IMAGINE THAT! BOOK LAUNCH

Wow, what an excellent afternoon!

This year marks the Platinum Anniversary of the Hastings Writers’ Group. Yes, that’s 70 years! As part of our celebrations we decided to publish a children’s anthology to support local charities and encourage the authors of the future.

Today, 1^st June 2017, we proudly launched Imagine That! a compilation of stories, poems and pictures, written by local children to support local children's charities.

Over twenty young contributors from the Hastings and St Leonard's areas, aged between 5 and 11, read extracts of their work to a packed audience, which included other contributors and their families, invited dignitaries including Hastings Mayor Judy Rogers, Michael Foster and HWG Chair Eileen Masters, along with representatives from the charities, which are:

Charity for Kids - http://charityforkids.co.uk/

Dragonflies - http://www.fsncharity.co.uk/young-peoples-bereavement-mental-health/dragonflies/

The Oliver Curd Trust - http://www.theolivercurdtrust.co.uk/ 

Our compere for the event was HWG Vice Chair and world-renowned children and young adults author Kate O'Hearn, who put the children at their ease and moved things smoothly along.

Imagine That! costs £5 and is currently available at the Hastings Tourist Information Centre, as well as from Hastings Writers' Group and the charities themselves. All proceeds will be divided between the three charities.

We would like to thank our funders for the book: Isabel Blackman Foundation, Hastings Lions Club, Hastings and St Leonards Muffin Club, Hastings Round Table and Hastings Writers' Group, The Catherine Cookson Trust along with the White Rock Theatre for the use of the Sussex Studio.

We also want to thank the team which organised the book and the event – Rosemary Bartholomew, Roz Balp, Anne Hooker, Carol Pullen, Anne Spiring, Amanda Giles and Liz Allen. Thanks also to Amanda’s family who provided strong-armed assistance.

We hope that group members and local people alike will support Imagine That! and its charities, and enjoy a terrific book by the authors of the future.