Morpurgo, James and Byatt join forces with London bookshops to raise money for homeless

Daunt Books, Waterstones and Foyles are raising money for The Passage, a charity that supports people who are homeless, by selling a book of short stories by AS Byatt, Lennie James and Michael Morpurgo.

Home for Christmas will be published by Daunt Books Publishing on Friday 14th December to coincide with The Passage’s annual fundraising Christmas Carol concert, which is held at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey. The stories will be read at the concert and then the £4.99 book will be on sales at branches of Waterstones, Foyles and Daunt Books in London.

Byatt’s story, ‘Unto Us a Boy is Born’, is about the love of parents for a wayward child and Lennie James remembers a first Christmas tinged by sadness in ‘That First Without Her Christmas Day’. Morpurgo’s contribution is ‘The Hopes and Fears of all the Years’, about Christmases past and the memories that give meaning to the season.

All proceeds from sales will be donated to The Passage.

Waterstones m.d. James Daunt said: “We are very pleased to celebrate the work of The Passage which remains as imperative as ever. To do so in a way that celebrates also the genius of AS Byatt, Lennie James and Michael Morpurgo is especially pleasing.”

The Passage’s c.e.o. Mick Clarke said: “When we see someone sleeping out on our streets, it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong in their life.  At Christmas, that image takes on an even greater poignancy. For most of us it is hard to imagine being street homeless, yet we have all experienced moments of inner homelessness; times of bereavement, depression, or times when we simply feel at a loss. At those times it is the grace of our support networks; our friends and family, that stop this from becoming physical homelessness.

“For those without that support, there is The Passage. The proceeds from this special book will ensure that The Passage can continue our work to end street homelessness and help more people to find a place to call home; not just for Christmas, but a home for good.”