Free books campaign urges children to read
A Dublin-based publisher distributed more than 200 free books across the capital this weekend to encourage more children to read.
Copies of 'The Most Beautiful Letter in the World' written by 'Fair City' actor Karl O’Neill were left on buses, the Dart, school playgrounds, park benches and libraries throughout the city.
The O’Brien Press is the first publisher in Ireland to embrace the ’book crossing’ craze to promote its titles.
The phenomenon began in the US in 2001 by people who wanted to share books they had enjoyed.
Bestsellers such as 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' were some of the first titles to be left in public places for grateful readers to read and then distribute again.
The website www.bookcrossing.com has 603,449 members in over 130 countries who share their passion for books with the world.
Last July when 250 collections of poetry by WB Yeats were distributed across Dublin by the National Library of Ireland.
A spokesperson for the O’Brien Press said: “We hope to encourage young readers to take up the book and read it for free. It is part of a new marketing strategy we are testing at the moment.”
'The Most Beautiful Letter In The World' tells the story of a little girl called Poppy who finds a magic letter in a park in a red envelope marked ’To You’. The letter has a life-changing effect on whoever reads it.
The book was originally written by the Fair City actor Karl O’Neill as a gift for his niece’s ninth birthday.
O’Neill is currently in rehearsals with the Lyric Theatre in Belfast where he is playing the lead role in 'The Wizard of Oz' for Christmas.
He plays the Tim Carney character in RTÉ soap 'Fair City'.
