Comic book writer Rob Williams is returning to his home turf in the Rhondda this coming Tuesday afternoon [ed note 30th] to take part in the Welsh Libraries’ Summer of Fun extravaganza.
Rob – who has written for some of the world’s biggest pop culture titles like Doctor Who, Star Wars and Indiana Jones – is currently developing the Roy of the Rovers series of YA Adult Graphic Novels.
But next Tuesday afternoon (30th August) he’ll be rolling up his sleeves and showing children aged 7 and up how to share their own sci-fi stories and more in comic or graphic format.
“I want them to see that you don’t need to be an artist to be a comic book writer. I’m the writer, not an illustrator,” says Rob. “Anyone can do this. I just want children to harness their ideas and use their imagination.”
This is one of hundreds of events and activities being offered to children completely free of charge this holiday in a Welsh Government-funded cross-sector Summer of Fun campaign. It’s designed to help families in Wales get the most out of this year’s school holiday while dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.
The libraries strand of the campaign is managed by national charity, The Reading Agency. “We know that the work we do to inspire engagement in reading across the UK is made possible by the ambition and commitment of our library partners,” says Karen Napier, The Reading Agency’s CEO.
Libraries have always been important to community life, and it seems that through challenging times the public’s love affair with them continues to grow.
“Sometimes parents or teachers still come in telling children to ‘shush’ because they’re ‘in the library,” says Nicola Pitman, chair of the Society of Chief Librarians who leads on the Welsh campaign. “We love to be able to reassure them that won’t be necessary and to see their surprise when they find Lego tables and disco dancing and hear squeals of delight from a group storytelling or craft session.”
And it’s no surprise that children’s authors – always the first in line to promote and protect this precious resource – are so ready to get behind initiatives like this one. In fact dozens of them, mostly Wales-based or Welsh published, have joined this summer party leading a range of hands-on workshops linked to their books and Rob’s session falls at the end of a fabulous six weeks of activity.
“I used to love coming to my local library in Porth in the Rhondda and reading books and comics,” says Rob Williams. “So it’s really exciting to come back and share how they inspired me by celebrating this storytelling medium with a whole new generation of readers…”
This event is free and will take place at 2.30pm on Tuesday 30thAugust in Treorchy library, Rhondda Cynon Taff.
