Letterbox Club patrons and supporters
Patrons
Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945 and spent her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames, where she still lives today as a full-time writer. She has written many books for children, and her sensitive understanding of modern children, the way they live and the problems they encounter, together with her sense of humour, have made her an extremely popular author, particularly with the nine to eleven year age range. She has sold over ten million books, which have been translated into over thirty languages.
Her books include The Story of Tracy Beaker (1991) and its sequel, The Dare Game (2000), which tell the story of a child who lives in residential and foster care; The Bed and Breakfast Star (1994), about a family living in bed-and-breakfast accommodation; and The Illustrated Mum (1999), who is covered in tattoos and has multiple boyfriends. She wrote her own screen adaptation of Double Act for Channel 4, which won the Royal TV Society Best Children's Fiction Award, and The Story of Tracy Beaker has had three television series.
In 2005, Jacqueline Wilson became Children's Laureate, and in 2007, became a DBE.
In 2007, Jacqueline Wilson became a patron of the Letterbox Club.
Lemn Sissay is an internationally renowned poet, author of five poetry collections: Tender Fingers in a Clenched Fist (1988), Rebel Without Applause (1992), Morning Breaks in the Elevator (1999), The Emperor's Watchmaker (2000) and most recently, Listener (2008). He is also the editor of The Fire People: A Collection of Contemporary Black British Poets (1998), and his work has appeared in many anthologies.
He is a regular contributor to Poetry Review and has judged various writers competitions such as the Arvon Poetry Prize and the John Lewellyn Literature prize. He is currently artist in residence at the South Bank Centre, and has been writer in residence at the Cambridge Literature festival, the Belfast Literature Festival, University of Arizona, California State University and Contact Theatre Manchester.
He was born in Lancashire of Ethiopian parents. His 2004 drama Something Dark deals with his search for his family after being fostered by a white religious family who, after looking after him as their own child for eleven years, decided to cut off all contact. He is also a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live.
Lemm Sissay became a patron of the Letterbox Club in 2007.
Sir Peter Michael Williams, CBE, FRS (born 1945) is a British physicist.
Williams completed his first degree and PhD at the University of Cambridge, and began an academic career at Selwyn College. He then moved to industry and worked first at VG Instruments and later Oxford Instruments. He was chairman of Oxford Instruments from 1991 until his retirement in 1999.
Sir Peter is currently Chairman of the National Physical Laboratory and Vice President and Treasurer of the Royal Society. He was previously Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford (2000–2002), President of the Institute of Physics (2000–2002), President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (2002–2003) and Chairman of the UK's Engineering and Technology Board (2001–2006).
He received the CBE in 1992 and was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours list of 1998.
In 2005 Williams became the fifth chancellor of the University of Leicester. He was also appointed patron for research at Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Sir Peter Williams was commissioned by schools secretary, Ed Balls to conduct a review into primary and early years maths teaching. The Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary Schools was published in June 2008.
Supporters
DCSF
The Letterbox Club is currently funded by a two year strategic grant from the Department for Children, Schools & Families.
Penguin
The Letterbox team has been working with staff from Penguin Books. In addition to its ongoing charity schemes, Penguin wanted to find a UK-based charity to work with over the longer term. Its aim was to find an organisation that the company could support not just financially but also with in-kind giving – its books, time and expertise – to make a significant difference in the lives of young people. Through Booktrust, Penguin learnt about the Letterbox Club and felt it was a great fit for the company.
Joanna Prior, Penguin’s Publicity Director says, “All of us working at Penguin believe passionately in the transforming power of books in people’s lives. Hearing first hand from Rose gave us a way of putting that belief into action in a really practical way.”
John Makinson, Penguin CEO and Chairman, commented: “We are delighted to have found the Letterbox Club, which is a very special programme. We believe that providing a child with access to books is one of the best starts you can give them in life so it is a real privilege to share the joy of reading with children in foster families around the UK.”
Rose Griffiths, University of Leicester, said “We are very pleased to be working with Penguin. Their involvement will help us include a wider range of books and activities in the parcels sent to children. Their support is extremely valuable.” Rose Griffiths initiated the project.
