Mumsnet Berkshire and Reading are proud to be sharing the details of the Waterstones wonderful charity book sale in aid of the Syria Crisis Appeal. For more details on this great event and cause, please see the full details below.
WATERSTONES READING BROAD STREET AND ORACLE STORES JOIN UK’S BIGGEST CHARITY BOOK SALE TO RAISE £1 MILLION FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES
Waterstones READING BROAD STREET and ORACLE stores are proud to announce its ‘Buy Books for Syria’ campaign, with the goal to help raise one million pounds for Oxfam’s Syria Crisis Appeal.
Waterstones READING BROAD STREET and ORACLE stores are joining Waterstones bookshops around the country to sell a selection of books donated by publishers by bestselling authors such as Philip Pullman, Hilary Mantel, Neil Gaiman, David Walliams, David Nicholls, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Salman Rushdie and Caitlin Moran, and every penny of the full retail price of each book sold will be donated to Oxfam.
Sarah Martin, Bookshop Manager at Waterstones Reading says “We’ve all been moved by the images we’ve seen on the news of the refugee crisis and we’re proud that our bookshop now has the opportunity to come together with the local community and the Oxfam Syria Crisis appeal to help to alleviate the suffering of those affected. The books that have been donated are some of the best around and would be a joy to sell in any circumstances – with all the proceeds going to such a good cause, we can’t wait to get cracking.”
Author of the bestselling Rebus books, Ian Rankin said: “It’s great to see Waterstones uniting with publishers and authors to raise money for Oxfam’s work with Syrian refugees. Buy a book, help save a life.”
James Daunt, Waterstones’ Managing Director, said: “In desperate times like these, everyone feels the need to do something, to help in some way. We are doing what we do best: bookselling, and it only feels right that every single penny of each book sold will go straight to Oxfam. We are proud to be able transform the generosity of authors and publishers into such a substantial contribution to Oxfam’s work.”
Mark Goldring, CEO, Oxfam said: “With £1m our program could deliver clean water to another 150,000 people in Syria, or support to tens of thousands of people in Jordan over the next year. This help is urgently needed as the conflict in Syria shows no sign of ending.”
Authors and UK publishers responded generously to Waterstones’ request for book donations. These books will be stickered with ‘Buy Books for Syria’ and will be displayed in all Waterstones shops.
Author support includes Jeffrey Archer, Mary Beard, Alan Bennett, Michael Bond, William Boyd, Bill Bryson, Tracy Chevalier, Lee Child, Julia Donaldson, Neil Gaiman, Mark Haddon, Matt Haig, Robert Harris,Max Hastings, Victoria Hislop, Khaled Hosseini, Marian Keyes, Lynda La Plante, Andrea Levy, Hilary Mantel, Peter May, Ben Macintyre, Alexander McCall Smith, Caitlin Moran, Michael Morpurgo, JoJo Moyes, Patrick Ness, David Nicholls, Philip Pullman, Ian Rankin, Tom Rob Smith, Salman Rushdie, Ali Smith, David Walliams and Jacqueline Wilson.
UK publisher support includes Atlantic Books, Bloomsbury, Canongate, Egmont, Faber, Granta, Hachette, HarperCollins, Oneworld, Pan Macmillan, Penguin Random House UK, Profile, Pushkin, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Titan, Usborne and Walker.
For further information please contact WATERSTONES READING BROAD STREET on 0118 9581270
Waterstones Reading Broad Street, 89a Broad Street, Reading, RG1 2AP
#BuyBooksForSyria
“This is a wonderful initiative, turning our passion for the written word into practical help at a time of terrible crisis.” – David Nicholls
“This is a great idea from one of the world’s great booksellers – fun for readers and help for refugees all at once. Jack Reacher says: do your Christmas shopping at the Buy Books For Syria table!” – Lee Child
“I’m delighted to be a part of the British book world’s effort.” – Salman Rushdie
“Serendipitously, I’m in Jordan right now visiting the Za’atari refugee camp with Oxfam so I can wholeheartedly support the Waterstones Buy Books for Syria campaign” – Mark Haddon
“It’s great to see Waterstones uniting with publishers and authors to raise money for Oxfam’s work with Syrian refugees. Buy a book, help save a life.” – Ian Rankin
“I am really happy to be part of this Buy Books for Syria initiative. It would be fantastic if this idea spread to other types of retail too. Why not?” – Victoria Hislop
“The cause is so obviously good that anything we can do is worth doing.” – Philip Pullman
“I support this initiative with heart, mind and soul” – Ali Smith
“This is the biggest refugee crisis in history – 60m people, world-wide, are displaced, half of them children – threatening both the stability of the Middle East and Europe, and our own sense of compassion, and the value we put on human life. Whilst the governments of this world still fail to come up with a solution to this problem, I am proud to do as millions of others have, and say ‘We see you, we hear you, we will not let you suffer this alone. We promise – help is coming’.” – Caitlin Moran
Waterstones is the UK and Eire’s leading high street bookseller with 280 shops. It employs over 3,000 booksellers. Waterstones is the only national specialist book retailer of scale in the UK, with the average sized shop carrying a range of around 30,000 individual books and with over 200,000 titles in the largest shop.
Oxfam is a global movement of people who share the belief that, in a world rich in resources, poverty isn’t inevitable. It’s an injustice which can, and must, be overcome.
Oxfam respond fast in emergencies, and stay to help people rebuild their lives. They work on long-term projects with communities determined to shape a better future for themselves. And they campaign for genuine, lasting change.
In Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, Oxfam are providing life-saving clean water, sanitation and vital support for hundreds of thousands of families who have lost everything.
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