Another busy Storytime year ends and we have a lot of Christmas news and much to be thankful for. Firstly, September 2017 marked our 3rd anniversary. Three years of children’s stories! We wouldn’t have got there without our wonderful readers from countries all over the globe.
These include hundreds of schools, who tell us that Storytime makes a real and positive difference in the classroom. For all the teachers who use Storytime in guided, paired, peer-to-peer and reading buddy groups, as well as good old-fashioned, on-the-carpet story times, we are over the moon that you enjoy our stories. We truly appreciate how much you have embraced our magazine. Thank you.
We’re also incredibly grateful for the opportunity, once again, to collaborate with talented illustrators from all over the world. Every month, we link to them in this blog and on our social media channels. (The brilliant art above and below is by Giorgia Broseghini, by the way!) Illustrators are a crucial part of our creative process and we’re incredibly lucky. If you’re interested in children’s illustration, we’ve got top tips from illustrators including Tim Budgen, Luke Flowers and Lisa Sheehan. Enjoy!
This year, for the first time, we introduced a new section in Storytime called Tales from Today. It features contemporary stories from new and established writers. It’s been a real pleasure to work with writers as well as illustrators. If you’re a children’s writer looking for inspiration, read our interview with contributor, Dom Conlon.
A huge thank you to our clients too, who we work with under the guise of Storytime Studio. This year, we’ve continued to work with the Lee Valley Olympic venues. We’ve also been working with an international book publisher, a successful ‘escape room’ company and an innovative interactive museum. Plus we’ve developed a course for a digital education company. If you’d like to use our expertise, drop us a line at hello@storytimemagazine.com
We also want to give a shout-out to the international publishers and distributors who are helping us bring Storytime to other territories and helping children to learn English. We’re having great success in Singapore (read about it here) and Hong Kong, with more countries coming soon. Plus we thank our printer and proofreader and those extended members of the team who help it come together.
Finally – a big warm hug to all the children who enjoy Storytime and get excited when they see our colourful envelope pop through the letterbox. You’re the reason we made this magazine. We’d be nothing without you. Keep dreaming. Keep reading. Keep believing. You’re always on our ‘nice’ list.
So it’s been an eventful and exciting year and we can’t wait to see what 2018 has in store! Thank you all so much and we wish you a very merry and restful Christmas. What better way to spend it than snuggled up with stories?
Warmest wishes from us all at Storytime!
