At Margate Bookie, we have always believed that books and literature can change lives. And over the years, the ambition and scale of which we use literature to do that has grown and expanded. We don’t just share stories these days, although it’s still a central part of our work. We run workshops, education courses, and programmes to help people of all walks of life to grow and develop.

One such programme is our Young Producers Programme, run in 2021 in partnership with Co-relate funded by Arts Council England. 13 young people took part, creating, curating, designing and producing three events across the autumn, which reached over 200 people both online and in person.

Andreas Loizou, founder and CEO of Margate Bookie says ‘When I first started Margate Bookie in 2015, it was about bringing people together around literature at a one day event by the sea. The Young Producers managed to do that online, in a pandemic hit society, and facing various challenges, which is testament to their creativity and commitment, and the leadership and support of the Margate Bookie festival crew. One young person was so inspired and learned so much that they went on to start their own business! This just shows the impact that our educational programmes can have, and inspires us to keep doing more.’

The evaluation report is now available. Click below to read.