Warrington joins in the “Great North West Read”

WARRINGTON will be one of 22 public library authorities across the North West promoting a single book during November.
The book is “The Craftsman”, a tense thriller by Sharon Bolton, and extra copies will be made available to 340 libraries in an area stretching from Carlisle to Chester, Wirral to Rochdale and covering all of Greater Manchester and Merseyside as part of the “Great North West Read.”
“The Craftsman” tells of a young female police constable investigating a series of murders in Lancashire in the 1970s, dealing with sexism and contemporary witches along the way.
It is the beginning of a trilogy and has already attracted the interest of film makers.
A prequel, called “Alive” is freely available as an e-book and author Sharon will be visiting libraries to talk about her book. Readers will be encouraged to go on to social media to discuss using the hashtag #GNWR. There will also be a free reading group guide.
Other authors will also be involved due to another aim of the Great North West Read, which is to boost awareness of the great writers from, and books about, the area.
Authors on the “Great North West Reads” booklist include Beth Underdown, author of the “The Witch-finders sister”, Sarah Haywood who has recently been included in the Richard and Judy bookclub for her first novel “The Cactus” and Hugh Thomson who travelled through the region in “One Man and a Mule”..
All the 340 libraries in the region will be asked to put up a “Great North West Read” display, with an award given to the best one.
The project is part of the work of Time To Read, a unique partnership of 22 library authorities in the North West working together to promote reading, in collaboration with Orion Books.
Sharon Bolton said “”Libraries in the North West played a huge part in my love of stories as I was growing up, and I couldn’t be more pleased that The Craftsman has been selected as the first Great North West Read.”
She will be visiting Warrington Central Library on Thursday, November 22, from 7pm when she will be in conversation with thriller writer and TV scriptwriter Cath Staincliffe.