In Praise of Real readers
Launching the I Am A Reader exhibition and anthology
October saw the launch of both the I Am a Reader exhibition, and Six Stories – an anthology of new fiction from the project. At a special event held at Beeston Library Gallery, readers who took part in our I Am A Reader groups, were invited to a special viewing of beautiful artwork created by illustrator Carol Adlam, which were inspired by the real comments of readers during the original sessions.
"I am pulled into the story - there are threads connecting me to the story that I can't seem to cut." Illustration © Carol Adlam
Featuring 22 original, full colour illustrations, I Am A Reader: The Exhibition shows at Beeston Library Gallery until Sunday 27 November, before moving onto Mansfield Central Library Gallery from Wednesday 11 January until Wednesday 1 March 2023.
Illustrator Carol Adlam said: “It was great to work with the I Am A Reader team on this - I found people's accounts of their experiences of reading thoughtful, stimulating, and sometimes emotional. They all had interesting things to say about reading, so much so that it was hard to choose the ones that I thought would work best visually. I loved the quotes that were about the power of reading to transport you to another world, as this is what my own creative practice as both artist and writer is all about.”
Also launching on the evening was Six Stories – an anthology of the six very different stories our I Am A Reader writers were commissioned to write by their reader groups and who were given real input into the creative process.
Featuring original work from Stephan Collishaw, Joanne Limburg, Mahsuda Snaith, Eve Makis, Clare Harvey and Jacob Ross, Six Stories is available to borrow now from Inspire Libraries. Inspire’s Michelle Dunstan who leads the project said: “It’s wonderful to bring to print exciting new fiction by six fantastic writers which has not only been commissioned by real readers, but has also been written with creative input from them.
“I’d encourage readers of all types of fiction to borrow a copy, and it would also make a brilliant choice for a book club discussion!”
I Am A Reader is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Virtual versions of both the exhibition and anthology will launch later this year.
Watch a walkthrough of the exhibition at Beeston Library, and view photos of the launch below.
