Silver book launch for West Norfolk charity

A West Norfolk charity celebrating 25 years of working with the community has launched a special book to mark the milestone, with contributions written by residents and supporters.

West Norfolk Deaf Association’s Silver Stories From No8 is a collection of 32 stories from writers of all ages who were awarded a place in the book by author and editor Daisy Line.

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The launch marked the end of the inaugural Downham Market WordFest which was organised by the charity and saw a range of events on a words-theme. 

Sarah Cox, manager of No8 The Old Book Shop in Downham Market, part of WNDA, created the week-long festival on the theme of books and words, including meet the author events and a bookish quiz.  It culminated with the launch of the anthology on Sunday (24).

Sarah, who is also head of children’s services at the charity, said the week had been a terrific success with well-attended events each day. The headliner was Sunday Times Bestselling author Heidi Swain who hosted a meet the author event at Downham Town Hall on Saturday. (23)

“We had a great week and were really pleased with the support we had. It means we will be looking at creating a regular event which will hopefully grow and continue to help WNDA in the work we do,” she said.

“There were lots of visitors to our events and everyone said they had a lovely time. Apart from helping our charity, WordFest also helps to really put Downham Market on the map. It’s a lovely town and we had support from local businesses who all helped make it such a successful week.”

Aside from meeting authors and taking part in the quiz, there were also themed events including Lady Chillers for a Love of Words evening, with Downham Market Arts, along with a special sensory storytime for younger visitors. Sarah’s recently-published book, Windy, proved popular. The book includes key signs for British Sign Language (BSL) and a QR code to see the entire book in BSL.

“We also want to thank all the businesses and individuals who helped us make WordFest a reality, specially Downham Market Arts UK, Upp, Downham Town Council and borough council members Joshua Ratcliffe and Josie Ratcliffe. The printing of the anniversary book was also sponsored by supporter Chris Line.”

There are always a mixture of events at No8 The Old Book Shop during the summer holidays, but the week-long WordFest was the first time a writing competition was held during last summer.

A student at Springwood High School, Elodie Blackmore (11), of King’s Lynn, was one of the writers whose work was chosen to feature in the anthology.

“I have been writing stories for as long as I could write. As a child, I had a dream of publishing my work before I turned 18 - and I have. But my next goal is to have my own book published,” she said.

“Editing was good too because it showed me ways I could improve my stories. Also, the editor was very nice,” she added.

WNDA is based in King’s Lynn and has been helping members of the Deaf community and those with acquired hearing loss for 25 years. It offers a range of support services and more information can be found at www.wnda.org.uk ​