FCBG gears up for 50th anniversary celebrations

The Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG) will this year celebrate its 50th anniversary by launching a series of special events and releasing a book about its history.

The federation, created by editor and "Teletubbies" producer Anne Wood to promote reading, will in the spring launch 50 Years of the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. The new title will describe the history of FCBG’s activities over the years, such as launching the Children’s Book Award in 1980 and National Non-Fiction November in 2010.

Other anniversary plans include a conference in April, entitled ‘A Golden Treasury: Hidden Gems, Bright Futures’, with former children’s laureates Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson lined up to speak. In May, FCBG will celebrate stories from around the world with its ‘Golden National Share a Story Month’, and in November it will host a story event for children in Birmingham.

The winners of the 2018 Children’s Book Award, called the Golden Children’s Book Award, will be announced in June.

Wood set up FCBG in 1968 to encourage children to understand the joy of reading. Over its 50 years the federation has helped set up a number of other book initiatives, including the creation of Seven Stories and the Edinburgh Festival’s children’s literature programme. It was awarded the £2,000 Eleanor Farjeon Award, given for outstanding contributions to the world of children's books, in 2011.