John McNamee, World Book Day Ambassador
World Book Day, next Thursday, March 1st, is a UNESCO event which promotes reading, literacy and a love of books to young people in more than 100 countries. In this country the event is run by The Booksellers' Association, and bookseller John McNamee is our ambassador.
McNamee has been involved with the event since its inception 10 years ago, and is passionate about promoting literacy. "The first time I thought seriously about an inability to read was when I was in Russia years ago and I found I couldn't read maps or signs. It makes you realise how horrible it must be not to be able to read. And yet it's something we take for granted."
As part of the campaign, every primary school child is eligible to receive a €1.50 book token. "We have distributed 1.5 million of them along with resource packs to schools around the country. Each child can then redeem their token against one of 11 books which are being sold for €1.50."
There are thousands of events in schools, libraries and bookshops around Ireland to mark World Book Day and McNamee encourages people to visit the website. "During the week, for example, authors Eddie Lenihan and Oisín McGann will read passages from their books to about 700 school kids in Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise. This is a great initiative; once a child meets an author every book they will read in the future will be approached from a different perspective. It gives us a great buzz to be able to influence so many children at once."
Books for Hospitals is another initiative of the event. "Special bins will be provided in bookshops and customers can buy an extra book to donate to a local hospital. For every 10 books collected, the bookseller will also donate one extra." Ten years of involvement hasn't dimmed McNamee's enthusiasm. "If we don't introduce children to the joys of reading we risk losing them forever to alternative forms of entertainment - Xboxes and the like. Reading is an extraordinary gift." .