Target reached!
Any extra funding will be used to support further local and school events and ensure...
The Book-ish Book Bus
Crickhowell
Aim
The book bus will enable us to take our books out into our community, support local events, organisations & schools & encourage literacy
We're passionate about books at Book-ish and want to take them out into our community - we need your help to get the Book-ish Book Bus on the road!
Book-ish is an independent family run bookshop based in the rural market town of Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons National Park. We opened our doors in October 2010 and have grown and thrived thanks to the support of our local community and our innovative approach to bookselling.
Increasingly we've needed a larger vehicle to enable us to put on our own events outside the shop and attend local events which we feel would benefit from a bookselling presence. The idea for the book bus was born when attending a local festival that had a literary tent but no bookseller - which we thought a great shame and a wasted opportunity to introduce a large audience to new writers.
Over the past 18 months we've become more involved with school events and community projects such as 'Totally Locally Crickhowell'. We've witnessed firsthand what a little positivity and enthusiasm can achieve and know that our community are fully supportive of projects that will add value and colour to an already thriving Crickhowell.
We thought a 'normal' van wouldn't quite cut the mustard when it comes to initiating that first conversation and enabling us to share our passion for bookselling. A camper van with brightly coloured livery would be closer to the mark. What other vehicle could be used to set up an outdoor classroom for a school event, cook the products of a foraging walk or hold a book club or a book launch halfway up a mountain? The bus will provide us with accommodation if we roam further afield or attend festivals.
The book bus has already received 4 bookings for 2015 from organisations who feel we are able to add value to their event.
Our dream was brought closer to reality when we applied for the James Patterson Bookseller Grant and were awarded the full grant amount of £5000 last October. This has enabled us to put a deposit down on a Mazda Bongo which is currently undergoing a conversion to our specifications.
This project successfully funded on 19th March 2015