There was never any real question that Topic Heroes would be judged the best project in Canon’s Future Books Forum last week. Topic Heroes is well thought out, is being tested and addresses a huge issue for book printers and publishers around the world. In short the companies that will benefit if Topic Heroes triumphs in its campaign to engage boys at primary school in writing and, by extension, reading. This is a cohort that it has been difficult to enthuse about books, leaving teenagers struggling to read, unable to get the most from educations and with the risk that these youngsters marginalise themselves from society with all the risks that this entails. Of course, the pay off for both publishers and printers is huge. The more readers that there are in any society, the greater the demand for books and magazines which have to be printed.
The campaign deserves widespread support from across the industry, and it is getting that, though as ever more will be needed once the next phase is reached. Canon must surely come on board in a big way, particularly if the idea is picked up in different countries and by different groups as seems possible given the comments emanating from the online event last week.
It is a beautifully simple idea, though no doubt hellishly complex in designing each of the topic books to fit the school curriculum and to be engaging for any lad in that school. Each participating kid will receive a free printed copy of the book that has been written on screen. The opportunity is there for parents and other relatives to order additional copies, these will not be free of charge. And this is where Topic Heroes differs from other literacy campaigns. The youngsters get their hands on a piece of print that they have helped create. It’s theirs. It’s something real. And it might spark a love affair with the medium that endures for life. And who knows, one or two of them might prefer to become printers rather than train drivers or astronauts.
A story about print with a happy ending
There was never any real question that Topic Heroes would be judged the best project in Canon’s Future Books Forum last week. Topic Heroes is well thought out, is being tested and addresses a huge issue for book printers and publishers around the world. In short the companies that will benefit if Topic Heroes triumphs in its campaign to engage boys at primary school in writing and, by extension, reading. This is a cohort that it has been difficult to enthuse about books, leaving teenagers struggling to read, unable to get the most from educations and with the risk that these youngsters marginalise themselves from society with all the risks that this entails. Of course, the pay off for both publishers and printers is huge. The more readers that there are in any society, the greater the demand for books and magazines which have to be printed.
The campaign deserves widespread support from across the industry, and it is getting that, though as ever more will be needed once the next phase is reached. Canon must surely come on board in a big way, particularly if the idea is picked up in different countries and by different groups as seems possible given the comments emanating from the online event last week.
It is a beautifully simple idea, though no doubt hellishly complex in designing each of the topic books to fit the school curriculum and to be engaging for any lad in that school. Each participating kid will receive a free printed copy of the book that has been written on screen. The opportunity is there for parents and other relatives to order additional copies, these will not be free of charge. And this is where Topic Heroes differs from other literacy campaigns. The youngsters get their hands on a piece of print that they have helped create. It’s theirs. It’s something real. And it might spark a love affair with the medium that endures for life. And who knows, one or two of them might prefer to become printers rather than train drivers or astronauts.
Gareth Ward
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