Event: Rochdale Literature & Ideas Festival – Dyslexia Today

Saturday 19 October 2019
12noon - 1.30pm

Touchstones Rochdale
The Esplanade
Rochdale
OL16 1AQ

DETAILS:

Multi award-winning author, Sally Gardner, hosts our first ever event focusing on dyslexia, reading and writing.

Aged 11, Sally was told that she was ‘word blind’ and classified as ‘unteachable’. However, she went on to gain 5 ‘O’ levels and a place at art school. Sally has written and illustrated many highly acclaimed books for children and young people, including Maggot Moon, winner of the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal, and will also talk about her most recent title, The Wind in the Wall.

There will also be expert speakers on the subject of dyslexia, including Rochdale Council’s Place Lead Helen Chicot.

Recent years have seen greater numbers of adults seeking diagnoses for dyslexia after ‘slipping through the net’ at school. It’s time to really talk about the stigma of dyslexia, and reading for pleasure as well as for function. Sally argues that being dyslexic is not a disability, but a gift and, though her NUWord website, sets out to imagine a world beyond the word ‘dyslexia’.

Suitable for: Ages 9+ (Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult)

The festival box office is located at Touchstones Rochdale. Open Tuesday - Saturday 10am - 5pm.

Rochdale Literature & Ideas Festival is aimed at celebrating and promoting the Maskew Collection of classic literature and philosophy at Rochdale Central Library, encouraging people to engage with books and ideas. Rochdale couple, Annie and Frank Maskew, met in Rochdale Library in the 1950s and shared a passion for reading and thinking. They left a sum of money to be used on resources and events related to literature and philosophy to ensure classic works are available for future generations.

Entry fee: Book in advance - £5

01706 924934