Helensburgh Book Festival - a weekend of wellbeing through books and reading

Helensburgh Book Festival was born out of conversations between book groups and volunteers from Helensburgh Community Hub's Book Nook, Jean's Bothy mental health hub and Helensburgh and Lomond Carers Centre. We all recognised the benefits to our health and wellbeing from reading so we wanted to find ways to share our love of books and to encourage more people to read for pleasure. There is a wealth of research showing the importance of reading for pleasure: - A Yale University study found people who read for 30 minutes a day lived on average 23 months longer than those who did not - Reading is as important in terms of children's life chances as their parents' socio-economic status (OECD) - Children who read for pleasure are three times more likely to have better mental health than those who don't (National Literacy Trust) Our event is a community-focused book festival that's inclusive and accessible so that people can come together over books. Connecting our community is at the heart of the book festival, which is why the events also involve time for a chat over a cuppa and cake or glass of wine. More than 400 people of all ages were involved in this year's festival weekend and we are planning an increased number of events including school events and one in the fantastic setting of the drawing room of Hill House. Our ethos of community and inclusivity means that we offer the majority of events at low or no cost. To improve our accessibility, this year we want to also offer those who do not feel able to attend in person the opportunity to be involved by recording several of the sessions. We try to curate a mixture of topics from nature to crime to interest different people and ages, and we have both bigger sessions to allow more people to attend and smaller workshops that are more comfortable for some. We also support local writers through hosting pitching sessions and showcasing the work of the Jean's Bothy writing group among other local writers.

Who Benefits

Helensburgh residents of all ages, particularly those interested in reading for wellbeing and mental health