to visit Orkney

Waterstones Children’s Laureate (2022-2024), Joseph Coelho, will visit libraries across Scotland – including Orkney Library & Archive - as part of his nationwide ‘Library Marathon’ tour from May to August. 

On Monday 15 May, the award-winning performance poet, playwright, and children’s author will be at the Library meeting children from Shapinsay and Stenness Schools.

The ‘Library Marathon’ is one of three major initiatives announced by the current Waterstones Children’s Laureate, which is managed by Book Trust, the UK’s largest children’s reading charity, as part of his two-year tenure. The Scottish Book Trust is overseeing his tour of Scotland.

Joseph’s mission is to join a library in every local authority in the UK – more than 200 libraries in total – with the aim of encouraging people, young and old, to join their local library.

He said: “I am thrilled to round off the Scottish leg of my Library Marathon tour by visiting libraries in Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. Libraries made me a writer and make communities thrive. They have been a vital part of my life: from living on estates where I had a library next door, to my first Saturday job, to working at the British Library whilst studying at UCL, to touring theatre shows designed to be performed in libraries.

“I’m immensely grateful to libraries and the services they provide, so I want to use my platform as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate to champion these essential launchpads of learning. I want to hug every library, these miraculous institutions where new horizons line the shelves, where minds go to grow.” 

Vikki Kerr, Orkney Team Manager (Libraries and Archives), added: “Modern libraries are much more than a space to borrow books; we offer essential community hubs for children and families never more important than during this ongoing cost of living crisis. It’s really special having someone like Joseph coming to our Library with the clear passion that he has for books and reading and sharing that with some of our children.”