bookfest

Oxfam is celebrating its third annual Bookfest with a book-signing by Rory, at Penrith’s Oxfam shop at 23 Devonshire Street, Penrith this Saturday 16th July.

Bookfest takes place from 2nd to 17th July in hundreds of Oxfam shops and venues across the UK. The festival celebrates the central role books play in people’s lives, and the impact that donating a book or buying a book from Oxfam can have on the lives of those living in global poverty.

To round off this fantastic campaign, the Penrith shop is very excited to welcome Rory to the shop for an exclusive in-store book-signing on Saturday 16th July between 11am-12pm.

Rory said: “I was delighted to be part of OxTravels, a compendium of stories showcasing travel writing at its best. It is raising money for a wonderful cause, and one that is close to my heart. It’s also great to be supporting Oxfam’s annual Bookfest. The sale of just 3 books in an Oxfamshop could provide 10 days’ worth of basic food rations for a family in an emergency situation, and Oxfam hopes that as many people as possible will come along to their local Oxfam shop to participate in what is the UK’s biggest book festival and help raise funds for Oxfam’s life-changing work in fighting global poverty and inequality.”

Having written already about his experiences in Iraq and Afghansitan for a range of publications including the New York Times and the Guardian, Oxfam is delighted that Rory has penned a piece for OxTravels, a collection of short stories written by three dozen of the world’s most lively and well-respected travel writers who have each recalled a significant encounter from their adventures.

Tracy Mossop, manager of the Penrith shop, said: “I am really excited about the book-signing event taking place with Rory Stewart. It will be such a fantastic way to celebrate this year’s Bookfest. We receive incredible support from people in Penrith all year round, and Bookfest is a great way of thanking them for this support and of introducing new people to the shop.”

Bookfest 2010 resulted in a 9% increase in book donations to Oxfam and a £400,000 increase in book sales and Oxfam is hoping that this year will be even more successful. David McCullough, Oxfam’s Director of Trading, said: “During our three-week book Donation Drive which ran in May this year we saw a 17% increase in book donations. This means that Oxfam shops and bookshops are bursting with fantastic books in time for Bookfest. People were fantastically generous during the Donation Drive and we really hope that they will show the same level of support during Bookfest and will come along to their local Oxfam shop or bookshop to enjoy the brilliant range of events and promotions taking place during the fortnight.”

Book sales have been helping Oxfam in its fight against poverty for more than fifty years, and every book we sell makes a difference. The sale of just two books in an Oxfam shop is enough to pay for one day’s home-based care for a person living with HIV or AIDS in South Africa while the sale of three books could provide ten days’ worth of basic food rations for a family in an emergency situation.

For more information about Bookfest and to find out about Bookfest events in the local area see: www.oxfam.org.uk/bookfest.

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