Welcome to National Non-Fiction November
We are looking forward to a month of celebrating all things factual – even though non-fiction isn’t just for November! But although information books are being published, read and enjoyed throughout the year, NNFN provides an opportunity to shine a spotlight on some of the best books around, while celebrating the positive impact that reading information books can have and exploring some of the trends and challenges in current publishing.
This year’s theme of Communication has provided a focus for our booklist, ideas for activities and competition. For more information visit https://fcbg.org.uk/nnfn/ There’s still plenty of time to enter the brilliant competition which doesn’t close until Monday 5th December 2022, and look out for our first guest blog which is by author Andy Seed, whose Interview with … series (Welbeck Children’s Books) provided the inspiration for the competition.
Follow the month-long programme of guest blogs which includes contributions from authors, illustrators, publishers and practitioners. Hear from a primary school teacher who reads information books aloud on a regular basis. Find out how to capitalise on another annual non-fiction event in an article by two members of the School Library Association’s judging panel for the Information Book Awards. Read three articles written by publishers reflecting on different aspects of non-fiction publishing. Discover a range of books that explore the communication theme ranging from books about human communication (words, language learning, critical literacy and creative expression) to examples from the natural world (trees, animals and seasonal changes).
Although space doesn’t allow us to feature all of the great publishers of children’s non-fiction in our programme, there are over 45 represented in our communication themed book list! We are always keen to showcase some of the new, smaller and perhaps less well-known publishers, so look out for guest blogs from b small publishing, Greystone Kids, Magic Cat Publishing, Neon Squid and Weldon Owen UK.
We will also be marking some special dates during the month:
4th November is the 100th anniversary of Howard Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, when there will be an Egyptian themed giveaway to enter;
13th November which is World Kindness Day, when there will be a Q & A blog featuring John Francis, the Planetwalker;
24th November when the winners of the Information Book Awards will be revealed.
To avoid missing anything, sign up here to receive regular updates by email. https://fcbg.org.uk/blog/
In addition to the blogs on FCBG’s website, eleven book reviews, are being hosted for us by a fantastic team of children’s book bloggers:
2nd Secrets of the Dead (Nosy Crow) Erin Hamilton @erinlynhamilton https://myshelvesarefull.com
4th Magnificent Ancient Egypt (Weldon Owen UK) Margaret Pemberton @booklib61 https://margaretpemberton.edublogs.org
8th Luminous and I Hear You Ocean (Greystone Kids) Sue Wilsher @throughthebook2 https://www.throughthebookshelf.com/
11th It’s the Journey Not the Destination (Magic Cat Publishing) Anne Thompson @Alibrarylady https://alibrarylady.blog/
13th Human Kindness (What on Earth Publishing) Rachael Caddick @GetKidsIn2Books https://getkidsintobooks.com/
14th Every Word Tells a Story (Quarto) Jo Cummins @BookSuperhero2 https://librarygirlandbookboy.com/
15th Rewilding (Neon Squid Books) Melissa Jordan @melissacreate15 https://readingpebbles.co.uk/
17th Scientists are Saving the World (Magic Cat Publishing) Margaret Pemberton @booklib61 https://margaretpemberton.edublogs.org
22nd Journeys in Creative Writing (b small publishing) Jennie Edspire @Edspire https://www.edspire.co.uk/
24th Animal Super Powers (Walker Books) Jo Cummins @BookSuperhero2 https://librarygirlandbookboy.com/
28th The Future of the Universe (Wayland) Rich Simpson @richreadalot https://www.whatiread.co.uk/
The inaugural Britannica Magazine Schools Quiz will be taking place during NNFN, culminating with the live final in London on Wednesday 30th November. Good luck if you have registered a team for this year! We are hoping that this will become an annual fixture, so watch this space!
Follow us on Twitter @FCBGNews to make sure you don’t miss the giveaways from Greystone Kids, Magic Cat Publishing, Raintree Publishing, Walker Books and Weldon Owen UK. And join the conversation about non-fiction using #NNFN2022. We’d love to hear how you are celebrating NNFN and promoting reading non-fiction for pleasure this year.
Chris Routh, 2022
