Last Sunday, the team from Birmingham Stories set up camp at Legacy Centre of Excellence to take part in Europe’s first ever Black British Book Festival.
The festival celebrated black British authors of all ages and visitors were able to walk around the stalls and chat to authors, join the designated kids’ zone and attend exclusive author workshops.
Birmingham Stories had their own stall at the festival with lots going on! The team asked all stall holders to write down their memories of Birmingham and display it on their stall as part of the My Birmingham Story campaign. Visitors arriving at the festival were then handed a work sheet that asked them to complete an exclusive story trail, reading and engaging with stallholders memories of the city. Everyone that completed the trail was able to redeem a free book from Birmingham Stories.
Those who visited the stall were also given information about our brand new podcast competition, The Stories of our City, ran in partnership with Brum Radio and Birmingham Podcast Studios.
Copies of Angie Thomas’ novel, The Hate U Give, were hidden around the festival by the team, for people to discover and take home. A total of 240 free books were gifted by Birmingham Stories throughout the day.
Several authors and visitors to the festival went on to share their memories of life in Birmingham. Follow us on Instagram as we reveal a new story each week.